Hello Breezy. Sorry to hear of your long time struggle with trich. My trich started at age 9, and I have battled trich off and on through the years since then, with long periods of not pulling or very little, even years sometimes, but other times it has been very bad. The last 12 years, up until recently, were very bad, and was wearing a wig for most of that time. But have been pull free this last time for a month and feel I am really on the right track now. You are right, it is an addiction for sure. It starts out as a reaction to trauma, stress, depression, anxiety etc but quickly becomes a deeply ingrained habit that is not easy to stop but it can be beat. I will add you as a friend and once you accept, we can message each other. I hit my absolute bottom last year and did an online therapy program which really helped and I stopped pulling. But I rushed through the program too fast, trying to save money ( it is cheaper than regular therapy and the counsellor is a psychotherapist), I then slipped back into pulling. So this year, in early February, I re-started the online therapy and I am taking my time through it. Average time to get through it is 8 weeks, broken up into 8 units, so about one unit per week. I have had no desire to pull during this whole month. I am not saying it works the same for everybody. But I know something about addictions because of a family member who used to attend AA and they say that you have to hit your bottom before you reach out for help usually, and I reached my bottom. The therapy I am doing can be found at trichstop.com I am glad you reached out here. This forum is sadly not as active as it used to be a few years back, but all it takes is a willingness for people to open up and post on here, and a willingness of others to answer the posts. There are probably a lot of lurkers on here who unfortunately do not actively participate in the forum, We need each other for support. I am here for you or any others who want to reach out.

I should add, I am 60, so close to your age. And please, do not give up. I asked to add you as a friend. Look forward to messaging with you privately, as I would like to be a support to you.

Thank you for your kind words. It will be nice to talk with you. I wish I could give words of encouragement to some of these people but I have none. I guess I have to fix myself first.

Don’t give up , I felt like you many times and it gets better . I’m now 48 and have also dealt with this since I was 10 and at times felt like I couldn’t anymore but God is strong and he gives me that strength .
Hand in there . I started using witch hazel ( natural astringent ) . As the pulling had started again and that made it stop . Every time I start itching i put some on my scalp . Try it

Breezy, I am sorry for what you have been through and continue to endure. I'm going to be 50 this year and have been battling this since I was 6 (eyelashes/brows -none by the end of any given day). I would really love to talk more -I did not grow up with a supportive environment (which is more readily available today as there is help) and am curious what your experience has been. Please feel free to reach out to me. Sending good thoughts to you...