You can stop, and you will. Trich is triggered by aniety, depression, emotional trauma, stress. Studying for your exams in med school would be extremely stressful. You need to find things to do with your hands instead of pulling, such as coming on here and typing when the urge to pull is strong, If there are certain places where u tend to pull more, try to avoid those places more. Keep busy doing things. Get a fidget toy to play with instead of pulling. Read some good positive books, like The Power Of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, or books by Dr. Wayne Dyer or other good self help authors. Believe in yourself, that you can beat trich, and use positive affirmations and positive thinking. Also, some have found that supplements such as Inositol and / or NAC and / or antidepressants help with anxiety and stress, and the NAC and Inositol have been known to lower or eliminate the urge to pull for some people with trich. I was pulling lots until just the last 16 days, till I started on 50 mg of zoloft daily, plus regular doses of Inositol and NAC daily - 500 mg capsule of Inositol in the morning and 1000 mg of Inositol at night, and 500 mg NAC in the morning and 500 mg at night. I am taking the zoloft for anxiety. Look up NAC and inositol for trichotillomania on this forum and on the net, for more info. If you take NAC you need to take Vit C. I take 1500 mg of Vit C slow release daily, as well as B complex 100 slow release for stress.

You will stop at some point- believe it and I promise you you'll get there. I wish it were easier though. You'll benefit in the long run- your studies will give you knowledge that you're going to use in your career to help others and your trich is going to give you the empathy to really be a voice of care and concern. I am sure that being a medical student must be difficult- especially trying to focus with trich- but you're going to find answers about yourself and you're going to have a bright future. best of luck to you

Ah! Studying is crazy for us, I remember studying too well. I might as well have been studying my tendancy to pull. I watched my GPA slip as well. I began to associate study and exams with uncontrollable episodes of pulling. I was desperate so I got creative. I wrapped band-aids around my fingertips, wore gloves, taped my pencil to my hand, you name it. During school you will ultimately find yourself being stressed out and the idea of recovery will seem out of reach completely. This isn't the case, you can and will get better. Be patient and know that this is something you will be encountering frequently while you're in school, but use this time to study your triggers, habits and behaviors too. Anticipate and prepare for those situations where you are likely to get lost in your pulling. You will find that your symptoms ebb and flow, your class standing may fluctuate also, but you can work through it while working toward your degree. You will have time when your workload decreases, ultimately you will graduate and find you have the time and means to work on "stopping." For now, just know it will be something you will battle, learn from every outcome, and be patient with yourself.

thanx all for your concern and support :)
i'm not giving up on myself , and i'll keep trying
i'm not comfortable with taking medications but i'll definitely read some of the recommended books

The inositol and NAC are not medications. Also there are other natural supplements that could be tried for helping with stress/anxiety such as passionflower tincture that you buy in the health food store or passionflower tea, etc. ( I get NAC and Inositiol from the health food store too)

Sir Peter, that was a harsh post. You no longer have trich,and we need to have people on the forum who no longer pull, to share their experience and give hope and support to others who are not where you are yet. To say that Drttm will NEVER stop pulling is just plain uncalled for. You are NOT Drttm and your are NOT GOD and you can NOT predict what her future will be with trich. Yes, she is under a heck of a lot of stress, but many or most of us with trich are under stress or have anxiety, depression, etc. Some who were under a lot of stress have succeeded in finding ways to ease or eliminate the stress through counselling, exercise, change of thought patterns, supplements, etc, etc. Some of us, like you, who once had trich are fortunate enough to no longer have it in our lives. We are all capable of learning to handle stress better and to lower our stress levels. We are all capable of beating trich, once we are using the right tools and have support. The last sentence you wrote, in particular, makes you sound cocky and over confident. Drttm never said anything about having a cure for cancer ( we all WISH somebody DID have the cure or WILL and REAL SOON and maybe Drttm will be the one, once she becomes a doctor ... who knows. You then went on to say that you have the cure for trich. To learn how others like you have overcome trich is very valuable to those who have not overcome it as yet. But this post was not appropriate, in that it comes across in a way that makes you sound cocky. I agree with other posts you have written, but not this one.

Ya I'm not happy with this post either sr Peter, if you have the cure for trich then maybe you need to get into the medical field and help people cure it, we all have stress and anxiety on here. That is why we pull, for you to say she will have break down is uncalled for and stressful, who are you to plan the future for anyone.
Great you stopped pulling, well most of us here haven't and this is a big part of our lives, we do not need sarcasm or someone to criticize us and make us feel worse about the condition, u were the lucky one who stopped, and we are supportive of that. But I will not stand by and let you post comments like this, it's hurtful and feels like an attack, I feel you don't need to give advice if it's not nice. Maybe you still have some work to do on yourself if you can come into a forum like this have been through the condition and talk that way, this person needs our support, and we will give it, drttm if you need anything please feel free to ask us, we are here for you, life is stressful but you can and will get through it, these challenges define you an will only make you stronger. Believe in yourself and don't listen to the people who have foul things to say. Xoxo

Hey there drttm,
I want to tell you that I am 33, and I too followed a very stressful career path into academia (I am an assistant professor now) and that I was probably at my worst while studying through secondary school, college and into graduate school, and post-doctoral training. BUT! I have gotten much better at handling stress, and even though my career is still stressful, I am managing ok because I found support on this site. So, keep up the good work with your studies, and remember that you can be successful at this and still pursue your dreams. I'd like to echo QueenMarie's comment that you will become a wonderfully empathetic doctor due to your experiences, so keep that bright side in mind--your patients will be so lucky to benefit from your developing knowledge and understanding of trich. Take care, and keep logging on!

i read these posts 2 days ago and i wasn't in the mood to post anything , especially after i'v read sir peter's post .
dear sir peter , you are the first one to tell me that i'm studying the wrong field .your post just made me unhappy , but i didn't doubt my specialty at any level , i always wanted to be a cardiologist ever since i was 5th grade , and this is what i'm planing to do :) there is a lot of stress in every specialty , and if being trick-free means to stay away from any stressful condition , that means no one is healed until his death . Anyway thanks for your opinion , with all my respect :D

Many thanks to trickster2011 , 5daysandcounting and lashlesslauren >> for their support . i was really pleased and happy to read your posts .

don't listen to SirPeter he's full of it.

Welcome to the group...I hope you are feeling better. I think stress is a big part of why we get the crawly feelings to pull. I think exercise really helps, also taking extra care of yourself in times of great tension is very helpful.
Try to hold something in your pulling hand when you are studying so your hand doesn't reach up to pull. I like to take calming herbs to help if I have anxiety or tension that I have to deal with-this really takes the edge off.
If you are at home try an ice pack and put it on the crawly areas on your scalp to numb the area this feels so soothing too.
Take care....