Does it still count? What helped you? I don't even notice fast enough to stop myself, when i already have a hair in my hand

I've been pulling for days and have two huge spots on the sides of my head. I wear a wig so I don't have to deal with this embarrassment in public, but my hair was just growing back to where I could wear it in a ponytail with a headband and it didn't look too bad.

It's so hard once you get in a spell and then have the guilt of the damage done, it just fuels the pulling more. I want to stop but it's like I'm not even trying to.

And my hair is so damaged from pulling for over 15 years that it either just falls out easily or is all coarse and grey and feels so good. 😩 Half the time I just love feeling the individual hairs.

Anyway, just needed to rant. This post stopped my fingers from pulling for a little bit.

So, I know that stress is a key cause of pulling eyebrows, but I find myself pulling them sometimes when I'm not stressed. I can go weeks without pulling, but it just takes one sudden moment that comes out of nowhere to undo that.

My mom goes into a fit whenever she sees my eyebrows after I do this, which is kind of what she does once a week. I just need some advice and answers on why I do this despite not being stressed.

My hair stylist noticed my hair pulling for the first time during my last session. A new spot was on the top of my scalp which has been the most noticeable of all my hair pulling. It didn’t feel great when she mentioned what to do about “that.” It hasn’t really gotten any better and I’m not excited about needing to go back. I have just a few regularly blonde streaks nothing fancy that I want to try and do myself.

Should I even attempt it? Do you have any tips? I’m a natural brunette with basically a thick and intentionally uneven money piece.

Does anyone have any shampoo/bodywash recommendations that help ease the sores and possibly hair regrowth. My pulling has gotten really bad in the last couple weeks, I unfortunately shave my head whenever it gets too bad to handle. When I have good months I dye my hair and really wanna dye it again but I’ve got four big ol’ bald spots rn and my hair isn’t growing back as quickly as it once did (tbh its really scaring me that eventually it won’t grow back).

Anyways, I also wondered if anyone has shampoo or soaps they recommend that help ease the itch/pain? I get horrible sores along my bald patches and bumps from it, and they hurt for weeks after pulling, even as the new hairs are growing back in it hurts and itches from the bumps when I pulled.

TIA (please no anti-itch cremes as I have a high opposition to using those because of… as dumb as it is.. trauma from my trich, lmao)

Hello :) recently I started obsessing over split ends and spending hours going through my hair cutting them out with scissors and even biting them off :( then today I was running my hands through my hair and felt the urge to pull some hairs that ‘felt weird’ out and started to pull them out. Then I made the connection that as a child I used do the same thing with my eyelashes and pull them out and a few years ago I used to spend hours plucking out my pubic hairs often digging around with tweezers until I was bleeding . It’s only just dawned on me now that these ‘habits’ could be connected. I just feel sad, I don’t want to start a new destructive behavior :(

Idrk if this is triggering or in what way because I don’t really know anything about this so sorry if I’ve tagged this wrong :/

hello !! i was wondering if anyone had tried jojoba oil and if it was beneficial for hair , i found some in my bathroom and was wanting to try it out . thanks !!

Recently I went on thyroid medication (Levothyroxine 25mg) for subclinical hypothyroidism and interestingly I’ve noticed a huge difference to my hair pulling urges. Im 30 and have had sub-clinical thyroid issues since I was a teenager due to auto immune disease that attacks my thyroid. I went on meds as it was getting worse and starting to affect my memory and mood. I’ve read a few medical journals which have a linked thyroid problems and ocd + Tourette’s and other mental health disorders but there were no studies with TTM/ bfrb , it has however been a nice surprise to get some relief and I seriously hope it remains. I by no means think my thyroid problems actually caused my trich but possibly(?) they were exasperating it which is something I never considered. Has anyone else experienced something like this?

Hi! I just found this sub and until a few years ago, I didn’t even have a name for my hair pulling. I thought I was a freak by themselves with a weird case of OCD. I don’t know why I never google searched, I was afraid. I had a traumatic home life that caused a lot of stress. Trich started when I was maybe 13 but with a split end obsession. It developed to hair pulling from the root and I had bald spots starting in high school. I’m now almost 43 so full 30 years of this crap. I have 22” extensions for 4 years to try to hide the different lengths and thinness- most ppl think it’s breakage. I don’t pull as hard with extensions especially when they get tightened every 7 weeks bc the tight feel eases the urge to pull. I just discovered this sub and ordered NAC (I’m really into health and supplements and fitness anyway so what can it hurt to try?) I’ll update my story in a few weeks and I hope to have good news. I want long lucious hair more than anything!!! I hope it helps and also I have a dna variant for Alzheimer’s and I heard this is good for that too - so double bonus. I hope to have a success story!!

I’m a mom of an almost 12 year old daughter who has struggled with Trich since she was 4 years old. She has pulled out her lashes off and on the last 8 years. She started therapy when she was 5 and she would go months without pulling then regress a bit and a patch or so of eyelashes would be missing. Once 5th grade hit, she pulled them all out for the first time since age 4. A friend noticed and she was as beside herself. It was heart breaking to watch her cry and verbally tell me she hated having this disorder. She had a wonderful therapist this past summer and without the stress of school and the help of her therapist, she wasn’t pulling. She had her lashes fully back and she was utilizing the strategies her therapist provided. Once school started, she pulled the ends of each of her lash lids. As of 4 weeks ago, completely bald. I found a bald spot along her forehead hair line for the first time ever. It has moved to her scalp. I gasped and fell apart. I couldn’t believe after 8 years it wasn’t just her lashes. I have encouraged her to wear her spinning fidget rings to school. I have purchased every fidget out there. She doesn’t use them. She wears her gloves at night but I assume she’s pulling at school. Today at her holiday party, her teacher informed me she pulled her aside and inquired about her pulling. I almost fell over. I was shocked. My daughter is so private and it’s been her “shameful” (her words not mine) struggle and now others are noticing. How is this secret she’s had all these years be exposed and how dare a teacher who most likely knows nothing about Trich approach her about it?! I wanted to hug my child and tell her it’s okay. I waited until after school and she told me she was okay and she didn’t want to talk about it. Which I understood. Where do we go from here? She is clearly struggling. How can I help? She sees a therapist who she has a great relationship with. What else? She isn’t utilizing her strategies anymore though. How can I help her go back to trying to stop? Or do I just weather this storm? It’s so difficult not knowing what I should be doing to best help her.

I'm a highschooler and I started pulling in 7th grade. As of now, I have little to no hair on the crown of my head. This is impossible for me, but it also seems to be as hard on my mom. I don't know how to comfort her. What do I say?

Three days pull-free! I have been pulling hair from my head for 6 years. Recently, I have been put on 225mg of Effexor. I am also taking 2400mg of NAC daily. I feel like these medications/supplements are finally kicking in and I have little to no urge to pull lately. Before this I would pull constantly. Keeping my hair up, oiled with rosemary oil, and using extra thick headbands have helped. I hope this helps someone else as well!

gonna be so dead ass i don’t even pick hair on my head but i pluck like everywhere else. the thing is i really like body hair on me but the plucking is smth i like even more so 😭 like gonna be so fr im starting to lose my mind doing it because it’s currently midnight because i don’t want to sleep and keep pulling. i used to do it instead of self harm because of it being satisfying and such and i would pluck armpit hair (cuz i find armpit hair disgusting honestly), but now it’s getting to the point where everywhere i pull on skin because i convince theres hair there too?? and i start bleeding and it hurts and it’s so bad!! im collecting addictions like pokémon cards why the fuck am i crashing out so hard this winter jesus christ

I have struggled with pulling my dead ends for the last couple of years. I do not peel them apart- I pull the hair apart. I cannot stop as hard as I try. I know trich comes in several different ways for people but I haven’t heard of anyone pulling their dead ends off. Is this trich or just another random little habit?

I’ve noticed that my hormones seem to play a part in the severity of my symptoms.

I feel more urges to pull the week or so before my period.

During pregnancy, I have had almost no urge to pull, but in the final month it has returned with a vengeance.

Has anyone else experienced this or know of research on this topic?

does anyone else collect their hair? i specifically pull eyebrow and eyelash hair and collect it. i would stare at these hairs for god knows how long. i mostly pull hair for the little papilla, i think it’s called that anyway.

I've been doing this for 10 years and I'm tired. But no matter how much I want to stop, no matter how much I want to stop exacerbating any follicle damage I could have, my efforts fall apart within several hours. I was doing so well a month or two ago now it's unstoppable. I was doing great yesterday but now I lost so much hair today that there were 2 balls on my chair. I even tried breaking my previous streak (17 hours) by doing double (1 day 10 hours) and that foiled too. I'm fearing this might be something I'll be doing for the rest of my life. I don't want to give up but I feel like I have to.

Hello. I know others have brought ideas of forming group chats and stuff online. I have joined a few however, I feel like an actual face-to-face meet up would be more beneficial for me, personally. Not sure if anyone else feels the same way. I'm not really sure about all the details. It would just be nice to have real conversations with others who struggle. We could keep it casual and talk about whatever we are comfortable with.

Is anyone possibly interested?

I am partaking in virtual group therapy for people with BFRBs body focused repetitive behaviors. If you are in PSYPACT compliant state you can sign up. It is difficult to find mental health providers who are well versed in this. I am a patient here and they are helpful

Link: https://mindfulstl.com/groups/body-focused-repetitive-behaviors-bfrb-groups/

Cost: $40/session for self-pay or if you do not attend a session (each week is automatically billed), Anthem, UHC/UMR, Medicare, Aetna & Cigna plans also accepted. Led by: Laura Chackes, Psy.D., Licensed Psychologist and Founder of The Center for Mindfulness & CBT, and Lauren Hendrix, MA, PLPC, Counselor at The Center for Mindfulness & CBT.

i just told my mom that ive been trying for 9 days and she was happy! hihihi 😝