new to the website, but not to trich. PLEASE HELP!

Samara, hey! I'm sorry you're having a rough time. I don't have trich, but I think that doing something with your hands would help. Also, when I feel stressed or triggered and like I can't take it any more, I write to someone who would understand and care. The impulse to do anything to harm myself goes away.

Samara,

Do you know what is causing the stress? Is it something you can avoid?

Walking or exercise can often help bring down stress levels.

Good luck, I am glad you are getting the hair pulling somewhat under control. I am still trying to get up the nerve to go get my hair cut.

Best,

N.

nymenche, cutting my hair was probably the best thing i could do.
I KNOW i started pulling because of stress that was unavoidable. The weird thing is that I'm not pulling in my "usual" spot every since i got my hair cut. It is definitely not as severe as before which is good.

I know everyone is different, but get your hair cut. It helped me more than I thought it would. It's just the whole idea of having a "fresh start."

Samara,

I am embarrassed for anyone to see the mess my scalp is. That is pretty irrational, since I am only 5 foot tall and most people can see the top of my head anyway.

I have about convinced myself to get the haircut over spring break. Sometimes setting a date gives me the strength to carry through with the commitment.

Thanks for the reply,

N.

it also helps me knowing that i'm not the only one going through this.

i hope all goes well for you. good luck. keep us updated! be strong. =]

Hey, Samara! I hope things are going well for you.

thanks, i'm doing well. I'm horrified of relapsing though.

Well, I did it. I was driving by the local Pro-Cuts and decided to pull in and if I didn't have to wait, I would get my hair cut.

Must have been good timing, the girl took me right back and chop, chop. Now I have to go to the dermatologist to get an actual diagnosis of what is going on in my scalp.

It does feel better, though. Much cleaner than when it was long.

Best,

N.

Everybody seems to have really good suggestions to avoid pulling out your hair (like wearing gloves etc...) I thought, hmm, what can I possibly offer as advice, especially since I am still pulling sometimes?

I want to help, too, but I guess the only thing I know a bit about is herbs. And where they're concerned, the best one for stress in my opinion is humble lemon balm! It's a member of the mint family, it grows in lots of people's yards like a weed and seems to be totally overlooked.

I'm just gonna quote from botanical.com which says that Lemon Balm "'comforts the heart and driveth away melancholy and sadness.' "

I started taking it during my rough period of unemployment because it has a reputation for being a safe and gentle herb - and I found that after a week of taking it as a tablet I felt VERY noticeably more cheerful. Chipper even! It was 2007's herb of the year (Google it & see And it just got really good press from the BBC because in addition to it's cheerful properties it has been helping alzheimer's patients with their memory. (take that, st. john's wart & ginkgo! the backyard weed has you beat!)


Soo maybe this just seems like a big advertisement for Melissa officinalis, but at least it might be growing free in your garden this summer - and I'm not saying it would miraculously make any of us stop pulling our hair out, but it's the best de-stressing, safe, herb I know:) Maybe if you try it let me know if you found you felt more relaxed & pulled less. I want to say I was pulling less while I was on it but because I wasn't consciously connecting stress with pulling my hair out with taking lemon balm I couldn't really say. All I know is that I ran out, haven't been taking it again because I finally got a job offer and I feel a whole lot better about life. However, I suppose I am both excited & a little nervous about starting the new job and have caught myself pulling hair out again - just a little.

(... oh, as a "safety disclaimer" I should maybe mention here I am not and have never been on any prescription drugs and as far as I know lemon balm doesn't interact with anything - but certainly if you are taking other things you'd want to make sure before you started taking it. But, as far as I know it's about as dangerous as Sleepytime Tea. )

thank you for that information!! I will def. look into it. =D