Talking About Trich

So me and my bottle of wine are sitting here on a Saturday night thinking about trich. I have pulled my hair since I was 10, and I am now 36. This year was the first time that I've actually been diagnosed.

I also have OCD, which seems to go hand in hand with trich. I just finished a year of cognitive behavioural therapy ("CBT")to assist with the OCD and trich as my husband and I are in the process of adopting (which believe me is no easy task when you're considered to be mentally ill). I take 150 mgs of Effexor a day, and I just got a lecture from my doctor about SSRI's and how the dose needs to be increased to at least 150 mgs to see the benefits of SNRI's (or is it SSRNIi's).

My mother used to call me the "monk" when I was a little girl as I pulled the hair from my crown and gave myself a particularly unattractive tonsure. Which, I discovered, could be covered by headgear. Boy, was I a sight to behold!

So, the CBT seems to be the only thing that helps. Thank god for the nineties when it became popular to have no pubic hair! What I noticed is this--when my stress escalates, so does my trich and OCD, and even though I have the CBT skills to combat the trich, I find myself saying that "I don't care" because it makes me feel better.

For some reason, I seem to have particularly sensitive fingertips which can "find" bumps on each hair. The thicker, darker the hair the better. So to speak. So, I have discovered that I am a tactile person and found a few things that helped:

1. fake nails--normally I have short nailes and thus my fingertips can feel each hair. With fake nails, it is difficult, almost impossible, to search.

2. keep my hair short--the hair feels healthier and smoother and is less accessible. I find if it doesn't brush against my neck, I don't notice it as much.

3. shaving the "public" region--if it's short, I have an easier time ignoring it.

4. keeping my hands busy--I have a piece of fabric that I keep on hand to fiddle with.

5. identifiying high risk situations--for me this is sitting on the couch watching t.v., so I try to avoid this.

6. clenching--I clench my fists for at least 90 seconds when I feel an urge and it goes away.

All of these techniques work, but I prefer to ignore them when I'm stressed, as I find pulling is the only relief I have. Anyone else feel this way?

Hi,

I am in a somewhat similar situation, having been diagnosed with OCD and then receiving CBT over the course of a year or so. I have also been taking the SSRI known as Lexapro. Oh - yeh - it's SSRI, which is an acronym for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. Basically, these drugs prevent Serotonin (the 'happy' chemical) from being reabsorbed into cells, thus keeping more of it in the blood where it can reach the brain (where it is REALLY needed). So, anyway, OCD and Trich definately go hand in hand with each other, but I raised this point not so long ago to someone and they started abusing me for suggesting such a thign. In my mind, it's obvious/clear that the two are related.

The way that you're coping with it now seems to be a 'replacement' type of therapy, where you replace the Trich with something else. This is good, but doesn't really take away as much of the stress associated with it as you'd like, right? Long term, the only way I believe people can truly recover from OCD/Trich is by immersing themselves in completely new environments which are fast-paced. For example, I recently moved out of my parents' house and am now working and have to look after my own apartment. I simpl don't have time to even think about my obsessions/compulsions now.

Take care,
Kevin