Help me trichotillomania
I've been dealing with trich for a while now and it seems to be getting very worse. I used to have long and beautiful eyelashes, but now they're very short, sparse, and brittle. My eyelids hurt because I pull so much..and my bottom eyelashes are basically nonexistent. Please help me nay one ?
Comments
I can honestly say that I know how you feel. We have some great expert advice on this forum. For me, making it through the first 3 weeks was the answer. I spent little time at home, kept myself very busy and told myself it would only take 3 weeks before all my eyelashes were back and no longer in the painful growth period. Then when I had all my eyelashes and eyebrows back, I was able to say that pulling now would just reactivate all that pain and misery. I hope you find this helpful, Jonathan and welcome to the site.
Hide the tweezers Heather! It will be tough (really, really tough) but you need to get those things gone. I found the first 3 days after chucking the tweezers really hard, but it does pass. Like Max says - you've got to break that cycle. Pulling when it hurts, then it hurts because you've pulled. Give those eyelashes a chance. Try gently applying vaseline to the sore areas, or holding the back of a metal spoon on your eyes when they feel sore. It sounds mad, but it will help to soothe them and keep your fingers away at the same time. Best of luck and welcome to the site Jonathan.
Welcome Vixey1, It is good to meet you. I personally freeze my tweezers in a plastic cup of water, then I have to think carefully about using them. As for using your fingers, I think band-aids on your thumbs would really help you.
You can do it. New Year, fresh start!
Love and pull freedom
Neo
I know completely how you feel ruby, I lose hours of my life zoning out playing and pulling hair, often in a bit of a trance. The scooping up of the aftermath is the worst cos thats when it really hits me the extent of what I've done. At work i shuffle them all together with my shoe on the floor then when no ones looking quickly gather them up and put them in the bin. I've developed many techniques to conceal bald patches and thinning hair and find hair concealer sprays and powders very helpful, though nothing works as well as a hat!
It's only been a year and a half for you, break this habit now before it really ingrains itself into your being! Take control of the situation now! You can do it! xxx
Hi Randomusername,
Lash regrowth depends on several factors all at once...your age, how many years you've pulled, how much you pulled out (all vs. some), and your current stage in your "normal" regrowth cycle. I am 41 and still am able to get full re-growth of my lashes and brows, which seems like a miracle after having pulled them all out to baldness for 30+ years. When I relapse, it generally takes 4 months to get "normal" lashes again. But 4 months is not a long time when you think about a lifetime. After about 2 weeks, my lashes seem like they are finally growing, it's the first couple of weeks that are the hardest. Perhaps that is what Max meant when stating this: "told myself it would only take 3 weeks before all my eyelashes were back and no longer in the painful growth period". Those first few days (3 days or up to 21 or more) are very sore...the new lashes are very pokey, right? But, they do soften up and that painful growth period is over. I think that's the most difficult part of lash re-growth, the fact that each time you blink you feel a poke. I tell myself to just "scratch the itch" with my knuckle if it bothers me. I tell myself it's just an itch, pulling out the hair will only make it worse. Self-encouragement will go a long way, flex that urge-surfing muscle!
Pull free vibes,
Heather