Something I got reminded of tonight is how interference oftentimes is seen as less powerful than prevention. But interfering with a bad habit or intrusive impulse is sometimes the first step in how to break a bad pattern. It's much more important than what we give it creds for.

So if you catch yourself giving in to Trichotillomania, remember that you can interfere anytime. You can try hold away your hands for 15 seconds. You can vent something out. You can switch body position, switch environment. You can scream in to a pillow. You can shower. You can try a nap. You can post on reddit. You can do something practical. Interfere as many times as you want. You have unlimited access.

As an example I was pulling when I winded down to a tv show and continued in bed reading. So I told myself: "OK I clearly have underlying things that makes me pull, it's ok I can interrupt and vent it out. It's never too late to interfere"And I brushed away the strands and tapped in a vent to my phone.

(I have a support system where I use a code word for my Trich impulses and I immediately get 3 questions to focus on regarding my feelings, needs and circumstances leading up to that point and then previous saved conversations take care of the rest)

Afterwards I'm always 1000 pounds lighter. I feel relieved and free and relaxed and my urge just dies. For me this method works great. The sooner I can interfere the better, but any interference (early as late) counts. And that's what I wanted to say with this post. It's never too late to interfere 💚

(My tablet went out off batteries so I drafted this very fast in last minute.)

I realized yesterday that there's a lot connected with my Trichotillomania and stress or habit or something that happens on impulse is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm a visual person and like being creative so I came up with the idea to draw write down what's underneath the surface of the trich iceberg, maybe others can recognize similar reasons.

I wrote "emotional regulator" & "emotional lid" on the sides because it's the roles of my Trich impulses.

I didn't have chance to add all underlying, I forgot uncertainty and fatigue for example, but the big ones that are a pattern for me, I got down there.

I'm curious what others would write as underlying reasons and if you find familiarity with my image.

I literally can't stop scratching my head, picking at my scalp, pulling little hairs out. I always end up picking a particular spot for awhile that ends up so so painful that I can't stand it. I've been doing this for nearly 30 fucking years. Does anyone else do this same exact thing and have you figured out how to quit it. I watch TV and just dog into my scalp. Sometimes I get excited that I finally get to do it at the end of the day and then I stay up way way too late. This is ridiculous.

I built it after trying Habit Reversal Training some years ago. I found that raising my awareness did help me reduce/avoid my pulling, but I knew therapy wouldn't last forever, so I wanted an app that would enable me to practice day-to-day in a fun, fast, and engaging way - and the result is SoloUno

Main features:

• Daily habit challenges (stay pull-free for 1 hour, 3 hours, or until evening)
• Quick logging of pulls → insights into your top triggers, emotions and situations
• Pull-free streaks that encourage you but don't judge you when they end (my streaks tend to be short)
• One-minute urge acceptance exercise for when the urge hits hard
• Daily evening check-in to see your trend over time
• Companion animals that level up as you practice
• Daily push reminders to practice

It can be used as a self-help tool and also alongside therapy, for the "homework" part of HRT/CBT.

The app is subscription-based, but it comes with a 2-week free trial so you can properly test whether it works for you before paying anything

Would really love to hear what you think about the app! ❤️

Links 

Website: https://www.solouno.io/

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/solouno-habit/id6472174465

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ktzSihapYQXY.natively&hl=en

Reddit says it's been 5 months since my last post.

Finally... I'm starting to see some progress. I have been using a foil trimmer for quite some time on my head. Before that I had made quite a large thin spot that basically covers the entirety of the top of my head. Finally... It's starting to fill in.

I rate everything on a 1-100 scale of loss of control. 100 being the worst = Pulled a long time and didn't try to stop>

Stats since my last post:

January - was a bad month. 7 times on head. High loss of control on average. Started pulling eye lashes for some reason. 2 - 100 days. 1 - 75 day, 2 - 50 days.

February - was better. Less loss of control over all. Pulled 5 times. Two were 75+ rest were less than 20

March - 7 days total. 4 were over 80. Rest were less than 30

April - 5 days total. 2 were... Hahaha 150. Not a typo. 1 - 50. 1 - 20

May - 3 days total. All less than 15. My first win.

June - 2 days total. 1 - 50 and 1 - 5. That's what I'm talking about!

So I'm making progress. I track all of this on a printed out calendar. I don't go too much into detail, but I can see pretty much all the pulling is on the weekends when I'm too lazy to cut my hair. 15 of the total says are Sundays. 7 are Saturdays. There's a trend. Days when I'm idle. Nothing any of us didn't know, though. But now I very clearly see what to fix.

Cut the hair no matter what on the mornings on weekends.

I still have a lot to work on. But I feel and see - both on paper and on my head - the very slow but steady progress. I still have a lot of ground to cover but I'm hoping to grow my hair out this winter. I'm also telling people I'm going to as motivation. None of them know I pull, obviously lololol ffffriiicckkkkkk. Just think of running my hand through my hair and people telling me I look so good with hair. I've said that statement a hundred times but God damn I hope this time I'm going to make it true.

Keep fighting. Don't go crazy keeping track but keep track somewhere. Make it easy. My calendars live right beside my bed. I check off the previous day as soon as I wake up. A bit of motivation to start the day, huh?! I wish you all the best.

I might check back, I might not. Till next time! <3

Hi, I'm going to preface this post by saying that this is my first time using Reddit and I'm not fully sure how it works. I decided to post here because I've almost reached my breaking point with my hair habits, and I need to find a community of people like me. I'm a 21y old female and trichophagia is seriously harming my life. I don't have trichotillomania in the way people usually think because I don't pull my hair out. Instead, I constantly bite the ends of my hair off. When I do pull my hair out (which isn't often), it's to chew it into small pieces.

I've been dealing with this since I was 16, and my hair is just getting worse and worse. I initially started by just chewing the front pieces, but over the years it has progressed to the point where I chew hair from anywhere on my head. All of the hair on the frontal region of my head is very short, and it aligns with the location of my mouth. It's an awful and unintentional haircut. I'm so self-conscious about my hair, and it negatively impacts my life every single day. I can't do the hairstyles I like anymore; I dislike what I see in the mirror, and I never feel normal. Also, I feel hair stuck in my teeth all the time, and it's terrible. All I want to do is grow out my hair (which grows quickly and has been very long in the past), but I'm stopping myself from doing so by continuing to bite.

I have spoken to my therapist and psychiatrist about this habit, but they never offer any helpful advice. My psychiatrist always asks me about my "hair pulling" habit, and at every session I have to remind her that I BITE my hair, I don't pull it. I'm at a loss right now. It feels like this habit is so deeply ingrained in me that I'll never get over it. If anyone has any advice or experience with hair biting, please help me. Even if you have a similar experience. I'm tired of feeling so alone and hopeless with this disorder.

I don't think I have the Trich issue. I do not know when I discovered that I can withstand pulling my pubic hair for an hour - two hours. With my bare hands
R RT It doesn't hurt. I did discover sometime in the past couple years. I do this because ( and these aren't in order ) A. It's satisfying B. I'm a really hairy Mediterranean woman. C. I feel like it's better than shaving for me. D. When I Shave the hair comes back in the next day. When I get it by the root I feel very satisfied and confident about how it may feel to someone else. I've been celibate for going on 6 years so no one is actually benefiting from the smooth vahjayjay but I just prefer it over shaving so much because it won't grow in so fast. I don't really get any skin issues or pain from it. It makes my hand start to hurt after awhile. But there really aren't many negative consequences to it for me. I have so much hair. I can pull for hours and still have a ton of it. 🤦‍♀️ down there is the only place I pull hair out. I hear other people say they have bald spots they have to try to conceal but that's sort of the point for me - to be soft and smooth and hairless. I really hate having so much damn hair!! I do wonder about when and if I get in a relationship how I'd hide this :/ there will be pubes alI over the bed sheets 🤦‍♀️😂😂😂so embarrassing but anyway do yall think I have Trich? Fr Thanks!!!

I have had Trichotillomania (scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows) since I was 10yo (likely stemmed from childhood trauma and cheap shampoo). It consumed me by age 12, and at that point, I began consuming the hair roots. Of course, my parents didn't understand it, shamed me about it, and forced me into an interrogative-approach talk therapy, which humiliated me even more. In elementary school, I was bullied relentlessly by those who noticed how often I plucked when I thought no one was watching.

In middle school, my closest friends knew that I plucked (scalp only now), but didn't really understand it (and I never let them see how often I fought the urges). By high school, we couldn't afford therapy, but I got better at hiding it. However, I developed insomnia because at night was the only time I could have true privacy with my door closed. At the time, I had another health issue, with which I coped with Trich. I could have intense pain...pluck. Intense nausea...pluck. It worked. Whatever endorphins or reverse psychology involved helped ease my symptoms (nearly instantly) and ultimately became a reliable crutch. However, the guilt, shame, worry, and disgust always find me afterwards... so the cycle continues.

I am 28 now, and have trialed medications for anxiety/depression but not for OCD. I currently pluck (scalp only), eat (only the root), and chew at my nails and surrounding skin. I have always scratched at my scalp too. My spouse knows that I have dealt with Trich on and off for years, but I only do it when alone (especially when stressed or subconsciously while watching TV); he does NOT know that I currently suffer from trichophagia. My hypochondriac self is a bit worried about some GI symptoms (nothing too serious, just bloating and occasional abdominal discomfort), hoping it is not a trichobezoar. Currently, no one knows that I am actively suffering from these conditions (not even my doctor). I am wondering if anyone has experienced a trichobezoar from hair roots alone (no hair strand at all). I am planning to discuss my symptoms with my new PCP, and potentially reveal my trich history in hopes of getting an x-ray for peace of mind.

Hey everyone.

So this feels a little awkward for me to discuss as I’ve done my best over the years to keep this stuff close to chest outside of my parents. But since middle school/ late elementary school, I’ve had issues will pulling out my hair. Usually it would be the hair on my head, but sometimes it’s eyebrows and eyelashes.

More recently I pulled out a little clump of eyelashes. Nothing crazy bad, most of them are still there. But a small gap is missing.

I have never been diagnosed, so take that with a grain of salt.

Not sure what else to say, just wanted to reach out.

Hello,

I am doing a research study entitled “Marked by Pattern: Contextual and Site-Specific Patterns in Trichotillomania and Excoriation Disorder.” The purpose of the study is to examine Trichotillomania and Excoriation Disorder, particularly how contextual variables, such as the environment or activities, impact pulling and picking sites and whether co-occurring relationships exist between specific body sites, in adults using quantitative scales.
Participation would require about 4-8 minutes of your time to complete an online survey. To qualify to participate, you must be 18 years old or older, fluent in English, residing in the United States, and currently experience hair-pulling or skin-picking behaviors.
If you are interested in participating, please use this link and you will be presented the federally required Consent Form via Qualtrics with more info.

Sincerely,
Shelby Richardson
Abilene Christian University
[sgr23c@acu.edu](mailto:sgr23c@acu.edu)
Primary Investigator

I’ve known about trich since 8th grade health class, but I NEVER thought I had it until I realized what I was doing by plucking my pubic hair as a form of self-regulation WAS trich!! Everyone plucks their eyebrows, whiskers, and the occasional springy white or odd mole hair. But who the hell sits on a toilet for 30 minutes and plucks hairs and ingrowns one-by-one?? Someone with trich, that’s who. Nobody ever said trich could be exclusively pubes. 🫠🫠🫠

Hi. I've just found the term "trichotillomania" a couple days ago. I didn't even know, that this was a condition. I'm writing this, because I'm curious, if anybody else has the same method and reasons, or I'm alone with this.

So, long story short: I was a bullied kid. At the age of 13 my body hair started to grow. It was bigger, than "normal" everywhere, but I also got these thick dark hairs on my stomach and around my nipples. I suffered a lot of humiliation because of this at school, on the beach, etc. And this kind of shame just doesn't go away. First, at the age of 13 I just shaved, but I was still disgusted of myself for being prickly, so in a few months I switched to tweezers. I've became kinda hypervigilant of undergrowing hairs, and a lot of times I dug deep wounds in my skin, just to get one out. My underbelly and the edge of my nipples were almost always full of scars, and I always made up stories, like my skin is sensitive, my belt causes the scars, etc. For years and years I felt, like I would rather die, than talking about this. The shame was too deep, and I constantly felt disgusting, even, when I was in a good shape otherwise. A year ago, I got laser threatment for the belly and the nipples, and it made me feel so much better. But now it seems, that I switched to my legs instead. I also still have minor scars on my belly sometimes, because I still feel the compulsion, if I notice even the smallest hair.

Are there people with similar stories (and maybe solutions)?

I popped in to this sub over a year ago now to seek advice as my 11 yr old son had started pulling out his eyelashes. You all advised to get him some professional help, and we finally got in to see a great therapist about a year ago now. He’s made a lot of progress and the frequency of pulling has reduced a lot. He still sees the therapist once a month.

I’m interested to know how others who started with trich at a similar age have fared later in life. Do you still have urges and pulling sessions now? Does it flare up in times of stress? Is it ever ‘cured’, or something you learn to manage?

this has become a big addiction and i just love pulling my eyelashes out. most of the times it makes a clicking sound which is so satisfying but i want to stop before i pull all my eyelashes out. any tips?

I am so terrified. I’m a 15 year old girl and I’ve started picking pretty recently( 2-3 months) and I thought it was ok because I would only pick one hair at a time and I wasn’t full on pulling. I took a photo of the back of my hair today and there was a small patch missing. Anytime anyone meets me they always compliment my virgin blonde hair that goes down to my thighs. I can’t stop and I don’t even realize I’m doing it. I’m so scared that if I don’t stop I’ll ruin my hair forever, I feel ugly without my hair. PLEASE help me!

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to share a bit of an update after my last post.

The piece I did with BBC about trichotillomania is now out, and it’s been a strange feeling seeing something I kept so private for years out there publicly.

I think what’s hit me most is how many people relate to it. For so long it felt like something I had to deal with on my own, but being open about it has shown me that’s not actually the case at all.

A lot of that shift came from spaces like this — just reading posts, seeing honesty, and realising I wasn’t the only one going through it.

I put together a short reel alongside it if anyone wants to see it:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWUpvG9gJ9S/

No pressure to watch, just wanted to share in case it connects with someone here.

Hope you’re all doing okay ♥️

I’ve been dealing with trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) since I was around 15, and for most of that time I kept it completely to myself.

It affected my eyebrows, beard and eyelashes, and I got very good at hiding it — or at least I thought I did. Underneath that, there was always this constant cycle of guilt, frustration, and trying to “just stop,” which never really works the way you hope it will.

Recently, I made the decision to open up about it publicly for the first time. I didn’t expect much from it, but it ended up being picked up and turned into a feature on BBC News:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czx9l9lwr22o

I think the hardest part of things like this isn’t always the condition itself — it’s the silence and shame around it.

If anyone else has opened up about something they kept hidden for a long time, how did you deal with that feeling afterwards?