Have you ever heard of the term ‘pull free’? It means that you have managed to stop pulling your hair out for any length of time. Some people have been pull free for years and still continue to be, but for most of us this means not pulling a hair perhaps for a day, a week or even a month.
I made the conscious decision to be ‘pull free’ a few weeks ago, after I had been going through a bad patch. It did work, but it was a lot of effort. For a whole week I managed to stop myself by thinking ‘come on, you only have to go a week’.
Actually I did pull about two individual hairs, completely by accident when the hand movements became subsconscious – a very annoying part of having trichotillomania! But I am still proud of what I achieved, so I am still saying I was pull free for a week.
Unfortunately, after the week was over I haven’t stayed pull free. I’ve had good days and bad days. To tell you the truth I feel like I can’t be bothered to stay pull-free, because it takes concentration and it can be frustrating. But maybe I should try again next week? And if I succeed, try again the week after? I’ll see how it goes…
How long have you managed to stay pull free for? Is there anyone who wants to join me for a pull free week? If you have a story about being pull free and want to include it on this blog, along with a link about you, or even as an anonymous post – just contact me!
My name's Penny, and I started OnTrich (a trichotillomania blog) to try and raise awareness about hair pulling, and also as a way to help me deal with my own pulling. I'm a 23 year old girl from the UK and I've been pulling for 13 years. Get in touch if you want to chat or need any help - I love meeting people here.
i havent pulled my scalp in about a year…i keep my hair in a ponytail and that seems to help
but my eyebrows and eyelashes get it daily
Wow. This is the first time I heard about Trichotillomania! Thanks for sharing this. I will have to read more about it
“To tell you the truth I feel like I can’t be bothered to stay pull-free, because it takes concentration and it can be frustrating.”
I think that can be key with any obsession. Thanks for the thought! While I don’t have trich, I do have my own pack of issues.
Matt – I try to keep my hair in a ponytail when my hands start o wander, but it usually doesn’t help that much
But congrats on being pull free with your scalp. It’s a shame you can’t do something similar about your eyebrows and eye lashes. I have no idea why I stopped pulling my eyebrows.
blue – Thanks for visiting here, I appreciate you taking the time to read about it:)
Immi – Yes I think it must apply to a lot of things. They just come naturally, so it is almost unnatural to try and stop – unfortunately!