Trichotillomania Problems

[AyGok]

Hi everyone

I've been suffering from anxiety for a few years and I have developed Trichotillomania as a coping mechanism. I have started pulling out my eyebrows and they look terrible, because of this my anxiety gets worse as I hate myself for doing it and I do it to help me cope with my anxiety so it's a vicious cycle

can anyone give me advice to help me stop or help me change my behaviour and give me different ideas to not to pull out my eyebrows but to do something else.

I've talked to my psychologist she just tells me get hobbies, but I pull my eyebrows out subconsciously now

Thanks

[Chris_B]

Hi AyGok,

Sorry you haven't had any replies on this. We do have another member who posted just a few days before you with the same issue, you may wish to connect in their thread:

How can I manage my anxiety without pulling my hair out

Also, try this thread for some ideas on how to cope when the urge to pull hair strikes:

Tips for surfing urges

[Byltim]

Hi there,

When i was having negative thoughts i used to wear a rubber band around my wrist. Everytime i started berating myself i would snap it once or twice and after a week it started to turn my thoughts without me needing to do it. Now i only put the rubber band on if i am feeling in a particularly low mood. Im not sure it would work for you but it may be worth a shot 🙂

[Jitterbug]

I'm so glad to see this post because I do this too (as well as excoriation on my upper arms). I have to draw on half of my eyebrows now because they're so thin. The only thing that has stopped me doing it so much has been to change my routine. I used to do it while studying. Now I make sure I have a cup of tea to distract me while I'm reading so instead of pulling my eyebrows I'll drink some tea instead. I think having both hands full helps but it can be hard not to just put down what you're holding and give into the compulsion. Hopefully someone else has some more useful suggestions for us both!

[Dr_Kim]

Hi everyone, this response was written for AyGok but you may find some useful tips in here too:

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I am not surprised that your Trichotillomania developed as a response to your anxiety as I understand it is sort of an Anxiety / OCD thing. Meaning that people develop an unhelpful behaviour that on one level they know is “silly” but they just can’t stop doing ! Many people with compulsions have this same feeling.

There are many ways to combat this and none are easy . OCD is a tough one to get on top of but I promise you , the battle can be won with persistence.

These are the strategies that people have tried that I have found to work . Remember , that it usually take months to get a response and often it is 2 steps forward , 1 step back .

1.You may need SSRI medication if things are really bad . i know you may not want to hear that , but for some people it really makes all the rest of the work SO much easier that it would be cruel not to suggest it!

2. You need to deal with the anxiety - so either medication or / and lifestyle factors - exercise , sleep, eating well and most importantly probably .. a MINDFULNESS programme .

3. You need to draw up the cognitive battle ground! This OCD thing needs to be battled! So you need to start a campaign of resistance or diversion .. what ever is better for you. So either resist and sit with the feelings of “not quite right”( congratulating yourself when you don’t do the compulsion ) or divert the desired behaviour into one that is not as “good” but good enough . e.g. a patient with hair pulling was able to divert into putting her hair behind her ears which is more socially acceptable and better for her scalp!

With you, you may want to keep you hands away from your face completely , so maybe have something on your wrist you can “play "with or a patient of mine had a little ball of BluTac she would play for a while which helped to divert her and keep her hands busy ..

4. Get support from a support group . I noticed that Anxiety Recovery Centre Victoria has support groups esp for Trichotillomania! look for some close to you if you can as it may help to talk to others who have the some journey.