Can fight back against the urge now
I have been pulling since the age of 13, and am now a junior in high school.
With a head of massively curly hair, I have always been able to get by by putting it up in a bun to hide the bald spots and short damaged hair, claiming that it was too unruly to wear down.
The one thing that bothered me about it was that the trichotillomania sites said I should experience ‘tension’ or ‘release’ that came along with pulling, but I didn’t experience either tension or release.
Hair pulling was just something I did.
By sophomore year I was pulling all the time on a daily basis: in class, at home, in bed.
I just felt like my head itched, and that was one way of getting rid of it, or even to focus on something else. I never pulled anything else, not eyelashes or arm hair or anything.
I never thought of myself as someone suffering from trichotillomania, although I tried everyday to convince myself that I was.
My salvation came a month ago in the form of T-Gel Shampoo (for severe itching, with Menthol) by Neutrogena. My head no longer itches, so my hands no longer stray to my head to take care of it.
I am able to restrain myself from pulling. It may not be a cure, but it has definintely helped along the way. If anyone else feels the same way I felt, like their pulling was the result of severe itching, this may help them towards a pull-free life.
-Mairen
