Trichotillomania, rumination, and the possibility of change.
September 11, 2013 1:50 PM Subscribe
If you have or have had any BFRDs (body-focused repetitive disorders) or similar, what's worked for you in combating them? Relatedly, what are some successful ways you've stopped ruminating? I know the hard work's on me. I just don't know where to start.
I have anxiety, depression, and severe trichotillomania (and trichophagia), and skin-picking problems. I've been in therapy (looking for a new therapist as I write this), but I've been underemployed for the last 10 months (in part because I was recovering from a major depressive episode where I was essentially dissociating).
I'm in my late 20s now, and the most frustrating thing I can think about is how I'm squandering my life away. I've tried many times to kick the hairpulling habit (especially the trichophagia, because of the physical risks). Not that it's the be-all and end-all of things, but I started out promisingly, did well at a great college (even while my mental health was deteriorating), and five years later I've been bouncing between jobs while I watch peers get promoted, pursue further education, and start relationships. While I do try arguing with myself (CBT-style) in terms of the futility of comparing myself with others, and how I'm on my own path, and so on, I feel like I'm not making permanent progress.
I can't stop ruminating. I've read and re-read all the posts here about depression, anxiety, and trichotillomania, as well as self-help books and other medical literature on the internet (which I realize is part of the rumination problem...). I fiddle with fidget toys. I knit and try to distract myself by playing music. I feel better temporarily and before I know it, I'm spiraling downward once again. It's like being buffeted about by emotional tidal waves, every single day.
Over the years, I've tried to accept that I have mental health issues, and people close to me know that I struggle with hairpulling (though not the other stuff). I really want to have a career, and genuine relationships, and I'd like to date, but I'm spinning my wheels. I'm not sure if it's family-of-origin stuff, or genes (my sibling has BDD and similar emotional problems), or whatever else. I can see kind of an alternate version of myself operating 'normally' (or at least functionally), making true connections with other people, taking initiative at work...everything I'd like to do but struggle with. As I approach 30, I'm starting to get tripped up by that "no way out-everything's fixed forever" perspective.
If you have trich or skin-picking, or have depression and/or anxiety, what's worked? What's made you see that life can be good and that this stuff is worth trying to overcome? Because I get glimpses of that, and nothing sticks.
I have anxiety, depression, and severe trichotillomania (and trichophagia), and skin-picking problems. I've been in therapy (looking for a new therapist as I write this), but I've been underemployed for the last 10 months (in part because I was recovering from a major depressive episode where I was essentially dissociating).
I'm in my late 20s now, and the most frustrating thing I can think about is how I'm squandering my life away. I've tried many times to kick the hairpulling habit (especially the trichophagia, because of the physical risks). Not that it's the be-all and end-all of things, but I started out promisingly, did well at a great college (even while my mental health was deteriorating), and five years later I've been bouncing between jobs while I watch peers get promoted, pursue further education, and start relationships. While I do try arguing with myself (CBT-style) in terms of the futility of comparing myself with others, and how I'm on my own path, and so on, I feel like I'm not making permanent progress.
I can't stop ruminating. I've read and re-read all the posts here about depression, anxiety, and trichotillomania, as well as self-help books and other medical literature on the internet (which I realize is part of the rumination problem...). I fiddle with fidget toys. I knit and try to distract myself by playing music. I feel better temporarily and before I know it, I'm spiraling downward once again. It's like being buffeted about by emotional tidal waves, every single day.
Over the years, I've tried to accept that I have mental health issues, and people close to me know that I struggle with hairpulling (though not the other stuff). I really want to have a career, and genuine relationships, and I'd like to date, but I'm spinning my wheels. I'm not sure if it's family-of-origin stuff, or genes (my sibling has BDD and similar emotional problems), or whatever else. I can see kind of an alternate version of myself operating 'normally' (or at least functionally), making true connections with other people, taking initiative at work...everything I'd like to do but struggle with. As I approach 30, I'm starting to get tripped up by that "no way out-everything's fixed forever" perspective.
If you have trich or skin-picking, or have depression and/or anxiety, what's worked? What's made you see that life can be good and that this stuff is worth trying to overcome? Because I get glimpses of that, and nothing sticks.
Zoloft really, really helped my rumination issues. When I started taking a lower dosage after a year on the medication, the persistent negative thoughts came back. I'm up to my original dosage again and feeling back to normal. This SSRI only somewhat curbed my impulse to pick, but my doctor suggested that I can change prescriptions or add another one if it continues to bother me. There is an incredible amount of wiggle room when it comes to SSRIs.
Depression has the fun feature of convincing you to believe certain things to keep yourself depressed, like that taking medication makes you a failure, a victim of the medical-industrial machine or part of the cultural overmedication problem. Or that the way perceive yourself is just the way you are and you might as well get used to picking at yourself until you pick up MRSA and go bald. Whatever. If you've got a problem that a particular medication will help, there's no shame in seeking it out! There's no imperative to forego the promise of pain relief for the sake of sobriety. It's okay to explore all avenues available to you, and medication is one avenue that has definitely helped a huge number of people in our situation, myself included.
posted by theraflu at 2:41 PM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Depression has the fun feature of convincing you to believe certain things to keep yourself depressed, like that taking medication makes you a failure, a victim of the medical-industrial machine or part of the cultural overmedication problem. Or that the way perceive yourself is just the way you are and you might as well get used to picking at yourself until you pick up MRSA and go bald. Whatever. If you've got a problem that a particular medication will help, there's no shame in seeking it out! There's no imperative to forego the promise of pain relief for the sake of sobriety. It's okay to explore all avenues available to you, and medication is one avenue that has definitely helped a huge number of people in our situation, myself included.
posted by theraflu at 2:41 PM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is a very surface-level fix (i.e. doesn't address rumination), but dos it help you to be in public? I bite my nails and scratch my scalp, especially when I'm thinking. But if I go to a cafe to work, I do it a lot less.
posted by pompelmo at 3:10 PM on September 11, 2013
posted by pompelmo at 3:10 PM on September 11, 2013
Hi, bi-polar alcoholic with trich here! Wow, I never put that all in one sentence.
I'm actually doing really well and am considered pretty high-functioning but I think there are many different small coping skills and strategies that can have a big difference. Please feel free to message me if you'd like someone to talk to.
First, it is possible to get to a healthier place, and have healthier habits, but it's not going to be a linear path, so it helps to keep in mind that you'll have plenty of bad days also, and that doesn't mean you should give up! Tt feels completely overwhelming when you start out. I think the ruminating and the picking might need to be separated and focused on individually in therapy, even though they are likely interrelated. Just so that you aren't always in your head telling yourself that you are not doing a good enough job.
Simplest fix: I read in a thread recently about N-Acetyl Cysteine, a supplement you can order online. It makes a significant difference for a lot of people in lessening the compulsion. Read up online about it, see if you might be interested, but it does seem to reduce urges slightly for me. It is NOT a miracle cure, but it's a start.
Second, do you have a support network? Friends that believe in you? Having people I could call to check in with was really helpful (people that aren't my therapist). I didn't have to tell them everything, but I worked hard to establish good friendships (after being terrible at it for most of my teens and twenties) and now when I'm spinning there are people I can check in with.
In addition to what has been said up thread about medication and therapy, I will also add that I try to attack my mental health on ALL fronts. For me this means, eating healthy food that I feel good about, taking Omega-3-6-9 or fish oil supplements, which has been linked in some studies to improvements in depression. I also take a multi-vitamin, and some Spirulina, because I find they work well for me and my energy level, but this is not health or medical advice, I'm just sharing what makes me feel better.
Also, exercise and sunshine, even if it's just a walk outside in the afternoon. 3-4 times a week (or everyday if you can manage that). It makes a pretty big difference, and movement can help me get out of my stuck thinking.
So basically, in addition to an SSRI, and therapy, I use a lot of small coping skills to help me get through my life, and I feel that they all help me on some level, even if it's placebo effect, knowing that I'm working hard to "take care of myself" even when I'm not feeling that great.
Medication can definitely help.
Therapy, therapy, therapy, therapy, therapy.
Paying attention to what you're eating, what foods maybe trigger your feelings,
posted by thankyouforyourconsideration at 3:52 PM on September 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'm actually doing really well and am considered pretty high-functioning but I think there are many different small coping skills and strategies that can have a big difference. Please feel free to message me if you'd like someone to talk to.
First, it is possible to get to a healthier place, and have healthier habits, but it's not going to be a linear path, so it helps to keep in mind that you'll have plenty of bad days also, and that doesn't mean you should give up! Tt feels completely overwhelming when you start out. I think the ruminating and the picking might need to be separated and focused on individually in therapy, even though they are likely interrelated. Just so that you aren't always in your head telling yourself that you are not doing a good enough job.
Simplest fix: I read in a thread recently about N-Acetyl Cysteine, a supplement you can order online. It makes a significant difference for a lot of people in lessening the compulsion. Read up online about it, see if you might be interested, but it does seem to reduce urges slightly for me. It is NOT a miracle cure, but it's a start.
Second, do you have a support network? Friends that believe in you? Having people I could call to check in with was really helpful (people that aren't my therapist). I didn't have to tell them everything, but I worked hard to establish good friendships (after being terrible at it for most of my teens and twenties) and now when I'm spinning there are people I can check in with.
In addition to what has been said up thread about medication and therapy, I will also add that I try to attack my mental health on ALL fronts. For me this means, eating healthy food that I feel good about, taking Omega-3-6-9 or fish oil supplements, which has been linked in some studies to improvements in depression. I also take a multi-vitamin, and some Spirulina, because I find they work well for me and my energy level, but this is not health or medical advice, I'm just sharing what makes me feel better.
Also, exercise and sunshine, even if it's just a walk outside in the afternoon. 3-4 times a week (or everyday if you can manage that). It makes a pretty big difference, and movement can help me get out of my stuck thinking.
So basically, in addition to an SSRI, and therapy, I use a lot of small coping skills to help me get through my life, and I feel that they all help me on some level, even if it's placebo effect, knowing that I'm working hard to "take care of myself" even when I'm not feeling that great.
Medication can definitely help.
Therapy, therapy, therapy, therapy, therapy.
Paying attention to what you're eating, what foods maybe trigger your feelings,
posted by thankyouforyourconsideration at 3:52 PM on September 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
So I'm a still-recovering skin picker, and I definitely still have my good days and bad days, so I can't really tell you yet how I finally beat it. But, I can tell you that in terms of therapy (which yes, you should definitely still be doing!) I had much better luck with ACT than I ever did with CBT alone. With the latter I found I was, like you said, mostly arguing with myself and getting nowhere. Adding ACT into the mix gave me more actual coping skills and allowed me to better surf those emotional tidal waves, and even still in recovery I feel like I'm leagues ahead of where I used to be.
If you're not near a big city it can be kind of hard to find a therapist who specializes in it, though more and more seem to be showing up. This book is a good place to start, or if you're super sick of self-help books by now, maybe start by learning more about mindfulness-based meditation. The principles are very similar.
posted by DeadliestQuack at 6:02 PM on September 11, 2013
If you're not near a big city it can be kind of hard to find a therapist who specializes in it, though more and more seem to be showing up. This book is a good place to start, or if you're super sick of self-help books by now, maybe start by learning more about mindfulness-based meditation. The principles are very similar.
posted by DeadliestQuack at 6:02 PM on September 11, 2013
I wear socks - I knit really nice soft bedsocks to wear at home so it's a pleasure rather than punishment to wear them. For my hands, I have a ring to fiddle with, but it's not that effective. It's too hot for gloves unfortunately. Heavy moisturizing overnight under socks/gloves helps the skin recover and keeps all those little cracks and bits that you want to scratch down. I wear my hair up or in an elaborate plait that's difficult to take out to stop myself from scratching/pulling.
An absorbing audiobook really makes a difference for the spiral of thinking, crowding out the gloomy chatter in my head although sometimes all that seems to work is going to bed for a proper nap to pull a do-over on the day.
We got a dog in part so I would be pushed to go for long walks, but that is a huge commitment to make, and can't be the only reason. If you have a friend/neighbour with a dog, ask if you can walk the pet for them regularly. Walking a dog is like exercise + mindful meditation.
I would be selective who you tell. My partner is awesome but ends up irritating me by trying directly to get me to stop picking when what I actually want is a distraction or comfort for the stress I'm displacing. Which then spirals into secretive picking, which is worse. If you do tell someone, make it clear that you want them to support you, not focus on the action itself.
Medication can be awesome and helped me during the worst years. I try and think of the picking as a stress barometer and then take steps to reduce the stress, but also - if it's this or drinking, I'll take this. I wish I cleaned or meditated or something, but I got this quirk, and so I work around it.
posted by viggorlijah at 7:40 PM on September 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
An absorbing audiobook really makes a difference for the spiral of thinking, crowding out the gloomy chatter in my head although sometimes all that seems to work is going to bed for a proper nap to pull a do-over on the day.
We got a dog in part so I would be pushed to go for long walks, but that is a huge commitment to make, and can't be the only reason. If you have a friend/neighbour with a dog, ask if you can walk the pet for them regularly. Walking a dog is like exercise + mindful meditation.
I would be selective who you tell. My partner is awesome but ends up irritating me by trying directly to get me to stop picking when what I actually want is a distraction or comfort for the stress I'm displacing. Which then spirals into secretive picking, which is worse. If you do tell someone, make it clear that you want them to support you, not focus on the action itself.
Medication can be awesome and helped me during the worst years. I try and think of the picking as a stress barometer and then take steps to reduce the stress, but also - if it's this or drinking, I'll take this. I wish I cleaned or meditated or something, but I got this quirk, and so I work around it.
posted by viggorlijah at 7:40 PM on September 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
I am a skin picker and a hair plucker and you know what triggers my worst episodes? Sugar. My anxiety is sometimes profoundly debilitating but it's lessened dramatically because I've reduced my sugar intake. Diet makes a difference.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 8:33 PM on September 11, 2013
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 8:33 PM on September 11, 2013
My spouse has trich and has posted in a lot of the previous threads, so you've probably seen some of her thoughts on the subject.
All the advice above is great and well worth considering. Two things I don't see mentioned yet are an in-person support group and the Trichotillomania Learning Center, or TLC. They have a list of local groups on their site. They also have a list of treatment providers who self-identify as working with trich and other BFRBs.
Also I can't tell if describing CBT as "arguing with yourself" is just a bit of flip shorthand or what, but that's not how I'd describe it. If it's not working for you, I suggest you try something like mindfulness-based stress reduction. There are books and courses you can check out. This may help with the rumination.
posted by expialidocious at 11:58 PM on September 11, 2013
All the advice above is great and well worth considering. Two things I don't see mentioned yet are an in-person support group and the Trichotillomania Learning Center, or TLC. They have a list of local groups on their site. They also have a list of treatment providers who self-identify as working with trich and other BFRBs.
Also I can't tell if describing CBT as "arguing with yourself" is just a bit of flip shorthand or what, but that's not how I'd describe it. If it's not working for you, I suggest you try something like mindfulness-based stress reduction. There are books and courses you can check out. This may help with the rumination.
posted by expialidocious at 11:58 PM on September 11, 2013
I used to do this much more than I do now. Things that helped me:
- Not freaking out about it so much. You're unlikely to die from it, and who cares if you have bald patches or torn up nails or whatever. People do amazing things with way worse issues.
- Your problems with depression and anxiety can be separated from your trich issues. They may be related causally, but you can still accomplish a lot with trich. I know a LOT of super successful people who have these issues: PhDs, CEOs, famous people. So don't limit yourself because of trich.
- Sometimes life doesn't end at 30. For many people it starts then.
- As far as not doing the activities themselves, just try to stay busy, outdoors, exercising, engrossed in tasks you love, being with people you love, eating foods you enjoy... make pleasure your goal and the behavior will lessen a bit.
posted by 3491again at 1:43 AM on September 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
- Not freaking out about it so much. You're unlikely to die from it, and who cares if you have bald patches or torn up nails or whatever. People do amazing things with way worse issues.
- Your problems with depression and anxiety can be separated from your trich issues. They may be related causally, but you can still accomplish a lot with trich. I know a LOT of super successful people who have these issues: PhDs, CEOs, famous people. So don't limit yourself because of trich.
- Sometimes life doesn't end at 30. For many people it starts then.
- As far as not doing the activities themselves, just try to stay busy, outdoors, exercising, engrossed in tasks you love, being with people you love, eating foods you enjoy... make pleasure your goal and the behavior will lessen a bit.
posted by 3491again at 1:43 AM on September 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
Medication helps. I've found that Adderall+SSRI helps more than SSRIs by themselves in that I can better control impulses.
Other than that, sometimes I tell myself, okay, just for right now I am not going to do this. Just for this particular impulse, or just for the next five minutes. It is also knowing my triggers. If I have scabs, I will pick them. So, if I feel itchy, instead of scratching myself to smithereens (resulting in scabs), I might put on lotion. Sometimes smothering myself in lotion works even after I have a scab! Then I lotion my whole body just to distract me from the scab and to help me feel good about myself physically. For me having lotion always accessible helps. Also I have a lot of scarring on my legs from picking scabs so if the lotion has something to help with that, then I feel like I am being constructive.
Sometimes as I am picking or pulling, I become self-aware and am like, okay you have been looking for stuff to pick for like a half hour. Then I ask myself why? Usually there is something else there. If I am having a lot of trouble not picking, I will do whatever I can to distract myself (like force myself to put on an absorbing tv show, even if I really want to pick, and I tell myself that as much as I want to pick right now, future me would rather I watch Mad Men).
I used to have longer hair and I would twirl it and look at it, then start pulling it. Now I have a pixie cut and I almost never pull hairs from my head! As for body hair (this trick is easy for me because I tend towards the disorganized), I intentionally lose my tweezers. It's a pain when I actually need them, but I find that having to go look for them can make me stop and think, okay, why are you looking for your tweezers, why do you need to pull? And then I deal with it, or not, but I usually can't find my tweezers so I give up.
It can be hard to stop a picking session once I've started, but it's important to remember it's not a complete loss if I can stop myself, even if I have been picking for an hour. I tend to get into an all-or-nothing mentality where okay I have already pulled off one scab, might as well pull off all the rest! But really I can stop after just one (or three, or twenty) and I forgive myself. So it is an accomplishment to stop just after picking one. And even if I don't stop myself, oh well, I still forgive myself. If people see my legs I am still self-confident (even if they have wounds or scars) and people remark a lot but I shrug it off. If they ask a direct question, I still mostly shrug and say it's a weird reaction to bug bites or whatever. Big deal.
The hardest person to deal with is my significant other, because I know he isn't a fan of me having wounds everywhere. This is a weird thing, but if I really feel like picking and he is around, I might pick at his ingrown hairs. After I do a few, he tells me to stop (which is still hard), but it kinda makes me think, okay what I am doing is hurting him, and I love him, so I should stop, plus wtf am I doing anyway, picking my boyfriend's ingrown hairs? Maybe I should do something else. Then I force myself to do something instead of just laying around.
Something that HASN'T worked for me is trying not to for long periods. I have something special coming up soon and I have been trying not to pick, so I was like okay, I will not pick for this whole month!!! That is way too long for me. Even a day is too long of a time period for me to commit. For me, committing in small chunks then reevaluating my decision (like, telling myself no picking for 15 minutes!!! Then 15 minutes are up, do I still want to pick? If yes, can I wait another 15?) is better because there is a lot of room for victory, whereas being like okay no picking for a whole month is setting myself up for failure.
posted by tweedle at 8:01 AM on September 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
Other than that, sometimes I tell myself, okay, just for right now I am not going to do this. Just for this particular impulse, or just for the next five minutes. It is also knowing my triggers. If I have scabs, I will pick them. So, if I feel itchy, instead of scratching myself to smithereens (resulting in scabs), I might put on lotion. Sometimes smothering myself in lotion works even after I have a scab! Then I lotion my whole body just to distract me from the scab and to help me feel good about myself physically. For me having lotion always accessible helps. Also I have a lot of scarring on my legs from picking scabs so if the lotion has something to help with that, then I feel like I am being constructive.
Sometimes as I am picking or pulling, I become self-aware and am like, okay you have been looking for stuff to pick for like a half hour. Then I ask myself why? Usually there is something else there. If I am having a lot of trouble not picking, I will do whatever I can to distract myself (like force myself to put on an absorbing tv show, even if I really want to pick, and I tell myself that as much as I want to pick right now, future me would rather I watch Mad Men).
I used to have longer hair and I would twirl it and look at it, then start pulling it. Now I have a pixie cut and I almost never pull hairs from my head! As for body hair (this trick is easy for me because I tend towards the disorganized), I intentionally lose my tweezers. It's a pain when I actually need them, but I find that having to go look for them can make me stop and think, okay, why are you looking for your tweezers, why do you need to pull? And then I deal with it, or not, but I usually can't find my tweezers so I give up.
It can be hard to stop a picking session once I've started, but it's important to remember it's not a complete loss if I can stop myself, even if I have been picking for an hour. I tend to get into an all-or-nothing mentality where okay I have already pulled off one scab, might as well pull off all the rest! But really I can stop after just one (or three, or twenty) and I forgive myself. So it is an accomplishment to stop just after picking one. And even if I don't stop myself, oh well, I still forgive myself. If people see my legs I am still self-confident (even if they have wounds or scars) and people remark a lot but I shrug it off. If they ask a direct question, I still mostly shrug and say it's a weird reaction to bug bites or whatever. Big deal.
The hardest person to deal with is my significant other, because I know he isn't a fan of me having wounds everywhere. This is a weird thing, but if I really feel like picking and he is around, I might pick at his ingrown hairs. After I do a few, he tells me to stop (which is still hard), but it kinda makes me think, okay what I am doing is hurting him, and I love him, so I should stop, plus wtf am I doing anyway, picking my boyfriend's ingrown hairs? Maybe I should do something else. Then I force myself to do something instead of just laying around.
Something that HASN'T worked for me is trying not to for long periods. I have something special coming up soon and I have been trying not to pick, so I was like okay, I will not pick for this whole month!!! That is way too long for me. Even a day is too long of a time period for me to commit. For me, committing in small chunks then reevaluating my decision (like, telling myself no picking for 15 minutes!!! Then 15 minutes are up, do I still want to pick? If yes, can I wait another 15?) is better because there is a lot of room for victory, whereas being like okay no picking for a whole month is setting myself up for failure.
posted by tweedle at 8:01 AM on September 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
Hi everybody-I'm the OP. I want to thank all of you for taking the time to write.
I neglected to include a key detail in my post. I'm currently taking medication (Wellbutrin and Zoloft), and have been working with a psychiatrist to tweak the dosages over the last 6 months. I'm still depressed, though, so I plan to discuss that with my shrink.
The crucial reason that I need to kick the trich is because of the trichophagia. I had an endoscopy a couple of years ago, and luckily didn't need surgery, but I do have stomach cramps and digestive issues that go away when I stop pulling for a while. This is the most embarrassing and distressing aspect of the disorder for me, more so than wearing wigs for the last 8 years.
I really appreciate the suggestions here. A few of the comments mentioned dietary changes (and supplements) as being effective. Starting today, I'm going to try to cut out refined sugar as much as I can over the next two weeks. I'll also look into incorporating ACT and mindfulness techniques into my recovery.
Thanks all.
posted by socky mcsockerson at 9:59 AM on September 12, 2013
I neglected to include a key detail in my post. I'm currently taking medication (Wellbutrin and Zoloft), and have been working with a psychiatrist to tweak the dosages over the last 6 months. I'm still depressed, though, so I plan to discuss that with my shrink.
The crucial reason that I need to kick the trich is because of the trichophagia. I had an endoscopy a couple of years ago, and luckily didn't need surgery, but I do have stomach cramps and digestive issues that go away when I stop pulling for a while. This is the most embarrassing and distressing aspect of the disorder for me, more so than wearing wigs for the last 8 years.
I really appreciate the suggestions here. A few of the comments mentioned dietary changes (and supplements) as being effective. Starting today, I'm going to try to cut out refined sugar as much as I can over the next two weeks. I'll also look into incorporating ACT and mindfulness techniques into my recovery.
Thanks all.
posted by socky mcsockerson at 9:59 AM on September 12, 2013
An update, in case anyone might come back to read this post.
In addition to an SSRI, I've been taking NAC (as suggested by thankyouforyourconsideration), for the past month, and have been completely pull-free since January 8th. I'm trying to be realistic in my expectations for recovery, but because my depression and anxiety have lessened as well, I'm able to view my life more objectively and with a sense of empowerment I didn't have before.
Thanks for your wisdom and compassion, posters.
posted by socky mcsockerson at 8:51 PM on January 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
In addition to an SSRI, I've been taking NAC (as suggested by thankyouforyourconsideration), for the past month, and have been completely pull-free since January 8th. I'm trying to be realistic in my expectations for recovery, but because my depression and anxiety have lessened as well, I'm able to view my life more objectively and with a sense of empowerment I didn't have before.
Thanks for your wisdom and compassion, posters.
posted by socky mcsockerson at 8:51 PM on January 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
The trichotillomania is interrelated with the depression and anxiety. IANAD of course, but even just an SSRI has helped me tremendously with similar issues.
Really. Meds. Better living through chemistry is not a joke.
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:18 PM on September 11, 2013 [5 favorites]