Jo has been pulling for as long as she can remember
Talking about trichotillomania freely … Just learning about her condition
Hello,
After reading other people’s experiences,I realised I’m not all that different or extreme.
I’ve been pulling out my eyebrows and eyelashes for as long as I remember. I don’t know why, although I always blame it on a specific incident when I was younger.
The only other thing I can think of is that everybody used to say that I had/ have beautiful eyes. I must have been a bright kid, because I thought people didn’t see past my appearance.
Anyway, presently, I am now 16 and I have my prom coming up.
Fantastically for me, my eyes are totally bald!! I only pull my eyebrows and eyelashes.
My parents try to help, but they really really don’t have a clue. When I went to my Doctor, he just said he’s never heard of it before, and said if I’m not stressed, i just have to grow out of it, or he’ll give me a special cream, (like vaseline) to help me!!! What a joke!
I’m so glad I’ve found this site. When I first saw it, it was like a huge weight of my back, then when I started to read success stories, I started to think maybe I can stop.
Sometimes, though, I don’t want to stop.
The feeling I get when I pull an eyelash out is amazing.
It’s like I’m losing a wave of bad thoughts and feelings. It’s also good to know I’m not perfect. I’ve always been the odd one out, (although every teenager says that!), but all the teachers and my parents say I’m clever, good at many things, pretty… and I hated that. It sounds so bitchy and stuck up, but so many people will understand what I mean.
Everyone builds expectations from you, and it’s so much pressure but you just want to be yourself – for yourself. This is the first time I’ve thought about trichotillomania in this way.. talking about it so freely. So I hope some of it makes sense.