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    24 Ways To Keep Trichotillomania From Ruining Your Life

    Genius strategies from people who know the struggle.

    We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us how they deal with hair-pulling compulsions.

    Trichotillomania is a disorder that causes people to pull out the hair from their scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, and other parts of the body in ways that result in physical damage — like bald patches, skin discoloration, bleeding, or scarring. Effective treatment often involves professional help, but these are the tricks some people have found helpful — physically, emotionally, or otherwise — for dealing with hair-pulling.

    Remember: These aren’t meant to be medical recommendations, but they’re tactics that have worked for others and might work for you, too. And heads up, some of these responses contain detailed descriptions of hair-pulling urges and behaviors.

    1. Buy some paintbrushes, whether for picking the bristles out of or for sensory purposes.

    2. Put petroleum jelly on your eyebrows, lashes, or roots to make the hair more slippery.

    3. Tell yourself stop out loud whenever you start pulling.

    4. Turn Squigglets into your new favorite accessory.

    5. Keep your nails short to make gripping hair more difficult.

    6. Or go for acrylic nails for the same reason.

    7. Keep track of every day you go without pulling and reward yourself after a streak.

    8. Play with silly putty to occupy your hands.

    9. Take up crocheting or knitting, which can give the same ~sensation~ as pulling at your hair.

    10. Play with sensory toys specifically made to help with body-focused repetitive behaviors.

    11. Come up with a codeword for loved ones to use to give you a heads up when you're pulling without realizing it.

    12. Keep bandaids on the ends of your fingers to make gripping hair more difficult.

    13. Decide that hats can be your best friend.

    14. Keep your hair wet.

    15. Pamper the fuck out of your hair, brows, lashes, whatever.

    16. Send selfies to your friends or family who can help you celebrate the little victories.

    17. Get a pillow you can yank feathers out from.

    18. Get into doing makeup or your hair as a hobby — because let's be real, it can be an art.

    19. Get a pair of fake glasses to serve as a barrier between your fingers and your brows or lashes.

    20. Cut up shirts or pieces of fabric so you can pick out the strands of thread.

    21. Don't be afraid to try an extreme hairstyle if you think it would help you.

    22. Or to rock an awesome wig.

    23. Develop a relationship with a trich-friendly stylist, salon, esthetician, etc.

    24. Lastly, prioritize acceptance and looking after yourself.

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