 | The John Kender Diet -
my absolute life saviour. The diet takes away those uncontrollable urges. When
I eat 'bad' foods, I have urges the next day, and then no amount of self-control is enough
to prevent me from pulling. With the diet, I can control my pulling with
self-discipline.. |
| Unofficial 'behavioural therapy'. I
found that I needed to get myself some things to keep my hands busy - especially in the
beginning. I got myself stress balls, koosh balls, and my favourite - silly putty.
I still have a blot of silly putty stuck to my steering wheel permanently.
Driving was a very difficult time for me. It was such a normal part of my driving -
change gears, put hand in hair. Take hand out to turn, put hand back in
hair. I've done it since I started driving, and it was very difficult to break
that part of the habit. I still use my silly putty in the car almost
daily. |
| Changing my routines and normal habits.
 |
I actually stopped reading and watching TV. It wasn't a
planned changed (newly married, you know!), but I am very pleased about
it. It definitely helped because it took me out of my normal pulling places. |
|
Having someone around me most of the time also helped.. I
never pulled in front of people, so being very busy with 2 young boys and a new
hubby, helped as well. |
|
| Accepting my itching head.
Before I knew about trich and was still in denial about my feelings and thoughts, I used
to (unconsciously) think that the itching would stop if I pulled where it itched. I
have learned to live with the itching head now, knowing that pulling won't take away the
itch. I'm still working on getting a solution for this one. Gonna try cuticura
soap in my shampoo next. |
| NEVER touching my hair.
Once you touch your hair and you feel the individual hairs, then you feel the coarseness,
how kinky and curly it is......... oh boy..... very difficult to stop there. |
| NEVER pull that first hair!
It sounds funny, but as long as you can stop yourself pulling that first hair, you
can still stop. Once you've pulled that first hair, it is almost impossible to stop.
This is the way I stopped pulling from my head after 18 years on constant pulling.
My sister made me a 'bet', where I had to give her ten rand for each hair
that I pulled. I was very poor then, and couldn't even afford it to pull one hair.
So I didn't pull that first hair. It really helped! |