Two posts by someone who has had success completely without meds
Subj: meds & me
Just for the record, I am at 1 year, 1 month and 7 days
persistantly pull-free (not all days perfect) after 37 years of
pulling out my scalp and pubic hair. I was about 1/2 to 2/3 bald on
my scalp on March 3, 1997. Now, I have a full head of hair although
it is thinner than it should be on the crown, I have no bald spots. I
take no meds, herbs, and get no therapy other than the support and
ideas that I get from this bulletin board. I am not a "super" person.
I am a worrier, procrastinator, un-organized, loving, caring
overweight, underexercised person. Learning to say "NO" to the urge
to pull is the very hardest thing that I have accomplished in my 52
years.
It is my opinion that psychiatrists and psychologists NEVER meet
a patient that they cannot help. If you desire their help, then go
for it. Many here swear by the meds and help that they have
received. If you have strong reservations about meds and therapy
, then please be encouraged by the knowledge that there are also
many of us on this bulletin board who are also having success
without these things.
I would not ever expect psychiatrists or psychologists to tell
you that you can teach yourself to not pull anymore without their
help. That is not how they make their living. Encouraging you to be
dependent on meds that require return visits for prescription renewal
is just good business. Most people do not choose the medical
profession because they want sainthood. They choose it because it is
a very good paying profession. They are not monsters but neither are
they saints.
I believe that many of us here can teach ourselves to "not pull"
without meds or therapy. Do not fall into the trap that only
"super-people" can do that. You are not weak if you choose to use
meds and/or therapy. I am not "super-strong" because I don't. Go
with what your insides are telling you to do. There are many ways to
the final goal that we all desire.
Subj: meds & me part 2
Thousands of trich sufferers have reported to this bulletin board
a 99.9% failure rate for all meds currently being used in stopping the
urge to pull. There is currently NO available medical research to
support the notion that these meds have any positive affect on most
trich sufferers as related to stopping the pulling. Very few people
report that they take away the urge to pull for a short time. This is
most likely a placebo affect because they are expecting the pills to
work. The meds may help with other problems which may in some cases
allow the trich sufferer to then have the inner calmness to learn to
manage their trich. But, the meds currently being used to treat trich
do not stop the urge to pull. The depression that I had from pulling
out my hair vanished when I learned to stop pulling out my hair. I
did not need a med to get rid of the depression. I would have had to
be almost comatized to get rid of the depression that I had over
causing such destruction to my looks.
To the poster who felt distraught over pulling after 13 days pull
free. You are doing great. I agree with the poster who said just
keep on going. One of the biggest obstacles that we have to overcome
is the feeling that if we slip a little then we might as well just
keep on pulling because we are failures. That is a mind trick.
Winning the fight against trich is not about perfection, it is about
persistance. Keep up the fight. Those of us who have gone before you
will assure you that it IS worth it. It WILL get much easier to stay
persistantly pull-free. Hold that thought in your heart. We are not
lieing to you and we are not selling you a product.