Wednesday, March 27, 2013


From Uncontional Self-Acceptance and Trichotillomania by Fred Penzel, Ph.D., "...accepting yourself without judgment, uncritically, and just as you are, without having to be anything or do anything special. It means seeing yourself as the unique, imperfect, complex, and complete human being you are. If TTM is part of you, it must be accepted, too
Yes, even TTM can and must be accepted. TTM is a chronic, biologically-based problem not a psychological problem. It has nothing to do with intelligence or upbringing. You did not ask for it, and you didn't cause it. It's not your fault! For a good deal of the time you have had it, you may not even have known what it was, or that it had a name. Having TTM doesn't mean that you are crazy, defective, or some kind of freak of nature. It does not represent some kind of weakness or failure of moral strength. It doesn't happen to people who are somehow weaker than others or who are less deserving of decent lives. You are more than the sum total of the number of hairs on your body. If others in your society choose to judge you in that way, that is because of their ignorance and insensitivity, and is in no way a reflection upon you. No matter what, you can never be regarded as a defective human being merely because you pull your hair. TTM is, in a way, mostly a problem because society places a value on having hair as a part of being attractive." (emphasis added)
My thoughts have been so negative lately.  "Fat & Ugly" are common words I hear when I look in the mirror.  And maybe when I lose weight, have a full set of lashes, filled in brows, and thick hair... maybe then I'll look in the mirror and hear "Skinny & Beautiful."  BUT... I have been skinnier, I have had more hair and the voices were still there.  So it's not my body that needs to change, but it's the voices.  My self-esteem is low.  I know it.  It's low for most people with trich.  And I really really need to work on it cause I feel miserable.  

From Mayo Clinic, "...your own thoughts have perhaps the biggest impact on self-esteem — and these thoughts are within your control. If you tend to focus on your weaknesses or flaws, you can learn to re-frame negative thoughts and focus instead on your positive qualities"  Mayo Clinic also shared, "Self-esteem affects virtually every facet of your life. Maintaining a healthy, realistic view of yourself isn't about blowing your own horn. It's about learning to like and respect yourself — faults and all."  If you're like me, maybe you'd benefit from reading Mayo Clinic's Self Esteem: 4 Steps to Feel Better About Yourself.  I think the step that stood out to me the most is Step 3: Challenge Negative or Inaccurate Thinking.  Like the article stated, I need to "now replace negative or inaccurate thoughts with accurate, constructive thoughts."  Okay, how do I do that? How do I magically get rid of those negative voices and start creating a healthy self-esteem.  Like Paul in II Corinthians 10:5, I need to take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.  I like how one translation puts it, "We are taking prisoners of every thought, every emotion, and subduing them into obedience to the Anointed One."  So what should I think about?  Paul says to "fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy."  Such wisdom!    

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

#5. The Sopranos (drama)
#4. MTV's True Life (reality)
#3. Newsroom (celebrity)
#2. Trichster (documentary)
#1. Young Adult (movie)

I was unaware that trich came up in The Sopranos- I never watched the show and I don't recall discovering that while searching online.  I think I did hear about True Life and I think I may have seen it (unless I'm getting it confused with My Strange Addiction cause trich was featured on that reality show too).  I have mentioned the Newsroom celebrity before, Olivia Munn.  And I've obviously mentioned the documentary Trichster several times (can't wait to see it). And ironically, I just mentioned Young Adult like last week or so.  Guess I really should go watch it since they had it as their #1.  

Have you guys seen or heard of any trich moments in television or movies?


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

I found another trichster the other day (while searching "trichotillomania"), Arden Rose.  She has a vlog on youtube, but... it's not about trich (she does make-up tutorials and talks about fashion).  Here's her vlog post where she talks about trich:

Kudos to her for sharing her trich story with all of her followers!  Arden is just a young teenager (gosh, I feel old), but she's making an impact and spreading awareness- this video has been seen by nearly 75,000 people!  That's awesome!  
Spreading awareness... anybody can do it! 
The more we talk about trich with others, the more people will be familiar with trich.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Has anyone seen the movie Young Adult with Charlize Theron?  I haven't seen it.  But supposedly the character Mavis Gary (played by Theron) has trichotillomania (along with other issues).  From what I've read, trich isn't really addressed in the movie, but... she has it.  So just curious if anyone has seen it and what they thought about the portrayal.  I might have to check it out sometime... and since it got a decent score on Metacritic, maybe my husband will actually be up to watching it.  If I ever do get around to watching it- I'll let you know... but don't hold your breathe.
On the way to church, I realized that I forgot to fill my eyebrows in.  I told my husband and his response was, "ehh."  He didn't see it as a big deal... so I figured why should I?!  I didn't think about it again.  Now... going out with no eyeliner would probably be a different story :)

Saturday, March 9, 2013

We can all make a difference!


Image via takingsparks
Saw this today on Josie and TLC's facebook page.  "TLC has named Mrs. North Carolina, Josie Sanctis, its Awareness Ambassador, in a partnership created specifically to raise awareness of hair pulling and skin picking in schools in 2013."  Josie is spreading the word and I'm so excited for her!  I'm praying that many of those who suffer alone in silence will finally know that their hair pulling has a name, that they are not alone, that they are not "crazy","weird" or a "freak"... Congrats, Josie on becoming TLC's Awareness Ambassador!  I know you'll make the trich community proud!  

Friday, March 8, 2013

Another great article/interview here with Josie Sanctis, Mrs. North Carolina 2013!  Way to go, Josie!!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

When I talk about having little short hairs all over my head- this is what I'm talking about!  
This picture was taken shortly after getting out of the shower... the rest of my hair is wet and pulled back in a braid.  The short little hairs dry faster and if I'm not careful- they will dry crazy (especially since I have a little bit of natural wave).  They don't stick up as bad as shown in the second picture- that's just cause I was holding them up before (but they did want to stay that way).  I had to wet them down after this picture.  I often have to wet them down after my hair is dry- to make sure they stay down.  The worst of this little hairs follow my cowlick, but really no matter where you part my hair- there will be little hairs.  Sometimes I feel like I should just shave my head and give all the little hairs a fresh start... and they'd all be the same length too.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Ahhhhh!  My hair is driving me crazy!!  I keep finding little hairs ALL over my scalp that are bothering me.  They are so short and just sticking out everywhere.  I know in my head that pulling them won't make it look better... But the trichster in me thinks it'd be better if I did pull them out.  And I think my damage is getting worse... Instead of having just a problem area, it's turning into my entire scalp.  
Hate my hair.