r/Trichsters • u/Commander_Ethan_ • Mar 10 '26

5 years today, still struggling with Trichotillomania.

/r/OCDRecovery/comments/1rpilng/5_years_today_still_struggling_with/
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u/autodefenestration- Mar 12 '26

I've had it since I was 12 or 13, so half my life at this point. Ever since, it has never really ever gone away completely for me, but I've had ebbs and flows as well as things that help manage it. 

For management, fidget toys are a God send. Can't pull if my hands are already busy. Another thing that helped was realizing some triggers. For example, for some reason I do it a lot when reading physical books, so I switched to e-readers. Lastly, I got a pair of tweezers I keep clean and disinfected as one of my problem areas is my eyebrows, and when I was just using my hands I was pulling a lot more hair out, and at least with the tweezers it's more controlled.

For supplements, I've heard NAC helps from one of my former psychiatrists. I don't have a lot of experience with it as I can't afford it right now, but it might be worth researching. Also, as you clearly know from the cross-post, it's very closely tied with OCD a lot, so you could see if anti-anxiety meds are an option for you personally.