Things began to change when I opened up about my journey with trich on social media. I was tired of feeling so lonely in my experiences. To my surprise, my words started to reach people and resonate with them. For the first time in my life, I realised I was not alone – I had people who understood this overwhelming compulsion and who didn’t think I was weird or gross for it. This was a huge moment in my healing process. It was so powerful to talk to people who just get it.

My journey with trich is long, complicated, and still going. There have been weeks and even months where I haven’t pulled out a single hair from anywhere on my body. I’ve even made myself calendars and rewarded myself for hitting milestone times without pulling. But healing isn’t linear, and there have been plenty of relapses along the way. As I write this, I’m still feeling the effects of my most recent hair-pulling moment: a month later, my eyelashes still haven’t come back. The key, I’ve learned, is to be kind to myself. I remind myself that it’s normal and okay for blips to happen, especially with conditions of a compulsive nature.

“I have a compulsive urge to pull out my hair – but one of the worst parts of trichotillomania is the shame”