A number of people have found this blog and posted comments asking for help or someone to talk to about Trich. Beyond getting information at www.trich.org or calling TLC at 831-457-1004, I can also recommend the trich groups on MySpace and Facebook

• MySpace Trichotillomania Support Group
• MySpace Trichsters Sanctuary
• FacebookTrichsters
• Facebook Trichotillomaniacs Unite
  

This week I decide to do a Hands-Down-A-Thon over the Summer in preparation for All Join Hands Week.

Last year I felt in a comfortable place with my pulling. I had virtually stopped all scalp pulling and was OK with occasionally pulling from my beard, sideburns and other areas. I felt that was a hard won victory and I needed to savor that for a while. I had also felt I that I was in a place where I wanted to pay attention to some other areas of my life "mobile" and let trich take a back burner for the first time in years.

But this year I feel ready to challenge myself again and really focus on letting myself become pull-free, or at least a lot closer. I don't imagine it's going to be easy, but I do want to grow beyond this plateau I've been on and I feel ready. I also feel a lot better about other parts of my life right now, and hopefully have the energy to really becoming even more aware about my pulling and other ways I can sooth myself. Also I think it'll be a great way to raise some money for TLC and bring more awareness to all the great work that's being done.

If anyone is interested, there's still time to sign-up

Hey there everyone!

This year's Hands-Down-A-Thon is getting started soon! I'm excited (but admitedly a bit nervous) to be organizing and offering support to folks participating this year. I'm in the process of contacting folks who have signed up.

To participate, go to the TLC website and sign up:
http://www.trich.org/AllJoinHands/HowToHandsDownAThon.htm

You can also join the HDAT Yahoo Group - send email to:
HDAT-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Last year's HDAT was really helpful to me - my picking & pulling have been drastically reduced since I had a dose of 4 months solid support from family and friends. Made a real difference for me. Hope it helps others, as well as helping TLC!

Indianapolis' WISH-TV ran this short story on National Trichotillomania Week, Trichotillomania, Hair Pulling Disorder, a Psychological Ailment. You can watch this short overview that focuses on fellow puller, Vicki Sutton's experience on their web site. I only wish that the suggestion hadn't been so strong that medication was the only answer for those of us suffering from trich.

Recently there have been a quite a few comments from hair-pullers that have only just discover this website and TLC. I know from my own experience what an amazing discovery this is, just knowing that there are other people out there dealing with these same issues.

For everybody seeking help and looking for help, I urge them to visit the main TLC website www.trich.org, join TLC and reach out by calling TLC at 831-457-1004 or by emailing info@trich.org. I know from my own experience getting involved with TLC and connecting with other hair-pullers has greatly helped reduce my urges to pull. Please know that pepole do get better, and there is hope!

Last Saturday, as part of All Join Hands Week, the San Francisco support group hosted an amazingly successful screening of the trichotillomania documentary film, Bad Hair Life. About 35 pickers, pullers and people in support came and we raised $250 for TLC and sold 3 DVD copies of the film. Many people commented that having the screening at the San Francisco Buddhist Center was wonderfully appropriate. I had seen the film several times before, but seeing it with all those people was still quite emotional at times. After the screening, myself, Erin and Vicky all shared some about our own personal experiences with trich and opened it up for questions and answers. Then we broke up for social time and nibbled on some snacks. Talking to people who hadn't seen the film before seemed very touched seeing a wider diversity of experiences with trich and how fundamentally trich has affected all our lives.

Beyond the screening, I also got some very lovely emails of people regretting that they couldn't make it and some inquires if we might show the film again! Way to go for our first year in helping spread awareness and we're already looking forward to next year!

Last night TLC issued our official press release on National Trichotillomania Awareness week and this morning I found that Yahoo News had picked it up. For the full text see First National Trichotillomania Awareness Week, October 1-8, 2006, Provides Help and Hope for Hair-Pullers but it starts out

To break the silence around trichotillomania (compulsive hair-pulling), a disorder that affects millions of Americans, the Trichotillomania Learning Center (TLC) is pleased to announce All Join Hands, the first national trichotillomania awareness week, taking place October 1-8, 2006. Already, more than 60 communities around the country have scheduled events, including Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh. Two states, Michigan and South Carolina, have issued State Proclamations honoring the event and urging citizens to learn more.

Just wanted to direct people to this lovely blog posting from Jill in Vancouver.

..there's a good chance you may know someone who does. Maybe you do it yourself and you never noticed. Maybe you've seen someone do it. Or maybe you just know someone and don't know they have Trich because they're scared to tell you. Trich can cause harm to people's self esteem and quality of life. People left to hide the disorder in shame and fear of embarrassment. So, its National Awareness Week and people should know about trich.

I particularly like her advice to people saying "I could pull my hair out!"

...think twice before saying that again, you may be talking to someone who has Trich

Friday, the research team at the Duke Center for Human Genetics released evidence that they've found a connection between a mutation in the gene SLITKR1 and Trichotillomania. The story was picked up by a number of new services including MSNBC and FOX News. Great timing for All Join Hands to have Trich in the news!

• MSNBC


• FOX News


• LiveScience.com

Wow! All Join Hands week and our screening in San Francisco is coming up fast. We our got posters from TLC the other week, but we still need to figure our when to go out and put them up around town. But today I worked on a draft of the email I'm going to send out to friends and family. I wanted to post it here, just in case it might be help to others writing similar invitations.

Hey there,

The first week in October is National Trichotillomania Awareness Week. I know this because I have trichotillomania myself, which means that I compulsively pull out my hair from my scalp and beard in times of anxiety, or when I'm relaxing, or sometimes for no reason that I'm aware of.

While many other people develop trich at a much earlier age, trich can be triggered for people at any age, and I began pulling out my hair about 10 years ago. Like most people I assumed I was the only person with this disorder and was very ashamed and secretive about it. A few year back, when I was still pulling for hours at a time, feeling powerless to stop but all the time denying in my own mind that it was a problem, I lived in a fairly constant state of anxiety that people would notice the largish bald patches on my head. Finally, after struggling and trying to fight the urges for years, I came to the realization that there MUST be some sort of information on the Internet about this strange habit of mine. I found out it had a name, Trichotillomania, and that it was fairly common, affect about 2-4% of the population. I also learned about the Trichotillomania Learnig Center and found out there was a support group for other trich suffers right here in San Francisco. Going to that first meeting was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it absolutely changed my life. With the support of these beautiful people, and nurturing my own Buddhist meditation practice, I've been able to make remarkable progress along the road to recovery and go for longer periods being virtually pull free.

Part of my recovery has been braking down the shame I associated with my trich and talking to more openly about this issue. Maybe I've shared with you about the my trich already, maybe this is the first time I'm bringing it to your attention. Either way, even though it's had a severe impact on my life and the lives of many, trichotillomania remains a largely unknown and little researched phenomenon. So to help ourselves and other trichsters, the members of TLC decide to organize the first ever National Awareness Week this year. Across the nation, TLC members will be spreading the world about trich and the serious impact it has on people's lives.

Here in San Francisco, my support group will be hosting a screening of the documentary on trich, Bad Hair Life, on Saturday October 7th at the San Francisco Buddhist Center in the Mission. This amazing and emotional movie follows the filmmaker's own journey in learning more about her own hair pulling and the lives of all sorts of people affected by trich. If you can make it, I'd love to see you there. And if can't come and you're curious about this documentary, I'm more then happy to lend out my copy. Also, the TLC website http://www.trich.org is an amazing resource.

Bad Hair Life screening followed by a social hour
Saturday October 7th, 2006, 4-6pm
The San Francisco Buddhist Center
37 Bartlett Street
San Francisco, CA
Suggested donation $5 - $15 per person - donations go to the Trichotillomania Learning Center