stop pulling my hair

My update: I’ve joined newgurl on the “20 days pull free” goal, but I have to say I am not doing near as well as she is! I did make it through four days without pulling, but the past couple days I have started pulling again. I WILL say, though, that I have pulled LESS than usual on the days I have pulled. So I feel somewhat good about my progress. Today is day one for me again, and I think it is going to be a good day! I have a date with my boyfriend tonight (we own a house together…so he is sort of more than a boyfriend, but I don’t know what to call him), and I am super-excited about it! So I can focus on being excited instead of being stressed and pull-y!

Today is almost over, and has been pull free so far. I read somewhere that keeping hand lotion around and using it constantly (so that your hands are always a little moist and sticky) can help. It is kind of gross, but it does help. It gives my hands something to do, and it makes it feel sort of odd to fiddle with my hair (you know, when you’re searching for the one to pull…)

It isn’t magic, but it is helping. Maybe it will help some of you, too?

I am so frustrated with myself. I just can’t seem to stop this no matter what I do. I feel like I should just give up. :(

!0/13/07 – NO

After all my babbling the other day, I only made it ‘til 8 pm on 10/13/07 and then I started pulling. Today is a new day!

The last pull-free day, as you can all see, was 9/22/07. Hmmm…not so good. I’m making a determined effort again today. I can go a day without pulling, but I literally have to make not pulling the TOP priority of the day in order to do so. Pretty tough when life has so many other things to think about….still, I can’t help but feel that it might get a TINY bit easier if I could keep at it. It is sort of “common knowledge” that it takes at least 21 days to form/break a habit. Though hair-pulling is more than just a “habit” for me, I’m going to make 21 days be my goal. 21 days where this is top priority. I’ll post each day. And I am GOING to succeed. I’ll just convince myself that I can pull my hair on the 22nd day (ha!) and that I’ll just have to wait. Maybe by then it will be less of a big deal to me.

was also pull free.

The subject line says it all. I just like to post when I do well. It is a sort of motivation, I guess.

I managed to make it through three days, and then started pulling like crazy. I am stressed in an unreal way about almost everything in my life right now, so not pulling is REALLY hard. (Well, it is always really hard – I’m just making excuses.)

Anyway, I am keeping this as a goal, but I am also making sub-goals on my 43 things list. Like, I am going to make a goal to make it through tomorrow pull free. And I will get to check it off. And that will feel good. And I will keep doing that. Maybe it will help?

Day by day…..

Day Three without pulling is almost over – it is tough, as always, but I think I can make it to Day Four.

Once again starting from scratch. It is funny, actually, because my boyfriend is trying to quit smoking, and though the two addictions are VERY different (I don’t want to pretend that I can understand an addiction to tobacco), they are also both very powerful. Anyway, he just keeps quitting and starting and quitting and starting, and so do I (but with hair pulling – not smoking.) But I have read that if you quit and start, you haven’t really “failed” – you have just learned more about what you need to do to quit for good.

Anyway, I am going to try to make it through this weekend pull-free. I want to stay pull-free, but for now, I am just going to worry about this weekend.

Also, how is everyone doing? trixie12? newgurl123? I know we can all do this eventually.