Last week we talked about how your vulnerability affects your trichotillomania.

Today, we are going to make it a little bit more practical. I will be using a model I also use in my upcoming book (sneak peek!) to shift your focus from things you cannot control to things you can control.

Why will we be doing this exercise?

Because trichotillomania is a form of negative energy release. The more negative energy is stuck within you (for example, due to anxiety and stress), the more you’ll want to pull.

If we can manage your focus better, then we will be able to reduce your negative energy and weaken the urge to pull.

The Trichotillomania control exercise:

Ok, let’s begin!

All factors that affect you can be placed under one of the four categories:

Control: what are the things you can control and you also undertook action to actively control it.

For example: If you know you’ll be more anxious by going to bed late, but you took action and went to bed early, then you have actively controlled the situation

Give up: these are things you can control if you took action, however, you didn’t take any action.

For example: Again, you know that you’ll be more anxious if you go to bed late, but this time you didn’t go to bed early. So it was a missed chance.

Try in vain: things that you can’t control yet you try to take action and change things.

For example, you have a toxic family and you are trying to make them warm and support you. However, it doesn’t work because they won’t let you change them.

Let go: things that you can’t control but you know you can’t and therefore you decide to let things go.

For example, you have a toxic family and you would love it if they were supportive. However, you know they are incapable and therefore you don’t focus on them, but rather on friends or loved ones who do care for and support you.

Control your Trichotillomania

Ok, now it’s your turn to fill in the blanks. Write down the 4 categories (Control, Give up,

Try in vain, and Let go) and go over last week. What are the things that you can control, can’t control, and did or didn’t you take action?

Please take this seriously. Don’t just do this exercise in your head. Take a moment and write it down. This exercise will give you clarity, but it’s also proven that writing down things will make space in your head.

Are you sure you wrote down everything?

Take the time.

How to convert your triggers

Ok, now let’s dive in deeper.

Ideally, you’ll want to eliminate 2 categories as much as possible. Categories Give up & Try in vain.

These are negative categories that empower your urges and make you want to pull more.

Go over your list and think how you can move events that happened from category Give up to category Control.

And how can you move the events that happened last week from Try in vain to Let go?

Use this method every week to strengthen the control of your life and discourage the urge to pull your hair. Trichotillomania is much more than the prevention of pulling. It has underlying causes that strengthen your urges and make you want to use those pathways in your brain. This exercise is an example of how to reduce the usage of those pathways and help you to take the first steps in controlling trichotillomania.

Empower yourself (self believe), awareness and prevention (action), and a better you (habit reversal training) are the 3 pillars of beating trichotillomania.

One step at a time.

Please just follow along and start doing this exercise every week. Plan it in your

agenda and make it a priority. You need to take action to prevent (more) damage

and only you can stop your hair-pulling disorder.

You can do this.

With love,

Marnelle\

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