Behavior Therapy Week 4 This 5 week Behavior Therapy Program was designed by a Therapist that also suffers from Trichotillomania. If you would like to talk to others that have tried this therapy go to BrendaC's Message Board Home Page Introduction and Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 5 Hi everyone, You are a very special and important person. You have been unwell but you are also on the road to recovery!! You can remain pull free. Many people before you have done so and you can too. Sometimes it seems like that can never happen because the majority of the people with trich that we seem to have any contact with are still having a lot of trouble controlling the monster and some don't believe that they can be cured. What an unfortunate way to think!! We don't hear much from people who have won the battle. They are out there living their lives and not having to focus so much of their time to thinking about trich. That is wonderful for them but it is also a shame that we miss the opportunity to talk to them for they are the people that give us hope and the will to battle on and succeed. True, a cure for trich will not be found in a miracle drug. The cure for trich can only be found within yourself. INTROSPECTION is the key to recovery. Look within yourself and examine how your responses to past and present events shape your thoughts, your feelings and your behaviors. Don't blame the events for how you are now. Sure, we have suffered things that we shouldn't have to have suffered but we are now adults and we have choices. We can use past events as an excuse to continue in the way we always have or we can choose to take responsiblility for how we act now. By continuing as you have, you allow yourself to remain a victim. Also, don't use the "no cure for trich" type of thinking as an excuse to stay hooked. That is just a cop out. Changing conditioned behavior takes time and effort and introspection. Waiting for a drug to come along that will "cure" learned behavior is absurd!! The cure is within yourself. Learn to send yourself positive messages by using positive self-talk. If you continue to tell yourself over and over again that you can't do something then you will eventually trick the brain into believing it. It works the other way too. If you tell yourself often enough that you CAN do something even if you really think you can't, then you will eventually trick the brain into believing that you can. What is even better is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and you actually do it! When we win our own idividual battles with trich we should continue to post on this board. This would give hope to others who are suffering and believing that they can never be cured. Reading the stories of others will also stop us from becoming complacent. We should never forget what it was like to be fighting trich or we risk falling prey to the monster again. ACTIVITIES FOR WEEK FOUR 1. Record in your notebook every time you pull. Record the time of the day and also WRITE A GOOD REASON FOR WHY YOU ARE PULLING!!! This must be a good reason. "Because I'm bored" is not a good reason for pulling. There are better, less destructive ways to cure boredom. Likewise, "Because I'm angry, or hungry or stressed etc"are not a good reasons. You must write a good reason for pulling alongside every pulling incident. What do you do after you pull? How do you feel after you pull? Does this assist in reinforcing your pulling behavior? Does your behavior just prove to yourself what you always thought about yourself? Wouldn't you rather be proved wrong about yourself? Are you afraid of being in control of all aspects of your life? What are the implications of being totally in control? These are just possiblities. INTROSPECTION is the key to a cure. 2. Record all urges to pull and what you think caused the urge. Also record what your did to control the urge. How effective was it in controlling the urge. Is there anything else that you could have done?? 3. Still delay pulling for one hour after all food and beverages, before retiring and after waking. Practice using a variety of distractions. (don't forget the relaxation and breathing exercises offered to you in previous weeks). 4. Avoid situations that are a trigger for you as much as possible. If you can't avoid them then recognize beforehand that you are entering a likely trigger situation and work out how you will handle it if an urge happens. Often, by working out beforehand how you will handle future trigger situations, you diffuse the urge before it happens. If the urge still happens it is usually much more controllable. 5. Remember to continue pulling with the opposite hand and different fingers. 6. Remember not to get close to a mirror - even when applying make-up and your bedroom and bathrooms will remain non-pull ones. 7. No more pulling in the car. 8. No more pulling while doing any other activity at all. (eg, no pulling while reading, watching TV, talking on the phone, driving in the car or being a passenger, washing, ironing etc etc) You can only pull while doing nothing else and outside of your delay times. Remember, you must find a good reason for the pulling and enter it in your notebook.You must think hard about why you are pulling and nothing else must distract you. 9. Eat sensibly, get plenty of sleep, add another 5 minutes of exersise to your daily routine and drink plenty of water. 10. Keep reading and adding to your reasons for quitting pulling and plan your rewards. 11. Reward yourself everyday now for helping yourself towards recovery. Small rewards are fine (eg, have a relaxing bubble bath, pick yourself a flower etc) Do something for yourself everyday. Pamper yourself. Nurture yourself towards recovery. You deserve it. Maybe try something you have never tried. 12. Practice positive self-talk. You are a special person, you can quit pulling and you will quit pulling. Slips are not relapses but they do remind you that you must keep focused on your goal. The activities you resist the most may be the ones that you need to work the hardest on. Best wishes to you all, Carry .Website maintained by BrenDakota.