My version of a horror story is trichotillomania. It is the monster eating away at my self-esteem. It's not just my ego that's slipping away though. It's my hair. Trichotillomania is a disorder that makes you pull out your hair. When I was first diagnosed, I though that I was one of very few people. I was so wrong. One in every four out of a hunderend people has trich. There are almost 7 billion people in the world. That's a lot of trichotillomaniacs. For a long time though, that didn't make me feel any better. For almost two years, I cried myself to sleep every night. I stopped being happy all the time. People called me emo, goth, and as a result of my anti-social tendencies, I became pale so people called me vampire. It ruined my life, but because of it, I met amazing people that I would have never known. I went to the Trichotillomania Learning Center 20th Annual Retreat and I cried a lot. Most of the time it was because I was so happy. The only time I was upset was when it was over and I would have to leave my friends that I spent four days straight with. I'm going to the retreat for 2012 though and that means that I will get to see all of the people that inspired me to carry on once again. I learned so much there. I hope that if you have Trichotillomania you would come to this year's retreat. It will be held in Watsonville, CA from September 20th to the 23rd. I don't know the actual venue, but it should be on the TLC website. If you go, you will meet tons of people like you, and most likely a man with an afro named Chad. (If you are reading this Chad, your afro is huge man) You will also meet me, Katie, Lexi, Sara, Kate, Taylor, Racheal, Courtney, Victoria, and a billion other amazing people that are burned into my memory. Oh, and I can't forget the founder of TLC, Christina Pearson. I love you Christina!
