For Week 3 of our “Month of Gratitude,” we are talking about how you gotta have FAITH!
I am a firm believer in believing. It’s not about religion. It’s about cultivating trust and confidence. It’s about allowing yourself to “hand off” your dreams, wishes and worries to a “something.” That “something” can be Jesus, Allah, Lakshmi, Buddha, HaShem, the Universe, Sigmund, your inner being, or a tree in your backyard.
What I’m saying is, what you put your faith in can be ANYTHING.
For me, it’s a mix of all those listed above, and my dad.
Today’s guest post comes to you from Keen family member, Lesley Stevens. For you @HabitAware Instagram fans, Lesley may look familiar as she took over our Instagram account during #BFRBAwarenessWeek.
< Join Lesley and thousands of others by ordering your Keen today >
Lesley’s back to share how faith and staying positive have played a role in her trichotillomania recovery and to share how YOU in our Keen family can build faith and positivity.
I have faith that her openness, honesty and suggestions can help you, as they have me!
with love
, strength
, awareness 
(& faith
!),
Incorporating Keen and Faith into My Trichotillomania Treatment
by: Lesley Stevens, trichster + blogger
This has been one of the hardest years for me.
I have been clinging to the good things in my life a little more tightly in these harder times – and there’s certainly a lot of good to be grateful for.
This year I have lost a lot financially in my business, at no fault of my own. It’s just the way business swings sometimes, but still, rough no doubt.
I am the sole provider for my family of six and my businesses are our source of income. I run an online “shop” with the best gifts for kids. I chose to start this business a few years ago as a way to connect with my kids, learn digital marketing and provide for my family.
I am also currently attending Bible college to earn my Associates Degree in Theology. Through my studies I’ve gotten more in sync with the power of faith.
When things start looking down, the way they have this year, I know I have to walk by faith each day. There is no manual to success. Running a business takes trial and error and a lot of faith – a lot!
I’ve had trichotillomania since I was really little and it’s definitely triggered by my circumstances – and stress – around me. Earlier this year I saw things we’re getting worse financially, and I noticed the same for my trichotillomania.
I decided I needed to start saying out loud that I would overcome it because it really was getting out of hand with all the pressures building up around me. I started speaking out what I wanted to see happen.
Using Facebook Groups as a Treatment for Trichotillomania
I began writing about my journey on my blog and I started joining Facebook groups in search of community, positive people and answers to help me overcome.
It can be a high anxiety scene at first in some of these support groups but there’s a lot of good, positive feedback to be read. I know I am there for information to help me overcome this, and I always keep that mindset when I’m in these groups because you can read depressing things sometimes.
To combat that, I also created my own Facebook group to encourage others and I kept confessing that I would overcome trichotillomania:
What’s been awesome about keeping the “faith-filled overcoming” approach is that I have seen change happen in all areas of my life…
…and am especially thankful for the HUGE progress this year over my Trich, despite my circumstances.
Keen by HabitAware has been a Godsend in my life because I wasn’t aware when I was pulling. I would pull out my hair and not even know watching tv or laying in bed.
Once I found Keen, it was like a light went on upstairs for me. The bracelets are rad because they just buzz me lightly so I realize what I’m doing.
“I thought I had to have the Keen bracelets to be aware, but after 3 months of wearing them, my brain has made the connection without the bracelets…It really was awesome because it wasn’t just my hair, I just felt a heightened awareness of where my hands were and a really huge burst of confidence.” — Lesley Stevens, trichotillomaniablog.com
Loosening trich’s hold on my life, led to other great pursuits. I know when I am pulling now and I could start working on something I had on my heart for awhile, which was a Trich Therapy Journal. I wanted to create this journal so I would have faith-filled inspiration and something to help me track my pulling. I didn’t want to be focused on the Trich, so the journal itself needed to keep me focused on Something Greater while I tracked the trich behaviors.
I really felt deep down that I needed to pinpoint what exactly the situations were so I could redirect myself, so I made this journal and began using it myself.
For the past 3 months, I have been wearing my Keen bracelets and writing down daily things that I do in this journal and my recovery has really come a long ways.
I’ve managed to really minimize my pulling in a drastic way that even my hairdresser noticed the last time I was there!
How Faith Can Help Stop Hair Pulling
My advice to others who are dealing with the same body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) I am – trichotillomania, dermatillomania, compulsive nail biting and even thumb-sucking:
Start changing what you SAY about your situation first
That’s really a big step of faith when you think about it too.
By faith, start confessing that you will overcome whatever it is you’re battling.
I didn’t need to know how I was going to overcome, I just started changing my words and as my words changed so did my attitude about the situation.
When my attitude changed – opportunities and ideas started popping up all over.
I began attracting like-minded trichsters and finding resources like Keen to help me.
This year, although it’s been a tough one – it’s been a rewarding one in terms of my recovery, and for that I’m so very thankful, more than my words here can express.
About Lesley Stevens
My name is Lesley and I’m the author over at TrichotillomaniaBlog.com where I talk about my journey to overcoming Trich. I started blogging about Trich in early 2017 because I wanted to connect with others like me, spread awareness and share my walk of faith in overcoming it. You can grab a copy of the Trichotillomania Therapy Journal I created if you would like a faith-based approach to tracking your pulling patterns too.
