Thank you to these amazing journalists and bloggers for sharing our story and Keen as a wearable device for positive behavior change. We appreciate your efforts to raise awareness of body focused repetitive behaviors, like trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder), dermatillomania (skin picking) & onychophagia (nail biting).
At 17 years old, Aneela Idnani was struggling with the loss of her father. Over time, she developed a mental health condition known as Trichotillomania, a compulsion to unknowingly pull out one’s hair as a self-soothing mechanism.
Who is the pilot? Who is at fault? What can replace shame? What is more satisfying than a BFRB? How do we organize ourselves? When am I allowed to pull?Featured guest: Ellen Crupi, Director of Awareness at Habit Aware
This post was kindly contributed by Aneela Idnani, Co-Founder of HabitAware.
"For more than 20 years I hid my hair pulling out of shame and fear of judgement.
Hair pulling actually started as thumb sucking as a baby. My parents and grandma did everything in their power to get me to stop – including handmade knitted mittens. My thumb found a way through those holes but eventually I stopped and graduated to hair twirling. Every night, I drank a warm glass of milk & twirled my hair as I fell asleep, all cuddled in my pink comforters."
Whew.
Are you wondering how I can be so open about my trichotillomania?"
Read more on This is My Brave
"To go along with this mindfulness recognition, I've found it helpful to have a Keen bracelet, made specifically for people with BFRBs by the company HabitAware. They buzz when your hands are in your trigger area so you can take a second to re-assess. I've found this bracelet to be extremely effective in noticing patterns, plus it even has an app to show you your progress and determine patterns."
Not sure which size is right for you?
It's important that Keen has a snug fit on your wrist. Here's a quick guide to help you decide which bracelet size to order:
Small/Medium
Fits kids and adults with small-medium wrists
min: 5.25 inches (13.3 cm)
max: 7.50 inches (19.0 cm)
Large
Fits adults with large wrists
min: 6.15 inches (15.6 cm)
max: 8.50 inches (21.6 cm)
Small/Medium
Fits kids and adults with small-medium wrists
min: 5.1 inches (13.0 cm)
max: 6.8 inches (17.2 cm)
Medium/Large
Fits adults with medium-large wrists
min: 6.3 inches (16.0 cm)
max: 8.2 inches (20.8 cm)