If you had to relate your trichotillomania to a song, which song would it be and why?
- Barbara Lally
- Mar 29
- 3 min read
In this blog post I will be responding to a question from my guided journal, My Trichster Diaries. Please feel free to share your answer in the comments below.
I've always loved reading and relating to lyrics, I just never thought to do it with my trichotillomania. I used to be one of those girls that would post the most emo lyrics as her Facebook status after a break up LOL! No regrets! Anyway, now that I'm open about my experience with trichotillomania, I thought this would be such a fun prompt to include in my guided journal. I can't wait to hear what songs you share!
Here are mine:
Beautiful by Christina Aguilera
A quote from this song is how my memoir, The Trichster Diaries begins! This song means so much to my family because we first heard it when my trichotillomania began. We were convinced she wrote it about me! I felt horribly ugly because of my trichotillomania but this song helped build up my confidence ever so slightly.
"Don't look at me
Every day is so wonderful
Then suddenly it's hard to breathe
Now and then I get insecure
From all the pain
I'm so ashamed
I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring me down, oh no
So don't you bring me down today"
My trichotillomania came on all of a sudden when I was 10 years old. It wasn't something I or anyone in my family could've prepared for. I had to exist with the proof of my disorder on me at all times. It wasn't something I could hide well and so the comments from my peers cut me deeply.
It makes me very emotional so I don't often choose to listen to it but whenever I hear it it transports me back in time and I smile at the thought of my younger self singing to this in the car.
W.A.Y.S. by Jhene Aiko
This is honestly one of the best songs of all time. I won't hear otherwise. You can't fight me on it. When I think about my journey to self-love and self-acceptance with trichotillomania I think about the powerful lyrics from this song that can easily (and have) become my mantras.
"Why aren't you smiling?"
Trichotillomania is brutal. I was in a shame cloud for most of my life and never once thought to find the bright side of my situation. Now that I've gone through that I am wise enough to find and celebrate all of the little wins that I experience with my trichotillomania. There is always something to smile about. Even on those really tough pulling days I ask myself: Why aren't you smiling?
"I gotta keep going
I gotta keep going
I gotta keep going"
Again, something that I constantly repeat to myself! We have to keep going! We can't give up on management. We can't give up on ourselves. We gotta keep going!
I also love the repetition because it almost lulls me into a trance-like state that is similar to the way I feel in the trichotillomania trance!
Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day
I actually never related this song to my trichotillomania but someone who took my course, Sharing Our Stories, shared this during our session and I loved it so much! I know this song so well and now I can never hear it the same—in a good way!
"I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me, and I walk alone"
When I was diagnosed with trichotillomania, it didn't change much for me. Yes I had a name for this behavior I was doing but I was still the only person I knew who was experiencing it—I was incredibly lonely. I had no one to relate to. No one looked like me. I was trudging along all alone.
Interested in working with me toward self-love and self-acceptance with trichotillomania? Not only do we work through my guided journal, My Trichster Diaries, we complete empowering activities and utilize new management strategies! Let's start your journey today!
Comments