* After a very long break, I am kicking off my return to my 'Let's Talk About' series with one of the most highly requested blog posts of all time: TSW and pregnancy. There are subjects within TSW which fascintate me, and with my blog, I am able to explore those subjects in more detail because if we want answers, we literally have to find them ourselves as no one else is doing it. I can't believe that after ten years of personally knowing about TSW, we are still fighting for it to be recognised, but acknowledgement would mean making huge changes in the way steroids etc are prescribed, which w ..read more

I promise promise promise it will be business as usual in 2024, but I thought I'd mention that I have decided to make quite a number of my books free including Just Julia: A short story about eczema.  If you've followed me for a while, you'll know that over the last few years I have started to question eczema as a condition as I find it's used as a blanket term for one million different skin conditions (and a lot of the time misdiagnosed when it's actually steroid induced), with only one treatment being used to treat them ALL... With that being said, when I initially wrote this sho ..read more

Just a quick one, but I am excited to share that I've just published three journals for those who have Trichotillomania (hair-pulling), Dermatillomania (skin-picking), or both compulsions.  Journaling was something that was very important to me when I learned how to manage my own compulsions with Trichotillomania and Dermatillomania, and I've essentially designed them with me in mind and what I would have helped me.  Two pages are allocated per day. At the start of every day, there is a new tip, reminder, quote or empowering message to keep you going, followed by a series of quest ..read more

A slight detour from my usual TSW/Trichotillomania-related posts, but I wanted to share a little bit of book news.  Recently, I re-edited my collection of short stories, Thirty-Minute Tales (here) and have decided to share one of the stories from the collection, Fancy That, for free.  Fancy That is one of my favourite things I’ve ever written. It’s (hopefully...) heartwarming – a ‘tail’ of two old men and an Alsatian called Zelda. It’s available worldwide on Amazon, Apple Books, Google Books, Kobo, Nook ... and many more.  Amazon links for Fancy That by country: UK (here) US ..read more

I was meant to share this yesterday (oops!).  This is just a little post to share that yesterday marked ten years since I last used any medication for my skin and began my journey through withdrawal.  For a long time, I imagined that on this milestone anniversary, I’d be celebrating in some exotic location, sipping champagne … but I’m too busy right now for that - and, in a way, I suppose that’s something to really celebrate. I’m living my life after a hellish drug withdrawal which ended up giving me back my life.  Before withdrawal, I’d never have believed that I would be con ..read more

* When I say this post has been a long time coming, I mean it – about twenty years to be exact. That was when I was first introduced to this topical immunosuppressant as a young teenager. This post is by far the largest I have ever shared in my six and a half years of blogging about TSW, because a lot desperately needs to be said. But first, I want to share a disclaimer of sorts because I am not going into this with neutral feelings on Protopic, and so it is hard for me to remain objective after seeing what Protopic has done, and continues to do, to those who end up using it. I would also li ..read more

* If you’ve followed my blog or Instagram account for more than five minutes, you’ll probably know I’m pretty black and white when it comes to (T)SW – give it time and eventually you’ll get better ... (T)SW is a drug withdrawal, not a skin condition ... diet hasn't got much to do with it ... yada yada yada, so I suppose this post deviates slightly from the concrete set of beliefs I've held for many years.  I started hearing about the link between mould (American spelling: mold) and respiratory/skin conditions around a year ago, and since then, it's become a subject which has fascinated m ..read more

* I am back with another post in my 'Let's Talk About' series which focusses on the subjects surrounding our iatrogenic condition that desperately need to be discussed. Today, I am talking about (T)SW and the nipples.  I think this might be one of my most highly requested posts, and it's a subject that has been on my radar for a long time as I get so many questions about the nipples and how to manage symptoms there.   It is a sensitive area, both literally and metaphorically. It's not somewhere we would usually consider showing people, or talking about openly, and so suffering te ..read more

Before this blog returns to its (T)SW/Trichotillomania natural habitat, I wanted to share a little bit more book-related news with you all. Around the same time that I published my Weighting to Live series (here), I also published a short story called Knock Down Ginger which is available to download exclusively on Amazon NOW! The cover is another beauty by Bailey from Bailey Designs Books (here), who also designed the covers for my Weighting to Live series. The book is based on my own experience of growing up with red hair, but sadly the reality doesn't include a cute boy next door like thi ..read more

I have decided to start a new series of posts, which I will be adding to over time, discussing all the parts of TSW that aren't discussed enough. Sometimes, by not talking about something, it creates embarrassment or confusion around it, when really it is just another thing that you *might* have to deal with during TSW ('might' because we are all different and your experience is not someone else's). The problem with anything to do with the whole genital area though is that it's so personal, which makes it difficult to talk openly about any problems we might experience down there. I'm the sa ..read more