Meet Marie-elena Gerety

We recently connected with Marie-elena Gerety and have shared our conversation below.

Marie-Elena , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

1 in 50 people have a hair pulling condition called trichotillomania, but the majority of the population hasn’t heard of it. Trichotillomania is a condition most often characterized by compulsive eyebrow, eyelash or scalp hair pulling.

I’ve dealt with this condition for years, pulling my eyebrows or eyelashes the most when on my laptop, often without even realizing I was doing the behavior. I’d only ever told my closest friends and family about this habit, until my senior year of college.

As more of my work shifted online, I found myself pulling more than ever, and needed a solution. I then found my purpose to be creating an AI pulling detector for laptops to help people with trichotillomania.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m the founder of Pluck! Pluck is a pre-trained gesture recognition AI chrome extension for laptops. It works by using the laptop webcam to detect if a user is pulling, then interrupting the behavior with a pop-up screen. In order to dismiss the pop-up, the user has to complete a task that requires both hands, requiring them to lower their hand from pulling.

The webcam can be turned on and off at any time, and all webcam data is processed on the user’s own laptop. We launched a beta test that detected eyebrow and eyelash pulling that amassed hundreds of beta testers, over 7 million views on social media, and 2500+ followers on Instagram. Our official launch includes eyebrow, eyelash and scalp hair pulling! It also includes personalized pulling statistics, daily goal setting and more!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Self Acceptance
If someone ever says something that hurts your feelings, it’s because on some level, you probably agree with what they’re saying. I learned to release any judgment I had for trichotillomania and it became easy to talk about the condition. The best way to release self-judgment to look for any gifts or lessons that whatever you’re judging yourself for may have brought you. Everything happens for a reason.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Goal setting has been an integral part to building Pluck, as well as to healing from trichotillomania. It stands for setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound. If someone is setting the goal to break a habit, such as hair pulling, it can be less effective to just set the goal of, “I’m never going to pull again.” The second you pull, this goal feel invalidated. A S.M.A.R.T. goal would be, “I’m going to aim to only pull 5 eyelashes when working on my laptop for the next 7 days.” Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals helps you track your progress better, as well as allows you to adjust your goals to meet your current capabilities.

Communication
Talking to other people with trichotillomania has shaped Pluck in many ways. I would specifically reach out to my Instagram followers and beta testers to hear their feedback, and ask how I could make it better. I would get feedback through many forms, such as online video calls, surveys, and even DMs. I recommend when reaching out to people for feedback, mention that even if they don’t have the time to complete a survey or video call, even a one sentence reply about their experience with your product would be helpful! This will increase response rates because it gives users a less time intensive option.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

Stress and overwhelm can be a trigger for many people with trichotillomania that can cause them to have urges to pull. I personally would get these urges to pull in response to these emotions, particularly when working online. Now, I activate Pluck whenever I log on to my laptop to be prepared for any unexpected pulling that may arise from stress or overwhelm when I’m working.

When I get a pop-up that makes me aware that my hand has lifted to my head to pull, I look for any hidden messages that trichotillomania may be trying to communicate. This could be needing to take a break and go for a walk, or putting on calming music in the background to re-focus myself on a specific task. My best advice is to try to reframe your perception of trichotillomania from an opponent, to a behavior that may be trying to signal that you may need to make some changes to alleviate some stress in current moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thepluckapp.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepluckapp_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepluckapp
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-elena-gerety-23979a1b5/