Stress and hair loss
Do you suffer from high stress levels?
If so, your stress could be causing your hair loss.
Stress has been linked to 3 main types of hair loss: telogen effluvium, trichotillomania, and alopecia areata.
In patients with telogen effluvium, hair follicles are converted back into the resting phase, which causes the follicles to stop producing and growing hair. Additionally, current hair growth can fall our during brushing and washing.
Trichotillomania is less common and has to do with a stress response wherein patients pull at their hair. Excessive pulling of hair shocks hair follicles and can cause them to stop producing new hair growth.
Alopecia areata is more common and can be caused by many things, not just stress. In a patient with this condition, the immune system identifies hair follicles as foreign bodies and attacks them. This of course, causes hair loss.
If you suffer from any of these 3 types of hair loss, your stress levels may be to blame. If you have just begun noticing hair loss, you may be able to reverse it with stress management and lifestyle changes.
Effective methods of stress management include talk or behavioral therapy, yoga, exercise, meditation, and dedicated relaxation time, just to name a few. Each method works differently for everyone, so don’t give up if one method doesn’t work for you. Keep trying until you find the best outlet for your stress.
Effective stress-minimizing lifestyle changes include a healthy work-life balance, setting boundaries with relatives, friends, and your employer, utilizing public transportation, and establishing a routine.
If you have been experiencing hair loss for some time, your hair follicles have likely died off. Once a hair follicle has died there is no way to bring it back to life. But, all hope isn’t lost. You may be a candidate for hair transplantation. Feel free to read up more on that here.