Wellness advocates often talk about the mind-body connection and how what happens in one’s mind has a powerful effect on the body, and vice versa. Can this potent relationship between the mental and the physical permeate all facets of our well-being, even down to the way our hair grows and sheds?
Can Psychology Cause Hair Loss?
Our mental well-being has a profound influence on the health of our hair. Mental illness or even everyday stress can interfere with hair’s growth cycle, leading to excess hair loss or poor growth. These factors may even cause one’s immune system to attack hair follicles or result in behavioral issues damaging to our hair and scalp.
Because hair loss can be a stressor in and of itself, a vicious cycle often develops where stress causes hair loss… and the hair loss, in turn, causes even more stress.
Can Overthinking Cause Hair Loss?
Overthinking is not necessarily a cause of hair loss by itself but, if it becomes a stressful cycle of worries and what-if’s, your hairline may suffer. Excessive stress often results in telogen effluvium – a condition where the hair’s growth cycle is disrupted, and larger-than-usual numbers of follicles are pushed into their resting phase.
Those with telogen effluvium shed more than 100 hair strands per day and may see overall thinning of the hair if the condition continues unchecked. Stress may also trigger alopecia areata, where one’s immune system attacks their hair follicles.
What Mental Illness Makes Your Hair Fall Out?
Conditions like anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder may contribute to excessive hair shedding. In fact, any issue that causes emotional stress can cause or exacerbate hair loss. Additionally, some medications that are used to treat these conditions may cause some degree of hair loss as well, but fortunately these cases are rare.
Is Hair Loss from Stress Permanent?
Unless there is another underlying reason for your hair loss, excess shedding due to stress or a mental condition typically is not permanent. If your stress or mental health is well-managed, you should see regrowth within six to nine months.
During that time, we offer nonsurgical options to preserve your existing hair and to create the best possible conditions for regrowth. If stress is accelerating a permanent form of hair loss like androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness), you might wish to consider a hair replacement procedure to restore your hairline.
What Does It Mean When a Man Loses Hair?
Male hair loss is incredibly common, with around 80 percent of men experiencing some form of hair loss during their lifetime. Despite the near universality of the experience of hair loss, it still can have a devastating effect on a man’s confidence and self-image.
Thick, full hair is often associated with youth, attractiveness, and vitality. Losing one’s hair can be a tremendous blow to a man’s self-esteem. Hair loss is even linked to depression and anxiety – especially among younger men, men who are not in a romantic relationship, and men who are already prone to self-esteem issues.
Protect Your Well-Being; We will Help You Protect Your Hair
If you are experiencing hair loss because of stress or a psychological condition, please talk to your physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor to address your mental and physical well-being. As you endeavor to manage your mental health, we can help improve the health of your hair and scalp, protecting your existing hair and helping you regrow hair lost to stress. We are happy to discuss your options at either an in-person or virtual consultation. Contact us today to begin your journey to a thicker, fuller head of hair with PNW Hair Restoration.
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