Does Stress Contribute To Hair Loss?

Alopecia areata. A variety of factors are thought to cause alopecia areata, possibly including severe stress. With alopecia areata, white blood cells attack the hair follicle, stopping hair growth and making hair fall out.

Telogen effluvium. In this condition, emotional or physical stress pushes large numbers of growing hairs into a resting phase. Within a few months, the affected hairs may fall out suddenly when simply combing or washing your hair.

Trichotillomania. Trichotillomania (trik-oh-til-oh-MAY-nee-uh) is an irresistible urge to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body. Hair pulling can be a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, loneliness, fatigue or frustration

The Oxford dictionary defines stress as "a demand upon physical or mental energy.' However, stress, as most people see it, is an above average demand of our energy. This demand is usually very hard to deal with. Stress puts demands on people to perform well above their capacity. This demand is very difficult to maintain without some form of relief. Despite the negative perception, stress is an everyday occurrence that affects most people at some point in their life. Following are other definitions of stress:

Mayo Clinic:
Indeed, stress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Being able to recognize common stress symptoms can give you a jump on managing them. Stress that's left unchecked can contribute to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

Wikipedia:
Stress is a term that is commonly used today but has become increasingly difficult to define. It shares, to some extent, common meanings in both the biological and psychological sciences. Stress typically describes a negative concept that can have an impact on one’s mental and physical well-being, but it is unclear what exactly defines stress and whether or not stress is a cause, an effect, or the process connecting the two. With organisms as complex as humans, stress can take on entirely concrete or abstract meanings with highly subjective qualities, satisfying definitions of both cause and effect in ways that can be both tangible and intangible.

So let's deal with the tangible. In the tangible, tactile world, YES, stress can contribute to hair loss.  Stress can also contribute to other health issues such as weight loss or weight gain, insomnia, aches and pain such as migraines or nervous twitches.

So, what do we do? Since the hair is a barometer for what is going on with you and your health, your body simply gives you clues that you are out of balance and that is a good thing.  Life gets so hectic and busy that we forget to take care of ourselves.  So we must re-member to stop and pay attention to our most precious commodity, ourselves.

I've fallen victim to that myself.  I take care of my clients, and my children, and my friends until I am spent. This is the thing. If I don't STOP and take care of me, I will have nothing else to give. At those times, I find my solace.  I have to go down my checklist.  Have I eaten something nutritious? Have I stretched? Have I gotten at least 6 solid hours of sleep this week?  What am I meditating on? Am I focused on things I have no control over, or do I meditate on creating the life I want to live? Have I found a reason to laugh today?

What is your solace?  Sometimes just breathing in slow, deep breaths and exhaling slowly helps. You may want to do something as simple as look around you and notice things you have not noticed.  Pay attention to the sun setting or notice the harmony of color in flowers and plants that tend to grow together.

I don't want to advocate things tied too closely to religion. That's not every body's thing.  Meditating and praying are great though.  Writing journals is cathartic. Getting a nice rest, and massage or taking a long drive is great but everyone can't afford to treat themselves to a spa day.  Everyone can afford to breathe. 

My advice in these times when no matter how much you do, there isn't enough time in the day is to drink water, rest, appreciate, and breathe, breathe.......b r e a t h e

Ashe