Almost everyone nowadays experiences depression and stress due to different professional or personal reasons. It can result in deteriorating effects on your mental health as well as physical health. Hair loss is a very common problem in men and women. Stress, most of the time, can result in hair loss; however, this type of hair loss is reversible.
What is this type of hair loss called?
Hair loss due to physical and emotional stress is also known as telogen effluvium. In this condition, stress pushes hair follicles into a resting period which causes hair shedding. It causes hair thinning and this hair thinning is more prominent in different areas of the scalp.
The stress does not immediately cause hair falling. There is a few weeks gap between the stressful event and hair shedding. It remains as long as your stress period lasts. The “resting stage” does not mean that the hair follicles are dead, or they will never grow back. The normal growth rate of the hair comes back as the stress level grows back to the normal point.
How stress causes hair loss?
When an individual is experiencing stress or depression, the body produces a reaction that we call “fight or flight response”. In this condition, the body prepares itself to deal with the potential threat. This change in the body affects the body in different ways. One of which is that it can stop the growth of hair follicles on the scalp.
Types of stress-related hair loss
Stress can lead to different types of patterns in hair loss.
- As described above, telogen effluvium; it is the condition when hair stops growing across your scalp.
- Alopecia areata; here the body loses the hair in patches from the scalp.
- Trichotillomania; in this condition, a person pics and pulls out the hair from the body and has no idea about what he is doing.
In hair loss, a stressed person becomes more worried as this cycle can get long. This situation raises the level of stress and results in even more hair loss.
How to react during this condition?
Hair falling can easily make a person creepy about oneself which further results in bitter and harsh behaviour to other people. Therefore, the treatment is not to worry about this condition of your body and to keep yourself relaxed and happy, which reverses the hair loss. Hair loss due to stress is often a temporary condition. There is no need to panic.
How do you treat your hair loss due to stress?
There are some ways to deal with the stress, which involves sleeping on time and at least for 7-8 hours. You should avoid caffeine and exercise regularly to keep the blood circulation in a good run. Furthermore, try to eat a healthy diet which should include a lot of proteins and other essential nutrients. If still, the hair loss is going on at its former speed, then one must consult a doctor who will prescribe medication for lowering the stress level.