The Connection Between Anxiety and Hair Loss

By Nasrin Mani, M.D.

It doesn’t take much searching to discover how prevalent anxiety is these days. We worry about losing a job, a partner, or a home. We worry about our health and various physical symptoms we encounter. In some cases, people with anxiety become somewhat of a self-fulfilling concept. What they worry about, they manifest. We see this in the case of hair loss. The relationship between hair loss and anxiety can be relatively complex. One may cause the other, yes; but often what we see is that natural hair loss gets exacerbated by anxiety related to the hair loss itself.

Types of Hair Loss

Hair loss that coincides with anxiety relates to chronic stress and high levels of stress hormones in the body. Where there is persistent emotional stress, we see hair loss such as:

• Alopecia Areata. This sudden loss of hair can leave bald spots of various sizes. Alternatively, alopecia areata may thin the hair over time.
• Telogen Effluvium. We naturally lose a number of hairs every day. Telogen effluvium is characterized by higher-than-normal hair loss.
• In some cases, people under extraordinary stress pull on their hair, resulting in hair loss. This type of hair loss is much less common than the previous two mentioned here.

Hair loss isn’t always directly related to anxiety. In many cases, there are genetic and nutritional factors that are also contributing to the problem. People with anxiety also commonly struggle with nutritional deficiencies that affect hair growth, skin health, and even digestion. There is also a very real possibility that the existence of anxiety makes a person more aware of hair loss that would have occurred regardless of their mental state. It’s somewhat of a chicken-or-the-egg situation.

There is Hope for Hair Loss

Whether hair loss came first or anxiety came first, those who have begun to notice thinning and other manifestations of hair loss can hold on to hope. In recent years, a number of medical advances have occurred, including the use of platelet-rich plasma to stimulate inactive hair follicles.

At La Jolla Cosmetic Laser Clinic, we conduct hair restoration therapies to get maximum results. Our use of regenerative medicine compounds enhances the effects of platelet-rich plasma for faster, more robust results.

Learn more about our innovative approach to hair restoration. Schedule a consultation at (858) 225-8380.