Stress and Hair Loss
Stress and hair loss can occur in some people. Usually it occurs 3 months after the stressful event has occured
and it may take 3 months after the stress period has ended for the hair growth to resume. In most cases it
is temporary if the person is not predisposed to genetic or Androgenic Alopecia, if they are stress may
trigger the onset of genetic hair loss or may worsen existing Androgenic hair loss.
Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it
has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings. As a positive influence,
stress can help compel us to action; it can result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective. As a
negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn can
lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart
disease, and stroke. With the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, a job promotion, or a new relationship,
we experience stress as we readjust our lives. In so adjusting to different circumstances, stress will help or
hinder us depending on how we react to it.
Acute Stress
Acute stress is the most common form of stress. It comes from demands and pressures of the recent past and anticipated
demands and pressures of the near future. Acute stress is thrilling and exciting in small doses, but too much is
exhausting. A fast run down a challenging ski slope, for example, is exhilarating early in the day. That same ski run
late in the day is taxing and wearing. Skiing beyond your limits can lead to falls and broken bones. By the same token,
overdoing on short-term stress can lead to psychological distress, tension headaches, upset stomach, and other symptoms.
Episodic Acute Stress
There are those, however, who suffer acute stress frequently, whose lives are so disordered that they are studies in
chaos and crisis. They're always in a rush, but always late. If something can go wrong, it does. They take on too much,
have too many irons in the fire, and can't organize the slew of self-inflicted demands and pressures clamoring for their
attention. They seem perpetually in the clutches of acute stress.>
Chronic Stress
While acute stress can be thrilling and exciting, chronic stress is not. This is the grinding stress that wears people
away day after day, year after year. Chronic stress destroys bodies, minds and lives. It wreaks havoc through long-term
attrition. It's the stress of poverty, of dysfunctional families, of being trapped in an unhappy marriage or in a despised
job or career. It's the stress that the never-ending "troubles" have brought to the people of Northern Ireland, the
tensions of the Middle East have brought to the Arab and Jew, and the endless ethnic rivalries that have been brought to
the people of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.