For a person with all their hair, losing it may not seem like a big deal, but that’s not the case. The following will help you see how hair loss could affect mental health.
Sense of Identity
People may not think about it much, but hair is linked to identity in many ways. You can cut your hair, let it grow, or braid it. You can do so much to change how you look. If you lose your hair, you’ve lost these choices.
You no longer have control over a part of your identity. What is worse is this change continues to get worse as time moves on. You lose more control, which may affect your mental health. Losing your hair is almost like losing a part of your personal history only to watch it disappear.
Social-Related Concepts
The other reason that losing your hair could end up affecting your mental health has to do with the people around you. Society places value on hair more than you realize. Just watch a few TV shows or movies and you’ll see how important beautiful hair is. It won’t take long before you see a commercial about how to care for your hair.
You’ll see images of beautiful people with hair. At the same time, balding people aren’t seen positively. Sometimes, these folks are made fun of. It is easy to see why someone who is losing their hair may start looking for solutions like the newly-approved laser cap that helps grow your hair without anyone even knowing.
Concerns About Aging
One thing associated with hair loss is aging. For a long time, you could live your life thinking you are pretty young, but the moment you start to lose your hair mortality stares back at you whenever you see yourself in the mirror. This could make you feel sad, and that could affect your mental health.
Some people can handle the idea of aging and won’t be affected by it, but that doesn’t mean everyone can do that. If looking youthful is important to you, then these changes could start to make you feel bad. Your mood can begin to change. You could end up feeling depressed as you continue to lose your hair, and you can see how this ends up being a problem.
Sexual Crisis
It may not seem obvious to you at first, but your sexuality is linked to your hair. The way you use your hair to express your sexuality is up to you, but the fact remains that hair is a part of this. People don’t think about this since their hair is always there for them to use in whatever way they see fit.
You can start to imagine how someone may feel when that power is taken away from them. Your mental health could definitely be affected by this situation. You might find it difficult to feel like yourself, feel sexual, or even attractive. All of these feelings could end up causing issues like depression. This could even lead to intimacy issues and other problems.
Hope Continues to be Hurt
Feeling like you are helpless can hurt your mental health as well, and that is what many people who are losing their hair experience. These people want to find a way to bring their hair back. This probably leads you to all sorts of solutions and being disappointed most of the time.
This is not to say there aren’t effective solutions out there, but it can take time before you find a treatment that works for you. All of those failures could end making you feel depressed because you might lose faith. You don’t want to be in this position, yet there are many companies out there offering solutions even though the product might not live up to your expectations.
These are just some ways hair loss could end up hurting your mental health and why it’s important to address it one way or another. Talk to a hair specialist as soon as you can or find well-reviewed solutions. If you are currently dealing with this and need to talk to a therapist, don’t be afraid to seek help.
