My hair's thinning now :(

[bunnii]

As some of you may know i've been battling with depression and sociophopbia for some time now, that and lack of sleep and being woken up whenever I do sleep has made me very upset and angry all the time. this has just now led to my hair comming out more than normal I was finger combing yesterday and it was coming out in clumps, not huge but a good 300-400% more than normal :( I'm hoping its just temporary and will stop soon, as my hair is about the only thing I like about myself at the moment. I'm trying to relax by listening to calming music and playing games (some people reckon that makes stress worse but not me :D ) Is there anything that I could do other than what I am doing to try and reduce the shedding?

thanks in advance for replies :flowers:

I've started a blog about my situation if that would help people 'get' my sitaution a little better although i'm not entirely sure what its all about myself :lol:

[mommy2one05]

Sorry I do not have any advice.
But you are not alone: when I found this group earlier this year my hair was in the iii category for thickness but now I am scared to remeasure because it has thinned alot or ALOT.
Part of it may be due to having a baby but that was seven months ago now and I have been going through alot of stress. I did go to the dr. recently for some health issues but all tests (thyroid, iron, etc) came back fine.
I would take vitamins but I am not good at taking alot of pills so I don't know what to take ( a multi, b vitamin, hair vitamin, etc.).
Just hang in there.

[Peggy E.]

There tends to be a natural increase in shedding this time of year in the northern hemisphere - of which rainy England is a part. And, yes, stress can also play a part in your overall physical health and well-being, of which hair and nails seem to be a natural red flag when there's something going on inside.

I want to tell you not to worry about it, but that's not realistic. Of course you can't help worrying about it, but your hair is beautiful and you are taking excellent care to keep it so. You might try wearing it up and out of harm's way more often, so you're not raking through it as much thereby not seeing so much thinning.

And, please, take as much tender loving care of yourself as you do for your hair. Depression is not simply a "state of mind," but a chemical imbalance. It can be treated and should be treated, for you deserve to have a full and happy life - it's what we're on this earth to do, to LIVE with joy, love, challenge and commitment!

[bunnii]

Hey thanks for your replies.

mommy2one05 - Sorry to hear you have had alot of stress in your life, I know the feeling :( . I have been taking a b vitamin complex because i'm vegetarian and need the energy help. and i've been thinking about taking my hair pills again but they're scary huge , but I guess i'm just gonna have to try taking them.

Peggy E. - Thanks you for your kind comments, I was welling up reading them :) I am starting to deal with the depression with counselling. I'm not keen on going back on pills, I was on citalopram before and they really made me worse than I was before I went on them :( So this time around i'm trying to deal with the issues that are causing me to be so low.
today i've been eating better and drinking cups of tea, also i've been deep moisurising my face. and i'm feeling better as the day goes on, which I can only see as positive.

thanks again :flowers:

[julya]

I have been having problems with my depression also, and I had a pretty major shed as well. It was so upsetting on top of all of my other issues. It seems like you are taking the right steps to help yourself. I ended up needing to take medication, but not everyone does.

My shedding has reduced back to normal now, but it lasted for about 6 months. I'm hoping to regain some of the thickness I lost but I know that it will take a long time. The only advice I have is to try to be gentle with yourself and treat yourself kindly.

[Darkhorse1]

((((hugs)))
I had this same thing happen as a result of major stress. I couldn't believe how much hair I was shedding. I was picking up piles of it and I was soo upset. I also had hard, crusty dandruff scales. My doctor explained why stress affects your hair, and the good news? It WILL grow back in.

So, take a deep breath and know that this WILL pass, and your hair WILL grow in fuller/thicker. I know some people who did scalp massages when this happened to them, and it stimulated the folicles. Try this for yourself and it also may help with some meditative processes too. Good luck! :)

[Keiera]

I've also been going through some stress related hairloss over the past few months. My thickness went from a full 4 inches of ponytail circumference to 3.5 in the span of about 5 months. I've been saving what I comb out or what comes out in the shower, and it's insane how much hair I lose when I wash or finger comb. I've got a little brown baggie full of lost hair that I've saved. It's depressing, and feeling depressed about it probably just causes more hairloss! I don't know how to regain thickness, but baby what you have to keep it in the best condition possible.

[Palomine]

Bunnii, Did you ever have your thyroid checked?

I think that even mild hypo-thyroidism can cause hair loss as well as depression and sleep problems and a degree of anxiety.

Maybe googling thyroid and or/iodine deficiency might give some ideas and your doctor could help.

Best wishes xx