Depression anxiety and hair loss are related to each other. Depression can cause emotional stress with physical symptoms like fatigue, aches, and pain. People who go through depression also notice hair loss. But researchers are not able to find any direct link between depression and hair loss. But it has been seen that people with depression also go through hair loss.
People experience sudden hair loss and thinning of hair because of stress and low mood. Depression and anxiety can cause because of stress so do hair loss, therefore there might be a connection between them. Mainly there are three types of hair loss because of stress first is telogen effluvium and the others are trichotillomania and alopecia areata.
Stress and hair loss are not permanent things. If you can control your stress levels you can grow your hair back. Below we will be covering the relationship between depression anxiety and hair loss.
Can Depression And Anxiety Cause Hair Loss
Anxiety can increase your stress level which can increase the DHT level which leads to hair loss. A person with depression and anxiety can go through hormonal changes which can cause hair loss problems. It is a common problem for people with anxiety and depression.
A study in 2012 has shown that there could be a link between hair loss, depression and anxiety. In this study, they have taken 157 women for the research. Researchers asked for hair colour, hair type, what shampoo they use, medications, health conditions and depression anxiety symptoms.
29 percent of women said they are having two or more depression symptoms. They are having a low mood, decrease in the enjoyment of daily activities and always feel very tired. Study shows that women between age of 20 to 30 have more chances of depression and hair loss.
The study was not able to show any direct link between hair loss and depression. But still, researchers say that high-stress levels and low mood can cause hair loss.
Hair Loss Due To Stress And Anxiety
Yes, hair loss can be caused by stress and anxiety. Mainly 3 types of hair loss are associated with stress and anxiety. These 3 types of hair loss are described below:
Telogen Effluvium
In telogen effluvium, high-stress levels put all hair to the telogen phase which is a resting phase. After a few months hair will start to fall out during combing the hair or washing the hair. There are two types of telogen effluvium first is chronic and the second is acute.
Due to the high level of stress body goes to shock which causes the hair to shift in the telogen phase. 70% of the hair of the scalp are started to shed after two months. If you are losing 100 hairs per day then it is normal. In most cases of telogen, the hair regrows. In very rare cases permanent baldness happens.
Trichotillomania
In Trichotillomania, a person starts to pull out his scalp and eyebrow hair. Trichotillomania is more of a psychological problem, in which a person going through negative thoughts and uncomfortable feelings start to pull his hair.
Trichotillomania person suffers from stress, tension and loneliness. Trichotillomania is common among teenagers and young adults. Trichotillomania is also known as trich. A person with Trichotillomania has an urge to pull his hair because they experiencing stress and tension. After pulling the hair they feel very relaxed.
Bald patches are formed in Trichotillomania. And one side of the scalp is more affected than the other.
Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata can be caused due to high level of stress and anxiety. People with alopecia areata usually go through severe stress. In alopecia areata, a person own immune system started to attack the hair follicle and cause hair loss. In alopecia areata, hair loss is not permanent.
After stress levels go normal a person can grow his hair back. It is an autoimmune disease that causes patchy hair loss. For most people, there will be a few patches in the head but in some cases, it can go to a very extreme level.
If you are having any hair loss symptoms then you should see a doctor or dermatologist. Hair can come back if treated at the right time.
Antidepressants And Hair Loss
Some study shows that certain antidepressants can cause hair loss. The research was done in 2018 with 8 years of data and more than 10 lakh users of antidepressants. Medications involved in this research are SNRI( serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), SSRI( selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and bupropion.
It is shown that people who are taking the bupropion are at higher risk of hair loss whereas the others are not at much risk of hair loss. There are other studies that show the connection between antidepressants and hair loss.
Hair loss is not a common side effect of hair loss but it is a rare effect. Be careful before taking the antidepressants and if you are having hair loss please contact your doctor.
Other Causes Of Hair Loss
Hair loss can be caused by a variety of reasons. Some of them are following:
- You inherit the genes of hair loss from your parents.
- Too much stress.
- Harmonal changes.
- Side Effects of certain medications.
- Result of some serious illness.
- Psoriasis
- Weightloss
- Vitamin Difficiency.
- Thyroid problems like hyporthyroidism. Thyroid is not producing enough harmones.
When Should I Go To The Doctor?
If you are really concerned about your hair loss then you should visit a dermatologist. Even if you don’t have depression visiting a dermatologist is a good thing otherwise you can lose more hair. Losing hair can increase your depression and anxiety. Depression anxiety and hair loss are very related.
Consistently losing hair can make your depression and anxiety worse. If you are seeing some of the signs then you should definitely go to the doctor:
- Bloating in face and stomach.
- Having memory problems.
- Changing in sleep pattern.
- Feeling nervous and tired.
- Brittle nails.
- Dry skin.
- Bald spot.
Anxiety And Depression Due To Hair Loss
Many people get depression and anxiety due to hair loss. There we are mentioning some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression due to hair loss:
- Depression is like having a low mood, losing interest and pleasure in activities, having sleeping problems.
- Constantly worrying and negative thinking is anxiety. Having difficult to control your feelings. Heart palpitation and sweating hand problem.
These symptoms can have a dangerous impact on a person’s health. Not only mental health but also physical health.
FAQ
Will hair loss from anxiety grow back?
If you are losing your hair because of anxiety then there are chances that it will grow back again when your stress levels become normal. Due to a high level of stress, your body goes through hormonal changes and produces DHT hormone which causes hair loss. When your stress level becomes normal, your DHT hormone also gets normal that can give good situations for your hair to grow back again.
Can depression make your hair fall out?
It has been noticed that people who have depression also goes through the hair loss problem. Depression can cause low mood and sleeping problems which can make your hair brittle and dry which will lead to hair fall problems.
Conclusion
In this article, we have talked about Depression Anxiety, And Hair Loss, Can Depression And Anxiety Cause Hair Loss, Hair Loss Due To Stress And Anxiety, Antidepressants And Hair Loss, Other Causes Of Hair Loss, When Should I Go To The Doctor? and Anxiety And Depression Due To Hair Loss.
Depression and anxiety can cause hair loss problems in both men and women but these hair loss problems are temporary which can be treatable with the right medication and therapy. If you are having any hair loss problems due to depression and anxiety then you should go to a doctor.
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