I feel that it’s the perfect time to talk about stress, what with all the changes that have been made regarding how we live our lives, and really, how it happened overnight. I mean, one day I was working and thought I would be closed for 2 weeks, and the next thing I knew, it was 6 weeks and counting.
With all of these changes, all of the fear set in, too: fear of loss of income, loss of my business, of my kids not taking it seriously, of how the hair salon experience will change, and of myself or my family getting sick (my son is a front line worker and he has had many days of anxiety as fellow staff suddenly don’t come to work anymore).
There are many ways that stress impacts us and the truth is, you may not be aware right away, except for the stress eating… that we feel right away (as my stretchy pants roll off my belly on my way to the pantry)!
When it comes to stress, our bodies go into a fight or flight mode. For example, here is the case of Client X (mid-30s, extremely underweight, and very distraught):
X cried the entire visit. Her husband (bless his heart) who made the call did all the talking because she was too emotional, and every time she tried to answer my questions, she broke down.
This is quite common for me to see in my private safe space in my hair salon. At times, I feel like Eve Ensler interviewing women about their vaginas because, well, nobody talks about them. Hair loss and hair thinning is quite similar.
Lets get back to Client X. She brought me sandwich-sized bags of hair, and her hair was in clumps attached to her head, as she was afraid and had stopped washing and brushing her hair entirely.
This, too, is a very common reaction when it comes to hair loss. I assure you, washing and brushing your hair WILL NOT cause your hair to fall out. In fact, it’s the opposite, but more on that in another post.
X and I get to the question of what her stress level is. X finally speaks. 18 months ago, her husband battled cancer at the same time that they were planning a family, and just like that, their lives completely changed.
X didn’t notice hair loss at that time. Rapid weight loss, yes, as that is much easier to detect, but she only began to notice her hair loss 1 year later, and she discovered it would take months to see a dermatologist.
So, her hubby searched and found me: a certified trichologist.
X had experienced such trauma and it snowballed, which had a huge affect on her poor diet, lack of sleep, and sadly, the loss of life as she knew it. Yes, her husband survived, but as many of us know, it never leaves you. There are daily reminders and many times, the partner suffers in silence out of guilt.
At this moment in time, there are many of you experiencing high levels of stress, so I give you permission to take good care of yourself, eat well, sleep well, take your supplements, and drink red wine (it has resveratrol!!!).
Take a moment for yourself; this too shall pass.
And as for Client X, she got better. We took baby steps, she followed my direction, and the hair loss stabilized after 1 year.
I wish I could tell you that it’s the same for all of my clients but sadly it is not, as some hair loss is permanent, but I have other solutions for them.
In many cases, the fact that there is someone to talk to without judgement or blame, who will listen and understand, will in and of itself help.
All you have to do is take the first step and call.
Together, we can find your solution.
