can anxiety cause hair loss?

[topback]

My hair is always stinging where I'm losing it and the stinging usually only comes after an anxious thought. Usually if I have a mini panic attack ten minutes later my hair start stingin. I can even spot the pain with my finger and if I apply pressure it feels painful and I feel my scalp kind of pulsing with a heart beat throb. I also noticed more painful stinging and falling hairs days I didn't get a lot of sleep or feel fatigued. Help sos.

[Artista]

Anxiety and STRESS WILL create issues with not only your hair but with your health overall too!
There is no reason to become stresses out or to allow anxiety to overcome you.
Stay POSITIVE. Accept the realities of your life.
All things in life can and will get BETTER especially if you stay positive and accepting.

[Avick]

Well...yes. Anxiety causes two kinds of hair loss- 1.Telogen effluvium: In this type of hair loss, the hairs enter the resting phase prematurely all of a sudden. Generally 30% or so hair follicles are affected. Hair fall is noticed within 2-4 months of the shock. The shock follicles get can be due to anxiety.
2. Immediate hair fall: Most derms n docs say that this is not possible. But it possible and very common. When a person is severly anxious, the hormones in his body goes through imbalance, nutrient absorption decreases etc. Anxiety increases a hormone called cortisol which is responsible for hair loss. Most hairs lost because of this is generally hairs in telogen phase so that is really not a problem if it does not go on for long.
Hope it helps

[fred970]

No. How do you define stress anyway? There is no proof that "stress" (whatever that is) can cause hair loss.

[jamesst11]

No. How do you define stress anyway? There is no proof that "stress" (whatever that is) can cause hair loss.

This is a good point. Throughout history, humans in general put there bodies under extreme physiological stress and it's really hard to draw a correlation between which triggers hair loss and what does not. I am a firm believer that if the stress induced within the body is great enough, it can definitely trigger TE. I have been through this and know countless others that have as well. The thing that makes it tricky is that TE can be like a death sentence to someone experiencing MPB... Once again, I know this for fact because it happened to me twice. After knee surgery, I had TE and lost hair rapidly. The problem was, I had a difficult time regrowing it, because those follicles were already a victim to MPB. My hair "aged" 5 years in 4 months.
In terms of emotional stress, I personally believe that if severe enough it can cause drastic hormonal and other biochemical imbalances in the body, that your body will, like any physical injury, work hard to repair. In that scenario, your body stops giving a shit about "pointless" things, like your hair and can send a great percentage of follicles into telogen, or even induce TE... If you have MPB, once again, this can be very traumatic for your hair

[Artista]

"Three types of hair loss that can be associated with high stress levels include: Telogen effluvium. In telogen effluvium , significant stress pushes large numbers of hair follicles into a resting phase"

"If your doctor said your hair loss is from anxiety and/or stress, yes, stress, including the stress caused by being overly anxious, can cause hair loss, thinning, and balding. Being stressed and anxious (worried, apprehensive, fretful, fearful) causes the body to produce the stress response."

[Artista]

"Three types of hair loss that can be associated with high stress levels include: Telogen effluvium. In telogen effluvium , significant stress pushes large numbers of hair follicles into a resting phase"

"If your doctor said your hair loss is from anxiety and/or stress, yes, stress, including the stress caused by being overly anxious, can cause hair loss, thinning, and balding. Being stressed and anxious (worried, apprehensive, fretful, fearful) causes the body to produce the stress response."

[topback]

No. How do you define stress anyway? There is no proof that "stress" (whatever that is) can cause hair loss.

For me stress would be increased heartbeat, racing thoughts that lead to more stress, stressing over hopeless stuff is twice as bad, none of my friends really have a shitty life like me and they all have better hair. I don't really even have a lot of hair loss in my family just my dad and one uncle. Both grandparents had hair and so did the rest of my uncles. Probably is mostly genetic though as all my friends with good hair have dad's with good hair. I know one other guy balding like me and he has a bald dad also.

[ChloeMica]

Yes, it will! I have suffered hair loss because of anxiety in high school. Terrible! After that period, I have been better.

[Clinicspots]

Anxiety cannot turn hair gray, but alopecia areata tends to target dark hairs, so those that already have gray hairs may be more likely to find only their dark hairs coming out, and thus it will appear that their hair has turned gray. it's important to note that not all hair loss is caused by anxiety, but when you have anxiety it's easy to worry more about your hair. Many people with anxiety pay too much attention to things that occur naturally, believing that they must all be caused by anxiety. It's even possible to convince yourself you're suffering from hair loss when in fact there is no hair loss at all.