This disease.

[clandestine]

This disease.

I wonder how many young men have been driven to suicide from this disease. Not that I'm any where near this mindset; but I wonder.

It can be so taxing for a person, emotionally. So incredibly crushing, especially at a young age.

I wonder as well how men and women with alopecia totalis cope? Maybe they're better off, having never had hair at all to have lost.

This disease wages war on the spirit. Our options are so limited; I find the feeling of helplessness often overwhelms all.

This disease wages war on the spirit.

[Notcoolanymore]

This hair loss crap takes a lot out of you that's for sure. I wonder how much time I waste every day looking in the mirror, on this site, etc.

[VictimOfDHT]

This curse, this cancer (hair loss) has completely ruined my life. I don't think there's a word that exists that I can use to describe what it's done to me. I live like a ghost. I almost don't exist if it weren't for the space I occupy.

[25 going on 65]

This thread is ultimate.

I wonder how many young men have been driven to suicide from this disease. Not that I'm any where near this mindset; but I wonder.

Same. Ugliness kills, especially acquired from something like MPB....first the soul & then the body
Sometimes I see news stories about some guy who killed himself, or went on a killing spree & killed himself after. News people waste a bunch of time speculating about why he did it....but when they shows the guy's pic it is so blatantly obvious what made him snap
The mirror
What the f*ck is our society doing....creating foundations for diseases that affect 1 in every 100,000,000 people when this disease has disfigured billions of human faces

[win200]

I always wonder how the really young guys who have severe loss cope with it. It was difficult enough for me to be a NW2 at age 30, which is nothing--nothing. My heart breaks for some of the guys on here who are 20-24 and looking at NW4 territory. I'm sure there are some guys whose self-esteem is durable enough to withstand that, but I don't know if I could have taken that. It's one thing to be 35, 40 with hair like that--you'll have plenty of peers in the same boat. But in your early 20s, you'll likely be alone, which is the worst thing imaginable.

[fred970]

NW5 and 24 here. And I'm indeed the only one. My friends aren't even showing any sign of thinning. I started to lose it at 17, I know it must sound horrible, and it has been. But like Spencer often said, there is life after hair loss. When I read that statement, back when I was 19, I didn't believe it. But 5 years later, I must say he was right.

How do I cope with it? I guess I was good looking to begin with, being 6"3' certainly helped. Minoxidil allowed me to keep a few hairs there and there, I think it makes a difference, that's why I would advise even someone who is NW5 to get on it.

But my self-esteem was never really high and I spent most my teen years convinced I was below average in the looks department. Apparently this was not the case. Ironically, I've never been as confident about my looks as I am right now. It's just that yeah, I'm bald, at 24, and it's sometimes hard to accept.

[greatjob!]

I always wonder how the really young guys who have severe loss cope with it. It was difficult enough for me to be a NW2 at age 30, which is nothing--nothing. My heart breaks for some of the guys on here who are 20-24 and looking at NW4 territory. I'm sure there are some guys whose self-esteem is durable enough to withstand that, but I don't know if I could have taken that. It's one thing to be 35, 40 with hair like that--you'll have plenty of peers in the same boat. But in your early 20s, you'll likely be alone, which is the worst thing imaginable.

Try being a NW 3 in high school. Luckily I was very athletic, I was the quarterback of the football team and played basketball as well, but it was hell. I eventually quite playing basketball because I couldn't stand being in front of so many people with my hair looking so terrible. Like someone else said there really are no words to describe how negatively this has effected my life, I could tell thousands of stories. I became angry, started drinking heavily, getting into fights, I can't say it all came from my hairloss, but I do think it is the main underlying issue. It's very hard to deal with hairloss when you're still developing mentally, I was around 12-13 years old when I started losing my hair.

[Notcoolanymore]

I've never been as confident about my looks as I am right now.

All the a$$ you are getting right now...Imagine how much action you would be getting if you had your hair. You would have six pack abs from the sex alone.

[fred970]

I don't think it would be any different. I would probably get less had I kept my hair.

Losing my hair at 17 forced me to cultivate a good personality, a sense of humour and a sense of fashion.

Moreover, girls keep telling me how dorky I look with hair when they dig through my old photos albums on Facebook.

[Notcoolanymore]

I don't think it would be any different. I would probably get less had I kept my hair.

Losing my hair at 17 forced me to cultivate a good personality, a sense of humour and a sense of fashion.

Moreover, girls keep telling me how dorky I look with hair when they dig through my old photos albums on Facebook.

Good point.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

This disease.

I wonder how many young men have been driven to suicide from this disease. Not that I'm any where near this mindset; but I wonder.

It can be so taxing for a person, emotionally. So incredibly crushing, especially at a young age.

I wonder as well how men and women with alopecia totalis cope? Maybe they're better off, having never had hair at all to have lost.

This disease wages war on the spirit. Our options are so limited; I find the feeling of helplessness often overwhelms all.

This disease wages war on the spirit.

Clandestine, you're wise beyond your years and your posts are very eloquent and true. People who do not suffer from hair loss (or suffer from extremely minimal hair loss) cannot comprehend the drastic and negative effects that hair loss has on a person's life. As Spencer says, hair loss colors every aspect of our lives from our relationships with women to our motivation to achieve and succeed in life. When a person's visual looks erode, it rages hell on their spirit.

You're right about our options being so limited as well. As I've said before, statistically only about 5-10 percent of people seek treatment for hair loss. That's not because they're simply content in watching their looks deteriorate before their eyes, it's because today's treatment options are so limited and/or ineffective.

Another thing that I can't stand is the state of the hair restoration industry today. They seem to be perfectly content on making exorbitant amounts of money on hair transplants and wigs, while not doing much of anything to innovate to help out the majority of hair loss sufferers. And the small innovations that they do make and pigeon-holed to hair transplantation and will never appeal to the majority of hair loss sufferers. So-called innovations like an ARTAS robot or head tattooing will never even come close to appealing to the mainstream.

[Henkeh91]

So true! Im young and balding very bad (NW4)! I have mild suicidal thoughts that comes and goes and Im also crying now and than (which is unlike me) because of my damn hair loss!

I have to say that I admire young guys that doesn´t care about their hair loss because I find it almost impossible to accept the fact that Im balding.

[goldnt]

It is very difficult, but i know i am definitely much stronger person emotionally after all this balding issue in my life.

[VictimOfDHT]

So true! Im young and balding very bad (NW4)! I have mild suicidal thoughts that comes and goes and Im also crying now and than (which is unlike me) because of my damn hair loss!

I have to say that I admire young guys that doesn´t care about their hair loss because I find it almost impossible to accept the fact that Im balding.

This (hair loss) is a CURSE. No less. It's a cancer that destroys the soul. I wish I could ask god WHAT the purpose of this curse is. That's all I want to know.

5 1/2 hair transplants and over $22,000 and 13 years and my whole life on hold and I keep losing my transplanted hair. Soon I don't think I'll have any left, all thanks to a rare condition that causes the grafts to be rejected with time. Only 1 or 2% of people have this curse and I happen to be one of those!! Thank you god for this special gift that doesn't stop destroying.

Unfortunately suicide isn't an option because I don't to go to another hell. I've contemplated going homeless. It would be nice if the ground just opened up and swallowed me. I really don't know what to do with my life any more.

[fred970]

Damn that's harsh. Hang in there!

Just out of curiosity, what is this condition?