Hair Loss at a Young Age Lead to Problems with Alcohol Abuse

Hello,
I’m a 46 yr old male. My brother was killed in a horrific car accident when I was 9 yrs old. Shortly after my hair began to fall out in dime size patches. By the time I was 10 my hair was completely gone. Docs said it was alopecia and they began a regiment of cortisone shots in my scalp. It was pure hell growing up with no hair as kids are so cruel. I wore a wig through the 10th grade and finally got rid of it by 11th.

I write this because I know giving kids a false sense of the hair growing back will ultimately do more harm than good. To fit in I hung out with the drinking crowd and I’ve been paying for that ever since. I slowly became a high functioning Alcoholic. Being in the USAF working flightlines where drinking after work was the norm and promoted did not help.

I’ve come to realize that drinking was just a symptom of my deep routed problems which began when I was 9. Fear and the fear of rejection were my underlying problems. I feel you have to be straight with kids and get them into counseling at a young age. This will do wonders for self confidence and spirit. If someone had got me some help with dealing with emotions at that tender age it would have saved me a lot of time and bruised knuckles.

I counseled a kid when I was stationed in the UK and his mother was almost in tears when I told her that I knew what her young son was going through! I don’t know why I felt compelled to write this but maybe it will help someone out there

Take Care

Thank you for sharing this with us.