Teen with Very Stressful Situations is Suddenly Losing Hair
Recently my mother has noticed that my hair has thinned considerably. Over the past year I have undergone dental bone graft surgery, from which I swelled considerably and received a high fever of 102. My grandfather died, followed by my dog the following week. I have also had a large amount of stress do the the ever increasing pressure of school.
I am an 18 year old male from a family with no history of early male pattern baldness. The patterns of hair loss on my head do not seem to be of any consistent pattern. About two weeks ago I visited my dermatologist who proceeded to pull a few hair out of my head and quickly diagnose me with early male pattern balding. The more that I read on the internet I am starting to believe that I have a case of telogen effluvium, as I have had this sudden onset of hair loss following a period that seemed like my hair was not growing at all. My hair has always been thick and healthy. I am starting to become obsessed with my appearance and was wondering what, if any, of your opinions may be on this type of hair loss. Thank You
Maybe you need to talk to a counselor.
Hair loss is not the problem you should be concerned with right now. You’ve had a lot going on and you need to manage your stress. If you indeed have telogen effluvium, your hair will come back in 6 to 12 months. Good luck.
The word “Stress†actually relates to wear and tear as when the rubber meets the road on a tire or the brake pads pressing up against the rotor in the wheel. The term as it applies to living organisms was first introduced by Hans Seyle in the 1930’s who defined it as the consequence of the failure of an organism (human or animal) to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats, whether actual or imagined. Thus stress symptoms are the manifestation of a chronic state of responses to stress triggers that are actually benign. Even a thought can set off the same response mechanism that would be in play while standing in front of a hungry lion. Hence, Seyle’s definition still reaches to the heart of stress management; the idea of the response being inappropriate and engaging in a process of altering ones misperception of pending disaster or imminent danger.