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[S1069]Stress Hair Loss In Women

by Michael Russell, Mic

In the modern times in which we live, stress has become a part of everyday life. There is so much stress embedded even in simple, mundane, day to day living that it is almost unconceivable that stress could be eliminated from our lives. From school to work place, family to friends, the daily dose of stress every modern person encounters is terrifying and this, more often than not, tells on every system and part of the body.

Stress plays a very important role in our daily moods and feelings. You will agree with me that to be stressed up and happy at the same time is almost impossible. Stress comes with worries, anxieties, anger or even depression. No wonder stress has been associated with several life threatening diseases. Recent research has highlighted the role played by stress in diseases like high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke or diabetes. In some cases, it is even surprising to note that the relationship between stress and our emotions plays a more delicate role in causing some of these diseases, than even the conventional, established risk factors.

However, to suggest that stress can also induce hair loss could meet with utter amazement from some quarters. You want to ask; what the heck has stress got to do with my hair? Well, don't be shocked to hear this; stress really does cause hair loss and it has even gotten a medical name, to show you it's real. In medical jargon, Telogen Effluvium is the name given to hair loss induced by the sudden onset of stress.

Most people never get to realize this association because, oddly enough, the hair loss never seems to occur until after the end of the stressful event that is inducing it. It is explained that the sudden onset of a stressful event causes the hair follicles to stop hair production and relapse into a resting phase prematurely. The hair follicles remain in this resting phase for several months afterwards and during this period; an unusual amount of hair will be shed. However, for the most part, hair loss caused by stress is temporary and heals up after the hair follicles hair production.

If you really want to keep your hair intact, effectively managing stress could be a great thing to do. There are several ways to do this, as long as you are determined to reduce stress in your life and to live a better, stress-free life. Cutting out stress from our lives is undoubtedly a good thing, but we all know that it is almost impossible to expect to be free from stress totally. However, you can do a lot to reduce the impact of the daily stress on your body and health.

The first and perhaps most effective thing to do, is to learn the art of dissociation. Most people carry their emotions, worries, fears and anxieties on their faces and you almost always see stress in the faces of people you meet on the street. Dissociation entails freeing your mind and body from your problems and worries, at least for a short period of time, daily. Relax and forget your problems, even if just for a minute. The longer you can maintain this state, the better for your overall health. Our lives will be better without the worries we carry about. Forgetting your problems and worries allows the body to calm down and dissipate built-up stress. The longer you can maintain this state, the longer time the body has to calm down. This is not only good for your hair, it is very important for your overall health.

Another effective tool in managing stress is to find a form of relaxation that you really love and engage in it often. If you like reading, then find a lovely book and read for some period during the day or when you feel stress building up in you. If you are the movie type, then go see your favorite movie regularly. Just pick any fun activity which you enjoy and burn off that stress before your hair starts falling out.

Stress is something almost all of us have to live with. It's a fact of life, and while it can have it's beneficient effects, like spurring us on to greater achievements and making us far more focused and intense at a task, taken to an extreme stress can be detrimental to a person, both psychologically and physiologically. One of more annoying effects of extreme stress is a scientific condition called Telogen Effluvium. In layman's terms, this scary sounding name actually means that a person's hair starts thinning due to stress.

Stress doesn't directly contribute to one's hair loss, however. Despite what most people may think, it's actually a proven fact that the stress a person feels doesnt have a direct physical bearing on that person's hair loss. Being stressed out doesn't cause your hair to pop off your head faster; rather, when a person is under stress, he/she actually falls into certain personal habits that lead to hair loss. These personal habits ARE a direct effect of stress, and dealing with them will help to minimize stress-related hair loss. Here are a few of these habits, and a few precautions you can take to avoid them:

Poor Diet – When people are overstressed, they tend to neglect their eating habits. A person who has an unbalanced diet will eventually suffer from a lot of different physical ailments, and frankly hair loss would be the least of a person's worries in this case. However, hair loss is a relatively mild warning sign that you should correct your diet and start eating right. To show how a poor diet affects a person's hair, here is a little fact: normally a person WILL shed hair, roughly about 100 follicles a day, andthese are eventually replaced by the body naturally.

People who have an unbalanced diet will usually lose 200 to 300 hairs in a given day, more than the body can replenish immediately, and THIS causes hair loss. By getting a balanced diet rich in protein, with low fats and carbohydrate content, this type of hair loss can eventually be overcome, as the added nutrients will bring the rate at which you shed your hair to normal levels, and eventually your scalp will replenish your hair naturally.

Alchohol And Cigarettes – sad to say, as a result of stress some people turn to vices to cope with the stress. Alchohol and cigarettes are relaxants, and being readily available and legal, are sometimes overindulged in by people going through periods of high stress. While taken in moderate amounts, both of these vices already carry their own corresponding health risks. However, in times of stress even people who are merely casual social drinkers or smokers may suddenly increase their intake as a means of coping. During these times, the increased intake of alchohol or nicotine causes physical problems. You may have noticed that habitual chain-smokers, for example, have yellowed finger nails or yellow teeth.

Aside from these obvious effects, it's been shown in studies that hair loss is also one fo the effects of over indulgence in booze or smokes. The remedy for this is obvious; quit smoking or drinking. However, even if you're not ready or willing to give them up just yet, then at the very least cut back a bit, and avoid the habit of turning to the bottle or grabbing your lighter whenever you get stressed out.

Hair-Fiddling – funny as it seems, a lot of people still carry nervous habits with them throughout life that become more apparent in times of stress. Some of these can actually lead to hair loss. There are people who bite their nails, fiddle with their purse, twirl a ballpen… then there are the people who fiddle with their hair in one form or another. Some girls, for example, have the habit of chewing the ends of their hair when nervous, which leads to a lot of split ends. The nervous habits that most lead to hair loss are ones that involve more drastic versions of hair-nibbling, like actually pulling or twisting your own hair when annoyed, or scratching your head when stumped.

If you're one of the people who indulges in these nervous habits, then the solution is pretty much to discipline yourself to stop yanking your hair out by the roots whenever your kids blow up the kitchen or your boss starts screaming at you for your deadlines. If you must have a nervous habit, find something relatively harmless – buy a stressball, it'll even strengthen your grip.

Despite these sage little pieces of advice, however the fact remains that stress is still, ultimately, the cause of your hair falling out. The remedies given here are not permanent fixes, just patch jobs to stall the problem. If you really want to stop your own personal case of Telogen Effluvium (man, the name still sounds scary!), find a way to deal with your stress. Learn to laugh at your problems more, read a book, get more exercise, find a new hobby.

Above all, keeping healthy and having a positive, light, and happy outlook on the world keeps you from getting stressed out. Keep a smile on your face and in your heart, and you'll be surprised how easy it can get dealing the universe in general.

Article Source : Pg. 27

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Both Michael Russell & Lee Dobbins are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Michael Russell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Celebrities, Dieting and Diabetes Treatment. Michael RussellYour Independent guide to . Michael Russell's top article generates over 2240000 views. to your Favourites.

Lee Dobbins has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, Diamonds and Install Flooring. Lee Dobbins writes for .. Lee Dobbins's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.