Stress is more than just a trigger of emotional and psychological distress. It affects the body physically in many, many ways both in the short and long term. Stress is a relatively unavoidable part of life, yet it’s how you deal with it that makes all the difference to your health and wellbeing, especially when navigating the ups and downs of major life events.
When stressed, your body enters ‘fight or flight’ mode, activating several responses that negatively impact your blood sugar levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and heart rate. This puts you at greater risk of chronic pain, muscle tension, heart disease, hypertension, strokes, digestive issues and weakened immunity.
Stress can also directly exacerbate skin and hair problems, with conditions like eczema, rosacea and psoriasis all worsened with increased stress. When it comes to your hair, there’s more evidence that stress is a foe rather than a friend as PTSD UK explains:
“There’s a common expression used to describe being stressed, angry or frustrated: ‘I was tearing my hair out’. …In a nutshell, as a biological response to extreme stress or fear, our neurological system puts our body on ‘high alert’. This includes sending hormonal messages to shut down non-essential functions (such as skin repair, hair growth and digestion) so that energy can be directed towards actioning our instinctive responses to ‘danger’.”
With the hair lifecycle directly disrupted by the body’s fight or flight response, more follicles than usual enter the telogen or resting stage. This results in increased hair shedding, and eventually thinning and total loss.
Hair loss can so easily be triggered by stressful life events, with everything from major surgery, illness and significant weight loss to childbirth, bereavement, work issues, relationship breakdown and financial hardship all inducing the body’s fight or flight response. The good news is telogen effluvium – the official name for hair loss – is usually temporary in these circumstances.
Once the stressor resolves itself or is managed, hair growth typically resumes within 6 to 9 months. If hair loss is ongoing or severe, it’s worth consulting a doctor or dermatologist to rule out other causes such as alopecia areata, androgenetic alopecia or autoimmune conditions.
Managing stress well is an important life skill to learn, and it’ll help you deal with everyday stressors as well as the anxiety and trauma that comes with many of life’s bigger events.
Supporting your body from the inside out is a great place to begin, with a healthy, balanced diet the key to healthy hair growth and a speedy recovery. Take practical measures to lower stress every day; many individuals find mindfulness, meditation, yoga, gentle exercise and journaling effective stress management activities.
Here at Wigs4u, we understand just how difficult recovering from the stress of a major life event can be. Getting the support you need to take on every day with confidence and feel comfortable in your own skin is crucial to recovery.
Unfortunately hair regrowth takes time and patience. While you wait out the days, a wig can be a great comfort, and a quality wig does so much more than conceal thinning and baldness. It restores confidence, reduces further stress and anxiety, protects the scalp, simplifies your daily routine, and gives you time and privacy to negotiate hair regrowth.
Shop our women’s wigs and men’s wigs today to find your perfect match.
