How Mental Health Issues Can Cause Hair Loss

Hair loss may have many causes, especially for men as they get older. Some have a genetic predisposition to it, but for others, it is environmental, often the result of difficult life situations.

Mental health issues can impact on physical health in many ways, with hair loss being among them. This need not include chronic issues; stress caused by going through a difficult time at work, in relationships, or through a combination of factors can be a common cause.

It does this because stress causes your body to release a hormone called cortisol, which is associated with the ‘flight or fight’ response to danger. If this happens repeatedly, too much of the hormone in your system can cause hair follicles to switch to a ‘resting’ stage where they stop growing.

Stress and anxiety can directly lead to three different hair-loss conditions: telogen effluvium, alopecia areata and trichotillomania. Of these three, alopecia is one of the best-known conditions, not least as it is a common cause of hair loss in women.

A famous example of this is that of the TV presenter Gail Porter. In the 1990s she was a rising star, but away from the public eye, she was already suffering from anxiety and doubt.

This turned especially bad in an incident where FHM magazine, for whom she had done a naked shoot, projected her nude image onto the Houses of Parliament, without her permission or prior knowledge.

In 2020, she told BBC Scotland that this provided a particularly severe jolt, both through the loss of trust and the negative backlash she received from some people. Over the following few years, she developed anorexia and then alopecia.

This has led to permanent baldness, but for many, stress-induced hair loss is a temporary phenomenon.

However, if you are seeking treatment, it is important to understand what the root cause is. While many things can be done to halt or reverse hair loss, it is also important to address causes that may be connected with your state of mind.