Is it stress causing hair fall or hair fall causing stress?

New Delhi, Dec 16 "I was someone who was always complimented for my bouncy hair. But, now, things have changed. Nobody appreciates them because of the constant hair fall I have been facing," shares a public relation specialist adding that this has become one of the reasons for her mental stress now.

And there are several stories where we found how hair fall was related to the mental health of a person.

"Ok so apparently in the last two years since I have been working, my hair density has fallen rapidly. Earlier the patch covered about 35-40 per cent of the crown area now it covers almost 90 per cent. So to be blunt now, I have the hairs of a late 60s guy while I am still in my early 20s," shares a guy working at an IT firm.

While it is believed that stress causes hair fall, some examples and studies show that hair fall causes stress too.

According to studies, significant hair loss can lead to low self-esteem and a variety of other mental health difficulties ranging from stress and worry to suicidal ideation in extreme situations.

Hair loss is connected with a plethora of mental complications since it is a phenomenon that can affect a person's self and identity. Hair loss often causes chronic psycho-emotional and psycho-social stress. This is often found when combined with other complications such as depression, anxiety, personality disorder, among others.

Through a study conducted by Dr Debraj Shome, Director of The Esthetic Clinics, named, 'Iceberg phenomenon of alopecia associated public health ramifications on the quality of life among adults in India', it was found that men and women who have alopecia or hair loss can potentially have a psychological impact in the form of stress, anxiety, depression, loss of confidence, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, and social phobia. In a sample size of around 800 patients who were all above 18 years of age, 442 were male and 358 were female.

It was noticed based on the data that between the ages of 18-30 years, 27 per cent of females and 30 per cent of males reported hair fall problems that impacted their social life.

"Hair loss has the potential to turn every day of their life into a "bad hair day". Several studies have established an association between dermatological disorders affecting patients' mental health, thereby increasing the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among them," says Dr Shome.

Is hair loss affecting your sexual health?

Not only mental health, but experts believe that hair loss is also related to the sexual health of a person.

According to the study, alopecia interferes with the sex life of 72 percent of women as compared with 63 per cent of men. For 73 per cent of women as compared with 61 per cent of men, alopecia posed a problem for the people they love. Alopecia, however, took a toll on the professional life of both men as well as women, it noted.

Anupama Menon, the nutritionist at The Right Living, says, "Alopecia areata causes loss in confidence & self-esteem, heightened self-consciousness, and poor sense of body image. The affected person ends up feeling a sense of loss or having lost out on something, men relate to "feeling anxious" while women are reported to "feeling embarrassed". All of this affects the sex life of the individual as he/she may feel less desirable or attractive."

Dr Harsiddhi Rathod, Shalby Multispeciality Hospitals Ahmedabad, says, "Dihydrotestosterone

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