Simone Thomas sheds some light on how stress can lead to hair loss and how to treat it at its root cause
Traditionally, men are socialised into believing they should be providers and protectors, whereas women are taught to care for their families and to provide emotional support.
These stereotypical gender roles have created a stigma around men expressing how they feel as they are taught to ‘man up’ and not express emotion. However, times are changing and in more recent years women are becoming powerful CEOs and men are having open and honest discussions about mental health as they realise showing emotion is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of power.
To help spread awareness and funds for men’s mental health and suicide prevention, November is renamed, Movember and men across the world grow a moustache in support of this cause. With three out of four of every suicide in the UK being carried out by men, it is imperative that we continue to raise awareness about the importance of men’s mental health.
It is fantastic to see more and more high-profile individuals coming forward to talk about their experiences with stress and depression. Most recently, former international footballer, Junior Eldstål, uploaded a video to LinkedIn about his struggles with his mental health and anxiety. To delve deeper I am excited to announce that Junior Eldstål, will be joining me on my podcast series, ‘Living Life Well’. We will be talking about his life and how his experiences have shaped him into the man he is today so be sure to stay tuned.
Stress has been a popular topic this year as it is something most of us have experienced during the recent pandemic. Stress is not only a killer, but it can also trigger any imbalances in our bodies, cause illness, skin complaints, hair loss, gut issues, weight gain and poor life choices. How we cope with stress and how we choose to look after ourselves is an ongoing journey as we continue to learn what works for us and what does not. For some ideas on how to manage stress levels click here.
As mentioned, stress can have a detrimental effect on our body, one of these symptoms is hair loss.
Nearly half of all men in the UK will experience alopecia, a medical term for a variety of different types of hair loss. One form of alopecia is ‘alopecia areata’, a condition that creates patches of baldness. Another common form of hair loss is ‘Male Pattern Baldness’ where the hair line begins to recede, followed by the thinning of the hair on the crown and the temples.
Over the years, I have treated thousands of clients, including men, suffering with stress induced hair loss. The first thing I do is look at their diets and analyse whether they are consuming enough vital vitamins and nutrients needed to maintain a healthy gut.
Stress affects our gut health and as I always say, the gut is the mothership when it comes to looking and feeling good. The old adage saying ‘you are what you eat’ could not be truer as eating a balanced diet made up of whole foods forms the best foundation to treating a plethora of issues including hair loss.
If you’re suffering from hair loss please do book in for a consultation over here.
It has been a tough year; however, it is amazing to see so many men (and women) being proactive about mental health! Stay tuned for my podcast with footballer Junior Eldstål, where we delve a little deeper into the topic of men and how they deal with mental health!