Emotional Effects of Hair Loss
Hair loss is known as a medical problem, but it can easily
become emotionally troublesome, as hair loss has been known to
cause extreme emotional distress. This is because our hair has a
deep effect on how we feel about inner and outer selves.
Hair loss is especially difficult for women, as many women judge
their sexual appeal and self worth by their outward look. The
sudden loss of hair has been reported to make women feel
worthless, ugly, and unwanted. While the women often wear wigs
in public at home they know their husbands or boyfriends will
see the balding and even if the man completely understands this
is likely to make the woman feel insecure.
For children who lose their hair due to medication or illness
the fate can seem like a death sentence in itself. Other
children simply don't understand the effects of chemotherapy,
and if they do, they tend to be afraid of the sick child because
they've never been exposed to severe illness or death. For many
children losing their hair may also mean losing their friends.
Even though it is more acceptable for men to
bald, they too have issues about the loss of their hair.
Perhaps this is because hair loss is seen as a sign of aging. It
doesn't help much that the balding usually begins about the time
a man is entering the middle of his life and is beginning to
rethink what he has and has not accomplished. For men, the
balding seems to reaffirm the fact that they are old and that
their life is coming closer to an end.
Coping with these feelings is different for everyone. Covering
the balding will give one more confidence but it may not
alleviate all the feelings that the balding originally caused.
For this reason further coping mechanisms are often needed.
Women may need therapy. This will help them find self worth in
things other than their physical appearance. While many women
may not want to see a therapist, it is important that they do
what it takes to feel important and appreciated with or without
hair.
Children have found peace in the past through friends or family
members who have shaved their heads too while the child was
bald. Mothers and family friends who shave their heads can
donate their hair to be made into wigs for bald children. This
proactive decision will make the child feel happy, proactive,
less strange, and more accepted.