The impact of a toxic relationship on a person’s mental health is well-accepted, but what do we know about how a toxic relationship affects physical health? Especially your hair? Turns out, we know a lot.
Can Toxic Relationships Affect Your Physical Health?
While our bodies may not be able to pinpoint the exact source of our stress, they do react to stress often before we recognize it. The increased stress can also impact your stress hormones (such as cortisol), and that can lead to hair loss.
Netdoctor points out, “‘Research shows that the physical effects include poor sleep, a higher risk of heart problems, high blood sugar levels, high blood pressure, obesity, weakened immune system and organ damage.”
Does Stress from Toxic Relationships Cause Hair Loss?
Yes, some women have reported that a bad relationship caused them to lose their hair and that a newfound relationship cured it.
Anabel Kingsley, a London-based trichologist and daughter of hair-growth guru Philip Kingsley, told Vogue that the link between severe emotional trauma and telogen effluvium is well-documented. The process can begin weeks or months after the event and continue indefinitely.
The resulting alopecia can cause additional emotional distress and even exacerbate the problem.
Is Hair Loss a Symptom of PTSD?
According to one study, as many as 10% of the people diagnosed with alopecia areata may have some form of PTSD. As much as 85% have some major form of trauma in their history.
So even if your toxic relationship was not so bad that it caused PTSD, the chances are it could be causing your hair loss. The problem, of course, is determining the type of hair loss you have and what is causing it.
In many toxic relationships, the stress hormones and behaviors brought on by the relationship may simply accelerate the hair loss life cycle – leading to an overall increase in shedding and no particular pattern to the hair loss. In other cases, it may trigger an immune response like alopecia areata where your immune system attacks your hair follicles.
No matter what the cause of your hair loss or thinning, reaching out to a hair loss specialist for a consultation and a hair & scalp analysis will help with peace of mind and put you on the right track to slowing or reversing your hair loss.
RHRLI Can Help Stop Hair Loss Due to Toxic Relationships
When you schedule your first visit with Robotic Hair Restoration Long Island, we will help you determine the cause of your hair loss. While we can’t necessarily extract you from that toxic relationship, we can help you identify it as the source of your hair loss.
Once we figure out the cause of your hair loss, the next step is determining a course of treatment. We can help you reduce the impact of stress-related hair loss, reverse, or even replace your lost hair. Contact us today to find out how.