Does Baldness Cause Stress or Does Stress Cause Baldness?

It’s not much of a consolation, but at least those of us coping with baldness and thinning hair know it’s not our fault. It’s our genetics. It’s our bodies. It’s the diseases we’ve been fighting. We didn’t choose to have this happen. The hair just fell out. We are completely and totally blameless.

Okay…like I said, not much of a consolation. But we gotta have something to cling to.

But now, I’m going to throw a wrench in the midst of this justification:

You may be able to slow the hair loss process. A recent study done in California showed that chronic stress played a big factor in hair loss in rats. But a drug that blocked the same stress factors helped them to not only stop hair loss but actually be able to grow it back.

You’re not a rat. And obviously this study is not going to perfectly relate to you. But we all know that stress plays a role in male pattern baldness and thinning hair. It may not be the cause, but it can sure make those hair shafts fall out faster.

And so…here we find ourselves in the middle of an ironic situation.

I don’t know about you, but when my hair started to go, I was stressed. I spent hours looking in the mirror hoping that I was mistaken. I wasn’t losing my hair. It was a trick of the light or my eyes were going blurry. But after a while, it became very obvious that I had male pattern baldness. And it stressed me out.

For most men, hair loss is a stressful situation. But now I’m telling you that if you stop stressing, you could slow the process down. Okay – that’s a little easier said than done. How the heck are we supposed to pull that one off? Besides the stress we experience throughout the day, we’re also supposed to take control of our hair loss stress?

Yep, that’s exactly what I’m saying.

It’s a little late for me. I’ve already lost most of my hair, so I can be stressed all I want. But what can you do to lower your stress levels and potentially enjoy a few more years with your hair? I’m not sure. But maybe it’s time for men to do a little shopping, get mani-pedis, and take a bubble bath.

Well, either that, or you can spend some time shooting hoops. Whatever works for you, give it a try. And if you’ve got some great suggestions for de-stressing, we’d love to have you post comments.

Good luck. Think happy thoughts, and keep that remaining hair on your head looking good!