Hair today, Gone tomorrow – Are you scared of going bald?

Fear is a powerful emotion: sometimes the most powerful of all others. In fact, fear is the strongest motivation for many of our activities. But what happens when the fear goes to extremes and becomes an irrational phobia?

It is normal to be worried about hair loss, but it could be your very own fear of baldness that is causing hair loss. Did you ever think of this?

May be you’re losing hair because of a phobia.

Human being is an interesting species. Each one is weird in one’s own way. We all have our idiosyncrasies, which lead to some unreasonable fears and behaviours at times.

Men are more scared of becoming bald, the numbers being as high as 7 out every 10 men. However, being scared is one thing, to have a phobia is another.

Phobia of becoming bald is one such fear. The technical word for this is phalacrophobia. Phalacrosis means baldness in Greek. Similar to this peladophobia, it is a general fear of baldness, including that of bald people.

My hair keeps falling, I am scared I may go bald; does it mean I am phalacrophobic?

No. Hair fall is a regular problem, in both males and in females, alike. Excessive hair fall may instill a fear of going bald in the person. It is perfectly normal and common to many.

So, how do we know if the fear is normal or has it blown up irrationally to become a phobia?

It is simple. There has to be a rational explanation to this fear. Mostly people may have read or heard that losing around 100 hair strands a day is considered normal. This does not mean you sit and count the numbers on your hairbrush every day. In fact, doing that might indicate you are developing a phobia.

If you have noticed a drastic change in your hair fall, i.e. if it has become much more than what it used to be without any identifiable cause, then your fears may be valid.

If you’re noticing thinning of hair and bald patches, then your fear is rational.

The next time you go for a haircut or a hair spa, and the hairdresser exclaims how much hair you have lost, then it is absolutely normal to be worried.

But, when the hair fall is ordinary, nothing is abnormal and you still continue to live in the fear of becoming bald, then there is a problem.

And, if the fear is strong enough to give you recurrent nightmares, giddiness, anxiety attacks, make you run away in social situations, then you are phobic!

Act! Or you may lose hair due to the fear itself!

Fear creates stress, stress leads to hair fall. Hair fall will further worsen your fear and the cycle shall continue. One day, you may actually begin to go bald. You don’t want that, right?

So, seek help. Talk! Approach a help group, find a psychologist and start therapies. Baldness is not the force behind your fear; the force is either genetic or past experiences that have affected you beyond the normal. Or, it could simply be nervous energies. Some of us are generally prone to being more neurotic than others. Don’t let the fear consume you.

Several good therapies are being employed in cases of phobia and they have been successful for many. There is no need to live in the fear any longer, just reach out.

Don’t lose hair over fear of hair loss.