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Coping Strategies
I just read what Georgie wrote and I thought it might be good to start a thread about coping strategies.
For me, a lot of coming to terms with my hair loss came from dealing with the shedding more effectively. I have at different times sported long hair, shaved head and short hair. The shaved and the short hair options have been the mentally most beneficial for me as I notice the shedding a lot less. I find seeing my hair falling out every day in the shower (where it always is most noticeable to me) the worst thing, so removing that has helped a lot.
Getting used to the way I look and altering the way I see myself is an ongoing process. I have been dealing with this for 11 years now and I am still learning how to accept myself and my hair situation.
For me, a lot of coming to terms with my hair loss came from dealing with the shedding more effectively. I have at different times sported long hair, shaved head and short hair. The shaved and the short hair options have been the mentally most beneficial for me as I notice the shedding a lot less. I find seeing my hair falling out every day in the shower (where it always is most noticeable to me) the worst thing, so removing that has helped a lot.
Getting used to the way I look and altering the way I see myself is an ongoing process. I have been dealing with this for 11 years now and I am still learning how to accept myself and my hair situation.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by tommy on
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yes i shaved,
It helps with the 'not noticing' it fall out but not really on the whole problem. If i let my hair grow it gets to a certain length then i kind of have a mini brake down, its hard to explain.
Also i think/know that it affects you mentaly i wont go into detail but there are things i just cant do anymore.
Have you notice he lack of attention to hairloss within the NHS? I of course know that its not pirority but like i said it affects you mentaly so they should have somesort of help system for it. -
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Permalink Reply by Vicsta on
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Yes, there is little help on the NHS (even for people with different types of HL) and it seems to be a bit of a postcode lottery/down to the individual doc you see. In my case, I have a lot of health problems and when I have seen a doctor, the HL has been dismissed. I do understand that it's not really high on their list of priorities, but it has had an enormous impact on my life. It took me 10 years just to get acknowledgement that the HL even existed... they just weren't interested. I do feel that the doctors that I have seen (not a dermatologist, but an endocrinologist, general medicine doctor at the local hospital and GPs) are probably not very knowledgeable about hair loss.
I think as a woman - going from having long hair to short hair does make a big difference in terms of the falling out, just because when it fell out in the shower (for me) and I had longer hair, it would take me a long time to deal with it as it wraps itself around my hands. I used to stick it on the shower tiles and then collect it at the end of the shower. It would take me an incredibly long time to shower compared to when having shorter hair because of this. I appreciate for a male who already had shorter hair, the impact would be more minimal.
At the same time, I can't say that I like having shorter hair. If I were able to have the hairstyle I wanted, it would be longer. It sucks that we are forced into shaving or having it shorter when we don't actually want to have that! -
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Permalink Reply by Jeanne on
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11 Years??? This is all so new to me and I am completely overwhelmed!!! I am sad and it is taking a toll on every aspect of my life. I am having difficulty embracing it. Collecting my beautiful, thick long hair every time I brush it or shower is weighing on me. I am so sad over it. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to go anywhere - even to the job I love. I can't imagine 11 years of this.
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