Comment by Mandy on September 16, 2008 at 11:07pm

I think that stress MAY trigger alopecia but I refuse to believe that it is the ONLY trigger for alopecia. I was not stressed out at all when alopecia hit me. Everything about my life was constant and routine for years...no changes. Plus there are very young kids (3 yrs old for example) with alopecia...does this mean that these 3 yr olds are stressed? No. I'm sorry - I don't care what anyone says...I don't believe that stress is the only factor. There is no proven cause for alopecia. No one can tell you why one person has it and another doesn't.

Comment by Sarah McIntosh on September 17, 2008 at 12:28am

I've had alopecia since I was a baby although alopecia may have triggers to set it off I don't believe that stress should be the only thing looked into.I was a baby and I don't think babies really process the kind of stress needed to set a illness off.I think it is very different for everyone.In some old reading material that was given to me it suggested that climate and environment can be big factors to.I always found when I had regrowth it was random and didn't matter if the situation I was in was good or bad, same with when it was falling out.

Comment by Lee on September 17, 2008 at 1:35am

Thats the first thing my derm said to me. I was stressed at the time, but I've been more stressed and have had all my hair...so I really dont know if its a factor ; /

Comment by Michele on September 17, 2008 at 4:50am

I don't think alopecia is caused by stress but I do think stress is caused by alopecia!
my Derm told me that stress CAN be a trigger but not in all cases, I have had many stressful times in my life and never had alopecia so why in my late 30's? well my answer to that is I didn't start with an allergy or asthma until my 30's, they are autoimmune conditions just like alopecia. Your son no doubt wasn't stressed at all just like I wasn't:) x

Comment by Margie on September 17, 2008 at 7:46pm

Hi All, Thanks so much for all your responses. You all have it going on, much more than the doctors. Makes me feel I little bit better - like maybe I didn't mess my kid up after all :) Well, that's at least not so far LOL

Comment by lauren on September 17, 2008 at 8:59pm

the whole stress thing might be it for some people but i was diagonesd when i was a baby so i dont really know about that stress thing they tell people

Comment by Cherylnz on September 17, 2008 at 10:16pm

If Alopecia was caused by stress then my Parents should have developed it too.
Especially when a Doctor tells them that they were causing their 8 year old daughter stress and that's why I got Alopecia. I can only imagine how my Mum felt hearing that from someone who is supposed be helping not making the situation worse. I cannot think of anything that I would have been stressed about at 8 years old. There have been stressful times as an adult and I have managed to hang on to the few eyelashes and brows that have grown in those times. (Just a thought, if what makes someone develop Eczema, Allergies, Asthma or any of yhe other Auto-immune Disorders should in theory be the same or similar trigger to what would cause Alopecia...... )

Comment by Linda on September 18, 2008 at 5:14pm

Like Lauren my youngest alopecia clients lost their hair as babies at 2 years old. They are twin girls who lost their hair simultaneously. Like she says the stress thing does not wash for their mother. I do think that some people can have hair loss linked to stress but feel that it has become a universal diagnosis and generally means " we have no idea". I feel that the diagnosis of stress related alopecia can cause further stess, unwanted and unhelpfull.
I agree with Rose Marie that hormanal episodes can and will be a factor in some cases.
If you are told your alopecia is caused through stress, and you know that in your heart stress has been caused by your hair loss and not before. Do not beat yourself up that it is your fault.
Generally stress is the first diagnosis given to all.

Comment by Linda on September 19, 2008 at 5:56pm

Well said Angela

Comment by jamie1 on September 19, 2008 at 8:47pm

Hi Margie, I suppose that I am a textbook example of stress and it's relation to alopecia. During a rough patch in college and young adulthood, I developed alopecia. It went away, for the most, part for many years. When I became a middle aged widower, wham...alopecia again. Can anyone explain this to me? No.

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