When I found my first bald patch, I was devastated. As if I wasn't struggling enough, now I was losing my hair? 

In hindsight, it's no wonder I developed Alopecia. At the time, I was working 50+ hour weeks as a Sous Chef and running myself into the ground. I was freshly broken up from the guy I'd thought was ''the one'', dealing with the recent death of my beloved Dad, didn't have a place to live, was struggling with an eating disorder which had resurfaced amongst the stress, and was desperately worried for my Mum who was extremely depressed. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't gained Alopecia, I would have ended up very ill.

I'd recently started seeing someone and was terrified he'd leave me. I also worked in a very male-dominated environment and in a very public setting, so trying to cover the patches became all-consuming. I'd gone from being someone the guys would joke and flirt with, to someone who got concerned looks and avoided. I pinned this all on the Alopecia, not the fact that in all likelihood, people were just concerned about me. I cried a lot most days. I'd get on with my work and then just crumble as soon as I'd finished. I wanted to sleep for a few months and to wake up ''fixed'', like nothing had ever happened.

One day just after I'd broken up for the Christmas holiday, I decided enough was enough and shaved my hair off. It was one of the most liberating things I'd ever done and a revelation in more than one sense - where I'd thought I only had a few patches, with my hair shaved off I could now see the full extent of the Alopecia. The patches spanned the whole of my head and it looked like a kind of punky map of the world. I giggled at my reflection the entire time I was shaving it off, I looked insane! It was the first time I'd laughed like that in ages.

My next decision (with the back up of a couple of wonderful friends) was to quit work and to take some time out from the mayhem of work. I enrolled on a ''WWOOF-ing'' program, whereby you go to other countries and help out on farms in exchange for food and accomodation. I took on a new part-time job and concentrated hard on saving pennies to go away in May. When April arrived, along with it came the sun - and the heat. I could no longer stand wearing my wooly hat I'd been using to cover my head, and wearing wigs made me feel wrong somehow - like I was ashamed to cover who I was. So, I decided to go bald in public for the first time.

I felt completely naked and vulnerable and was sure everyone would be staring and pointing, but to my surprise and relief, people just went about their day. A few people gave sideways glances, and if I'm honest, I'd probably have done the same. But that's what I've come to realise - everyone has their own shit. While you're running around in one direction, worrying about what everyone thinks, everyone else is running around in other directions - some happy, some sad, some with illness, some without, but none of us truly know what the hell we are doing here and that is something I've taken great comfort in. We're all in this together.