Hair loss can come in many forms. It’s true that over 60% of all men will have experienced some form of it by the time they hit their mid 30s. For many men it’s a gradual process that just has to be accepted as part of getting older, but for some the effects can be debilitating, with life changing dips in confidence and self-esteem.
Total loss of hair all over the body
In a recent article in the Guardian, Arnab Chana recounts the devastating effects on his life of alopecia universalis. This rare, but particularly aggressive form of alopecia caused him to lose all his body hair over the course of three months in 2015 when he was only 34. He recounts how even close friends failed to recognize him and he no longer wanted to think about his appearance any more.
In a way the hair loss acted as a catalyst for him to deal with lots of other pressures in his life and he walked away from his family and his career as a radio producer. Worst of all he believed that the hair loss dashed the dreams of becoming an actor that he had harboured since the age of 12.
After a failed attempt but expensive attempt to solve his problems by trying the Peruvian serotonin stimulator Ayahuasca, Chana eventually found that simply backpacking around South America where nobody drew attention to his complete baldness was a great therapy. When he combined this with a therapy called Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing he felt he was back on the right track.
On the mend
Fortunately, he now seems to be making good progress. Although he hasn’t yet patched things up with his family he is making plans to do so and he has begun to pursue his dream to be an actor/director/writer once again.
Whilst alopecia universalis is an extreme form of hair loss the symptoms of isolation and lack of self-worth that Chana suffered are not limited to it.
Classic male pattern baldness can have devastating psychological effects. One only has to look at the range of hair restoration tonics, hair systems and procedures that are offered worldwide to see the desperation to cure baldness.
