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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Why could anxiety be making my hair fall out?

    Related Topics
    Anxiety Mental Health
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    Dr Joanne Dennison

    Counselling Psychologist, Counsellor, Psychologist, Psychotherapist

    Anxiety and stress affect your hormone levels/chemical activity in your nervous system. These hormones/chemicals regulate bodily functions, and so experiencing stress and anxiety takes a physical toll on the body. One observable effect that oftentimes is associated with this is hair loss. Therefore, if you are experiencing stress or anxiety at higher levels than you usually do, it is possible that this is leading to your hair falling out. The good news is that there are strategies to reduce and better manage stress/anxiety, which may then reduce the amount of hair loss you experience. A psychologist can assist you with developing such strategies.

    It should be noted that medical conditions can also lead to hair loss. Therefore, you should see your GP to determine whether there may be a different underlying cause.

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    Dr Dick Beatty

    GP (General Practitioner)

    Dr Dick Beatty is a Full Time Vasectomist - operating across locations in South East Queensland, including Greenslopes Private Hospital. View Profile

    Hi, the two problems may be linked but they may also be coincidental; also it's worth considering an overactive thyroid gland which can easily be ruled out with a simple blood test (the symptoms include anxiety and hair loss). The commonest cause of hair loss, other than female and male pattern hair loss, is alopecia areata (this is normally patchy), and hair loss following stress which is called is called telogen effluvium and is often seen after childbirth. Telogen effluvium is normally temporary and is caused by disruption of the hair cycle (the actively growing hairs are changed to resting hair that fall out as new hair pushes through). The list of causes of telogen effluvium is extensive, and anxiety is one of them although It would be difficult to know this for sure (the anxiety would probably need to be severe and sudden to cause this). The anxiety needs to be treated anyway, and please see a doctor to consider the blood tests and diagnosis of alopecia further.

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    Caroline Hardie

    HealthShare Member

    It is all to do with stress, if the body is under stress there are all sorts of physiological symptoms that might be experienced. It might be to do with headaches or profuse sweating or feelings of nausea or loss of appetite, hair falling out.
    It is all a sign that the body is under stress.

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