Written by: Cherlin Kim
Artwork by: Cherry Kim
What is Alopecia?
Alopecia is an autoimmune disease that causes your body to accidentally attack itself, resulting in hair loss and, soon, balding. As you watch clumps of your hair, often the size of quarters, fall out of your scalp, the psychological impacts that come with it are foreseeable. But the greater concern is that not only are adults experiencing such mental impacts, but so are vulnerable young children.
Feeding into Disorders
With hair being a fundamental physical feature, those suffering with alopecia often have plummeting self esteems and growing insecurities about their body image. No longer do they feel “ugly” simply because of their balding, but they grow to find faults in other physical features. This may onset other serious disorders: a depressive episode, social phobia, and paranoid disorder (Nigel Hunt, Sue Mchale). With society setting firm beauty standards, people with alopecia are prone to comparing themselves unhealthily with others and struggling to conform to such standards.
Children with Alopecia
Similar to adults, growing children who feel most pressured to adhere to beauty standards through their high engagement in social media suffer psychological complications starting from a young age. A study deduced that out of twelve children with alopecia, seven will face at least one disorder, usually gravitating towards anxiety. In the school setting, these students may be more subject to even bullying about their hair loss. These mental impacts often instigate physical harms as well. With constant anger, worry, students often struggle to sleep for long hours which can further incite stomach aches and headaches.
Treatment
There are no medical treatments that are completely effective in curing severe alopecia—thus, the best way to cope with the mental impacts of the disease is to drop any hope that a cure will be found, but rather to engage in self acceptance. In doing so, it is important to establish a support group, whether it be through nurses and doctors, or simply other alopecia patients who understand your struggles.
These words are so much easier said than done: it is easy to tell alopecia patients to grow confidence and to control their struggles, because we have not experienced their physical and psychological pains. Hearing such “advice” can be shallow to such patients; instead, true growth can be associated with forming healthy connections with family and others again with the disease. Instead of feeling overburdened by people often pitying them, they will soon feel less hampered in fitting in, when they are already loved by the community around them.
Works Cited
“Alopecia Areata and Emotional Wellness in Children.” National Alopecia Areata Foundation, www.naaf.org/alopecia-areata/alopecia-areata-and-emotional-wellness-in-children.
“How to Handle Fear about the Future: A Guide for Year 12 Students.” Study Stress | ReachOut Australia, au.reachout.com/articles/how-to-handle-fear-about-the-future-a-guide-for-year-12-students
Hunt, Nigel, and Sue McHale. “The Psychological Impact of Alopecia.” BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), BMJ Publishing Group Ltd., 22 Oct. 2005, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1261195/.
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