Throughout the ages, men have searched for an answer to hair loss. Today, men and women react in a variety of ways when they begin to lose their hair. Before rushing off to find a solution, it's important to understand the psychology behind it all.

View a Video Clip of Iris Jackson, PhD, Clinical Psychologist

There are many reactions to hair loss. Denial plays a large part in reactions and emotions some men feel about their hair loss. The most important and most difficult part of understanding the psychology of hair loss is recognizing and coping with denial. Only then can one suffering from hair loss undergo an accurate assessment of his or her condition and research available treatment options.

Fear and desperation cause many men to panic at the sight of their thinning hair. They worry about how attractive they appear to women, whether they will be considered for job promotions or how they will be accepted in social settings.

Humiliation is another major psychological affect of losing one's hair. Men often complain about friends using them as a source for jokes, ultimately putting them on the defensive. Many men are in relationships in which their wives and girl friends have never seen their bald head. After being humiliated by their hair loss, many men go to desperate measures to ease their emotional pain, and engage in impulsive behavior. Spending thousands on special creams, tonics and sprays will not bring back the hair and it will soon empty your pockets!

Many men cease all else to focus intently on the loss of their hair  -  they become fixated. Hours and hours are spent in front of the mirror studying the progress of the hair loss. How many hairs have come out today? How many went down the drain this morning in the shower? Much time is also spent trying to find ways to cover up the hair loss  -  some men even using the dreadful comb over to cover it up!

Of course one cannot leave out the feeling of jealousy. Why do you seem to be the only one of your friends losing his hair? It seems that none of your friends has a care in the world  -  their lives are perfect, they have beautiful wives or girl friends, their jobs couldn't be going better. Because your hair is falling out, you may feel all of these things are now out of reach for you. You become jealous of all these people around you and you become a bitter angry person.

Moving beyond jealously you may feel isolated. Even though thousands of men experience hair loss and share the same feelings, each man tends to feel completely alone. It's important to realize that you are not alone and that there are people to talk to and people to help you get your life back.

Understanding Your Feelings

Everyone is aware that we can control the way we can express our feelings, but not the way we feel them. Why do we feel the way we do?

Society is probably the number one factor in why men feel ashamed of their hair loss. Look at television today and all you see are young men, with muscles and flowing hair  -  who wouldn't feel inferior? Balding also equals aging  -   as a man loses his hair, it is as though he has aged 20 years! Society equates beauty and youth with success. So when a man begins to lose his hair, he is left feeling that he does not fit into society any longer.

Sometimes losing hair has nothing to do with the hair itself, but the act of losing something. Many men put it into the same category as death. In many cases, hair is one of the most important elements in appearance. Many men think that the loss of hair equals the loss of youth, which means inevitable aging and eventual death. Once the mind has completed this chain, a fight for survival takes over.

Everyone knows you can't live forever, but no one wants to believe it. Men begin to unrealistically comfort themselves: "I'm not that bald, I'm still young". They eventually realize that even though they feed themselves these "positive" beliefs, the balding is still occurring and is difficult to ignore.

So Now What Can You Do?

Although you are never going to be happy about your hair loss, there are several things you can do to make it easier on yourself psychologically. First and foremost, you have to look at yourself honestly. What do you see when you look in the mirror and what do you want to see? What are your goals?

Talk to someone you trust and who isn't going to judge you. Tell them what you are feeling and experiencing in your emotional state.

Understanding Your Goals

Ultimately there are two goals you will want to achieve: getting your hair back and regaining your confidence. The mistake most men make is that they think all they need is to get the hair back and they will automatically feel better about themselves. This is not always the case, which is why it's important to understand the psychological effects of hair loss.

Your unhappiness with your hair loss is not caused just by the hair loss  -  there are other factors in your unhappiness that you will need to discover for yourself.