Does Depression Cause Hair Loss?

Video Transcript

"I'm Dr. David Thomas. I'm a Practicing Psychotherapist with Whitford Thomas Group in Tampa, Florida; here to discuss whether hair loss is caused by depression. And the answer simply is, it can. I mean hair loss is not one of they typical symptoms that we see with depression; but logically it make sense so that could be one of the symptoms. As, but you would tend to see that in much more severe forms of depression because in more severe forms of depression, your, your chemistry, your hormonal balance and all that is pretty significantly affected. So if your, your, your blood chemistry is pretty affected and your hormonal balance is, is quite off, then certainly we can, it tends to lean itself that hair loss would be one of the consequences of that. Do understand though that depression is primarily created by thought though. So you know, if you're, if you're thinking is severe and that it, you really have a strong sense of helplessness and hopelessness, that thinking can create a chemistry that greatly affects your ability to cope and to feel energetic and to feel optimistic about the future. In severe forms of depression, your, your chemistry is going to be off whether it's a virus driven or thought driven and it can create hair loss. Again, it's not one of the more typical symptoms that we hear with depression but certainly it can be there. If you have any questions about that, certainly you want to see your physician. I'd, I'd start first with your family physician or general practitioner and then if they believe they're truly is a depression going on, then you could; they can refer you to a psychiatrist. Hopefully this information I provide you today regarding hair loss and depression has been helpful to you. From Tampa, Florida, I'm Dr. David Thomas."