Hair loss is a problem that many people suffer from. There are different types of hair loss affecting both men and women. Whoever suffers from it, whether male or female, hair loss can lead to many issues with self-esteem and confidence. The main types of hair loss suffered by individuals are detailed below.
Male-pattern baldness is the commonest form of hair loss in human beings and is called androgenic alopecia. Although the term androgenic loosely means “of man genus”, the condition can actually affect women as well as men.

Hair Loss Patterns

The next type of hair loss is alopecia areata and this form involves bold patches that tend to come and go sporadically. One in every hundred people is affected by this, with the main group being young people and teenagers. One in every five cases can be attributed to hereditary reasons.

A problem with the immune system is thought to be the main contributor to alopecia areata and there is no effective treatment available for the condition. In most of the cases though, the hair will grow back within a year. One in every five persons affected with the condition go on to develop hair loss in a more severe form, such as alopecia totalis (no hair on the scalp) or alopecia universalis (lack of hair on the body as well as scalp).

Telogen effluvium is another form of alopecia hair loss which is quite common, and the condition can be described as extensive thinning of the hair rather than having specific bald patches. The hair loss in this condition is usually down to stress or a reaction to medication.

People with personality disorders may have conditions such as not being able to live with others, not being able to maintain relationships with other people, finding it difficult to control emotions or upsetting other people when distressed.

Causes of personality disorders can include genetic makeup, mental or emotional state or brain problems. There are three types of personality disorder: suspicious, emotional and impulsive, and anxious.

Suspicious personality disorders are where the sufferer is often paranoid of other people, and finds it difficult to interact with others, preferring their own company instead.  The person with a suspicious personality disorder is often seen by others as strange or peculiar.

Emotional and impulsive personality disorders are where the sufferer is indifferent to other people’s feelings and can be quite aggressive.  They often find it difficult to control emotions and will do this spontaneously without thinking about the consequences.  Sufferers will also self harm if they feel really bad about themselves.

Anxious personality disorders are where the sufferer worries about everything.  They are very indecisive and worry constantly about doing the wrong thing.  Anxious sufferers are overly sensitive to criticism and can often feel worthless or incompetent.

There are therapies which can help such as psychotherapy or cognitive behavioral therapy.  There is also medication available to help with the different groups of personality disorders.  Antipsychotic drugs can help those in the suspicious group while antidepressants can help to relieve the symptoms of those in the emotional group.  There are also some antidepressants which have been shown to help those in the anxious group such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI).

Personality Disorders

People who have been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder have constant thoughts, obsessions or compulsions that they cannot stop thinking about.  These obsessions or compulsions can cause great stress or anxiety and the symptoms of OCD can contrast between relatively mild to extremely severe.  Obsessive thoughts can cause tension and stress to the sufferer and they make act out certain compulsions in order to stop these traumatic thoughts or obsessions.

There are many forms of obsessions such as feeling that items are dirty or tainted, fear of making mistakes, arranging items in a specific way, fear of touching people who may be ill, or fear of causing an accident through leaving appliances turned on etc.  Similarly there are many types of compulsions which can disrupt a person’s daily life such as, routines like washing hands, cleaning work surfaces, arranging items in cupboards etc.

Compulsions are usually directly linked to the type of obsession a person has.  Many people with obsessive compulsive disorder feel that bad things will happen if they don’t fulfill their compulsions and doing so usually makes the sufferer feel better for a short while before the obsession returns.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Copyright ADAM)

OCD can appear as a result of a major event in a person’s life and it has also been shown to run in families.  There are treatments for OCD such as medicines and psychological help.  Relaxation therapies have also been shown to help symptoms.