The good, the bad and the ugly - Dealing with anxiety, depression and alopecia ...

February 7, 2020

When it comes to experiencing anxiety and depression I like to think of myself as a well seasoned veteran on the subject/s.

I've been anxious for as far back as I can remember and what tends to happen with a human when they live in a state of constant anxiety is that depression then creeps through the gaps of your mind and starts to take hold too.

Depression and anxiety is not for the faint hearted and one of the most alarming things about both of these mental health conditions is that absolutely anyone can be afflicted with them.

In 2013, there were 8.2 million cases of anxiety in the UK - Source, Mental health org

In 2013, depression was the second leading cause of years lived with a disability worldwide, behind lower back pain. In 26 countries, depression was the primary driver of disability. - Source - Mental health org

I don't know about you but I personally feel that social media plays a big part in the rise of anxiety and depression in women these days. I have fallen victim to this myself .... scrolling through social media checking out pictures of perfect womens perfect lives with their cars, perfect husbands, perfect kids and perfect homes. Don't even get me started on all the perfect holidays and weekends away I see splashed all over the place!

While I absolutely LOVE to see other succeed and do well in life, there is also a small part of me that naturally starts to compare my life to theirs.

It's so easy to compare their perfect homes with my modest, 3 bedroom council house.

So easy to compare their perfect kids with my own children who are perfect to me but each face their own unique challenges in the world due to autism, adhd, tics, anxiety disorders and sleep disorders.

So easy to compare their perfect car to my, as Dave Ramsey likes to call it "Dave car" with the air con that hasn't worked for 3 years!

It's all so terrifyingly easy to compare ourselves to others for the sake of what? All it does is make us "less than enough" and "not good enough"

Teenagers who spend more than three hours a day on social media may have double the risk of mental health problems as those who shun it, research suggests.

The telegraph

Now this is where it starts to get really tricky for us ladies who are experiencing medical related hair loss. Not only do we have the usual "comparison is the thief of joy" game going on but now we also have the fact that we are losing our hair and feel even less feminine than we ever have done in like, well, forever!

I wish I could write you a blog post which contained all the answers for you. All the secrets and top tips on how to get over anxiety and depression but I don't know all the answers. All I know is what has worked for me and that is professional help, guidance and in some cases even medication to help me get through the really hard times.