My Diagnosis
During my sophomore year of high school, I noticed that my
hair had started falling out. It wasn’t like clumps of hair were coming out; it
was more like I noticed after a while that I could see my scalp through my
hair. Suddenly my once soft and shiny hair had turned dull, frizzy, brittle,
and scary thin. I panicked and went to the dermatologist. There I received a
biopsy, and eventually was diagnosed with a hormonal form of Alopecia.
What is Alopecia?
Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder which causes extreme hair
loss. This hair loss can happen in different forms depending on the type of
alopecia you have; mine is just thinning all over my head, but some people will
have big bald patches. There is no known cure for Alopecia and everyone has
their own trigger. In high school, I was surrounded by beauty standards. Insta
models filled my feed, and this left me feeling hopeless and embarrassed. My
hair feels like such an important part of my identity, and, after a few months
of wallowing and attempting medications and the dreaded Rogaine, I decided to
fight like hell for it.
My Health Plan:
This is where I turned my life around. I stopped using the
Rogaine and the medication which wasn't even working and just forcing me to live with lots of unpleasant side-effects. I began a health journey in which I centered my entire life around my total
health—not just my hair and scalp health--upon the advice of my new doctor. I formatted my health regiment using the
wellness wheel:
First, I evaluated my emotional health. I was pretty
healthy emotionally besides my high levels of stress. I am an advanced student;
I always push myself to earn A’s and succeed at everything I try. This, of
course, is impossible, so I experience a lot of stress. Some methods I tried to
improve my stress levels were weekly hammocking hours, regular workouts,
aromatherapy, a soothing cup of tea, and prayerful meditation.
Next, I evaluated my intellectual health. As a
student, I was pretty intellectually well at the time. However, I decided that
revamping my studying methods may reduce my stress. I am an avid
procrastinator, so I tried to work on that. I also spent more time on my
hobbies. I love to read, knit, and spend time with my dogs, teaching them new things and taking them on new adventures. New and old hobbies are a very important part of intellectual health.
Human beings are made to learn and grow daily. If you are not taking time to
learn or improve on a skill daily, you are neglecting your brain.
Then came Physical health. I knew that I needed to
work out more. I had recently quit the soccer team to focus on my AP classes,
so it was time to integrate exercise into my routine. I also discovered that
the main cause of my alopecia was my diet. I am sensitive to dairy and many
simple carbohydrates. I had to completely revamp my diet to be mainly protein
and vegetable based with some fresh fruits here and there. This diet completely
changed my life and how I feel daily. It is not easy to maintain as I am a pie
lover….but most of the time I stick to it! Additionally, I included in natural
hair and skin treatments and a more focused emphasis on hydration in my
physical wellness plan.
I was solid as far as my social health at the time. I
spent a lot of time each week with my friends. We were all nerds, so between
study dates and study breaks I had my social fill. Not to mention my family and
I are extremely close, so there was always a healthy dose of family time too.
The new struggle was fitting in social activity with all of my new health
initiatives. That was quite the learning curve, but it turned out to be quite
doable as my friends and family were all so supportive of my lifestyle changes.
I was blessed with great environmental health from
birth. As I mentioned before, I have a great family. My town and neighborhood
were safe and well-maintained. My friends were supportive and constructive. My
only environmental stressor was my room…. My room represents how full my brain
is. If my head is full of stress and assignments, then my room is a pit. My dad
literally used to pretend my room was an obstacle course and try and walk
around it without disturbing any of the “land mines” as he called them.
Annoying…just annoying. But! I learned to at least attempt to clean up my room
and make my bed in the morning. I know now that cleaning up my environment is
the first step in clearing up my mind.
I have also been greatly blessed with financial health.
My parents were hard workers that were able to provide for all of my needs and
many of my wants. My job was school though, so I had to work hard to earn my
pleasures. I also ended up working as a nanny for a year to make some spending
money. This allowed me more freedom with my friends to further nurture my
social wellness.
My Progress

If you are struggling with any health or wellness issue, I
urge you to look at the problem from every angle. Use the wellness wheel you
evaluate yourself. Then, with a lot of hard work and self-reflection, you will
find that your life improves in many ways, and you will be able to fix problems
you did not even realize you had.
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