Diffuse hair loss in women: the psychopathology of those who complain

Thirty-two women complaining of diffuse alopecia were examined by a psychiatrist. Seven of them were found to have severe, usually long-standing marital and sexual problems and two of them were overtly depressed. In a previous investigation the results of tests to assess the degree of hair loss of these seven women showed no significant difference from the values obtained in a control series of women. The psychopathology underlying this complaint is discussed and it is suggested that those women whose anxiety seems disproportionate to their degree of hair loss should be carefully questioned regarding depression and marital difficulties as these may cause them to be unusually sensitive to a hair loss which normally might not worry them sufficiently to seek further advice. They may then use their hair in a symbolic way to obtain help with their underlying problems.