Alopecia and Stress related stuff

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So I have alopecia areata. My mum did research and basically it apparently is common for it to be caused a certain time period after a traumatic event which matches up very well to when I was told my 'cousin' was actually my half sister. It really sucks and that is coming from someone who is relatively lucky to not have lost too much in the past year and a bit of having it. My two biggest patches were at the beginning but now my hair falls out only after periods of intense stress and in way smaller patches which makes sense bc the stuff now is way less traumatic haha. Every time my hair falls out I feel like I've failed because I didn't keep my stress level low enough and didn't do all the stuff I know works because of my mental illness. It makes me feel really stupid and like it is my fault so I am stupid to be sad. I know that when I change my diet, sleep well and exercise that it really improves but I stopped all that when sixth form started. It feels dumb to be so distressed about something so surface level (when patches come out I am a panic attack waiting to happen and can even get meltdowns) but I am a teenage girl. Looks matter to me.

Another great side effect of the stress is weird weight distribution. I believe I am slightly overweight (but people look genuinely shocked when I say this so I may not look it) but now most of my weight is centred at my stomach and won't shift. It looks really weird because I basically have an hourglass body type so my waist is still small but all the fat collects at my lower stomach. I hate it and wish it would just leave but it wont till I'm not stressed but the alopecia makes me stressed and I can't be stressed or the alopecia will get worse and ugh!! !

This state is making me annoying to those around me as the two combined make me feel ugly and I am a very critical person so I feel like I am not that great of a person even if I am apparently fun so when I am complimented I become uncomfortable and it honestly feels like they are lying. Logically I know they are not but with each compliment I become more stressed as I feel like a fraud. My friends theories about people showing interest in me just fuel this as I feel like I am being lied to and am a narcissist/fraud. I feel like a big part of this is once having a kid tell me I was repulsive and that no one would ever like me and the time I was rated a 3. The distrust of friends comes from when I thought I made a friend through a period where I was bullied but it turned out the teacher had asked her to talk to me. She and her friends waited till I was attached and after she had slept over to reveal it was all fake and she never actually liked me, laughing about it. We had been together at least a month by that point. It's amazing how year old things can affect you in the present. Since then I have gotten compliments but how can one trust family and friends?

I like to come to conclusions based on facts I have collected. For example, anxiety may tell me my current friends don't actually like me but the facts of how much they go out of their way to help me etc, show that this is just me being silly. I may not feel like a good person but how people attach to me and speak to/about me shows me this is just anxiety. However when it comes to attractiveness I can't find any, there are only ever suspicions and I feel guilty for having them and of course my friends will hype me up/probably jump to conclusions because that's what they are, my friends! This sounds like a dumb thing to obsess over but I take this as proof that I will be single my whole life, something which seems quite likely based on what I read from quite a few members here. My stuff with my dad and my trust issues will do their best to make it come true. I want to have a family in the future and while I love my cat, I don't want feline companionship to be the only type I have! I need to fix this because women in my family tend to get in BAD relationships. My mum is one of the best so far (she married my dad because she reasoned no one else would be interested) and she chose a man who lied to and gas lighted his family.

I hate this headspace. It makes me feel ungrateful and means I have so many conflicting thoughts...Only 25 more days till my new therapy...

I’ve had alopecia (Beard). It’s pretty much in complete remission now. Healthy diet & exercise are good for stress (and fat) reduction. Supplementing Biotin every day seems to help, too. Apparently alopecia can be caused by a biotin deficiency.

I didn't know that could be the case. I'll start on the biotin! It seemed like it was in remission for a bit but then I started college and the stress of it mean I was often sleeping only 3 hours a day and I completely lost my appetite because of the stress. I'd maybe eat some fruit and dinner in those days. I am also considering taking curcumin - I become desperate for anything that will work after hair falls out and I lost it in three to five small patches recently.

Have you talked to a doctor about it?

My cousin had alopecia which got better when she took a specific mix of vitamins that were prescribed by her doctor.

You could have a vitamin deficiency or a hormonal imbalance.

I am booking another GP appointment but I go to hospital every now and then and have been given medicine - only I recently lost it, hence the GP visit. Sometimes I get steroid shots which is not fun and they referred me to CBT which is over now. I'm going to ask if there I anything else I can do.

I also had blood tests ages ago and they all came back normal. I doubt much has changed. Only bad result I've gotten out of the many blood tests I have had was that I was very slightly low in vitamin D.