'Mum, you're losing a lot of hair!': The lockdown side-effect I didn't see coming

It was just another Friday evening when I discovered the latest COVID lockdown was playing havoc with my body.

Settling in for a session of 'beauty salon' with my eight-year-old, I sat before my daughter as she wielded a hairbrush, intent on creating a range of Princess Leia hairstyles. A few minutes in, she stopped brushing and paused.

"Mum, you're losing a lot of hair!" she exclaimed as she showed me the brush. On it, endless strands curled in on each other as though terrified of my scalp and desperate to make their getaway.

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Over the next few days, I began to find my hair everywhere. In the mornings I was greeted with a whole mass of strands on my pillow, and my husband began tailing me to collect the ones that would catch on my jumper as I went about my business. On the bathroom floor, there appeared to be enough hair to form an extension of the rug already in place and showering meant feeling clumps tickle their way down my legs and towards the drain.

A disconcerting feeling, definitely, but it was only once I pulled my hair into a ponytail and found it to be far thinner than it's ever been that I had to face facts: I was losing my hair. Why?

After a slew of medical appointments that rendered me into what could best be described as a 'human pin cushion', the results were in. There was nothing wrong with me in the physical sense; bloods, internals, scans all came back clear.

"You mentioned you were feeling very stressed when you first came in," my doctor finally said to me. "It might be time to accept that your hair loss is related to your stress levels, so perhaps the thing we need to work on now is how we're going to reduce these levels."

Stress-related hair loss is nothing new, and in fact, pandemic-related hair loss is being reported across the globe, a steady line of patients heading to GPs, dermatologists and hair loss clinics as their hair thins dramatically or falls out in clumps. For many, their hair loss is the result of contracting COVID, but for others, it's the stress of living in what has quickly become the new world order.

How does one reduce stress, though, when your whole life has been turned upside-down and you're essentially living as a prisoner in your own home while you a) homeschool your children, and b) try to hold on to your own job?

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Sweeping my hair into the saddest little bun in the existence of humanity, I detailed a plan. First, I would accept mediocrity as my own personal saviour and do just enough of everything to keep my head above water and nothing more. I would not put my hand up for additional projects and I would accept 'good enough' for my kids' schoolwork. The house would not need to be sparkling, emails would not have to be answered immediately (and they most definitely wouldn't need to be answered in the evenings or on weekends).

Over the last few weeks, I have learned to say no to anything that causes me additional stress — the kind I have control over.

In place of duty, I have since inserted joy; doing things just because they make me happy rather than looking at what purpose they serve. I take long daily walks in the sun, create art and spend hours working on 1000-piece The New Yorker puzzles (those things are strangely addictive). Colouring books have made a comeback and some days I'll cut out at 3pm just to watch Ted Lasso.

I'm not going to lie, I still haven't worked out the secret to living 'my best life' in lockdown. Some days are harder than others and I'm often gripped by an anxiety I find difficult to articulate. What I can say, however, is that by making these changes in my life, I've reduced my stress levels enough that my hair has stopped falling out and new hair has started growing in.

My goal? To maintain a similar sort of balance once normal programming resumes… and to eventually be able to wear my hair out once more.