The psychology of sudden and premature graying of hair

Abstract

During the past few years the term "psychopathology" has assumed a new significance and interpretation. It now implies not only an understanding of the psychological mechanisms involved in a mental reaction but, with our newer psychosomatic outlook, also the organic pathology discernible in an apparently purely psychogenic disturbance. As has been frequently stated, psyche and soma are one and inseparable, and a discussion of any pathological condition is necessarily incomplete unless it takes this fact into consideration. The graying of hair, or the development of canities, has undoubtedly mystified mankind throughout the ages. In history, fable, fiction, and song, it has become synonymous with old age, wisdom and reverence. In his vanity, Man has feared its appearance as an indicator of the beginning of the final, irreversible, physical, mental and sexual decline, but once its appearance becomes inevitable, has capitalized on it in demanding and receiving an increased amount of respect from his pigmented associates. It is as if the mere change in the color of his hair imbued a man with qualities and attributes which he previously may have lacked. To the psychiatrist the subject is of great interest because of file frequent references made regarding the relationship between gray hair and emotional states. It is a commonly accepted belief among the general population that prolonged anxiety may hasten the appearance of gray hair and that a sudden emotional shock may actually produce sudden graying. It is the purpose of this paper to attempt to correlate some of these popular beliefs with the meager scientific data obtainable on the subject from both the organic and the psychobiological viewpoints. It will be well, for better orientation, to review the histology of the normal hair and hair follicle. ~ The hairs are horny threads derived from the epidermis and placed in pits which traverse the skin, frequently also the subcutaneous tissue. Each hair may be divided into a shaft, situated above the skin, and a root within the