“How I slowly rebuilt my relationship with myself.”
Aditi, 29, on a difficult year and ten minutes that helped.
Soumm · Pune
The year I stopped noticing myself
After a long stretch of overwork I realised I had not looked at myself properly in months. I was maintaining everything except me.
Hair fall was the first thing that made me pay attention, though it was not the real problem.
Starting absurdly small
I could not commit to anything ambitious, so I committed to ten minutes on Thursday evenings. It felt too small to matter.
It mattered because I kept it. Six weeks in, it was the only promise to myself I had not broken.
What changed and what didn’t
My hair improved slowly and unremarkably. What changed faster was my sense that I was allowed to take up time.
I still have difficult months. The Thursday ten minutes survives them, which is the whole point.
A note on evidence
Hair responds to many things at once: sleep, nutrition, hormonal changes, scalp condition and stress among them. Published here for education only; individual concerns should be discussed with a qualified healthcare professional.