Dare I go to the hairdressers?!

[Lost_L]

I am desperate for a haircut but I don't know if I dare go! It's not that I fear the hairdressers I just don't like being somewhere where I can't escape and I can't really get up and walk out of the hairdressers with only half a hair cut!

I have an interview at the end of the month which it really needs to be done for so I need to pluck up the courage at some point, plus it's getting in pretty bad condition cos I haven't been in ages. I need my highlights done too which makes the process even longer :(

I started taking citalopram nearly 4 weeks ago and feel like I am improving a bit, I have the ability to go places that I haven't felt able to go in a while but these are all places where I can leave at any time.

Does anyone have any advice on how to get through a hairdressers appointment? I know that I'll sit worrying, feeling twitchy, dizzy, faint and generally panicky....

[pinkdove]

i'm the same with hairdressers, looking like wurzell gummage at the moment. need to pluck up some courage too.

i find that i feel much better when i have my hair done, and it is never as bad as i think, but when it needs done again.....still feel anxious xx

[snowgoose]

Hi Lost :)

After the doctor and dentist in terms of terror ....the hairdresser is my worst nightmare . So feel for you lots.
And because I put it off ...my hair embarrasses me even more :ohmy:

Get the earliest appt that is comfortable for you .
Dont add colour etc yet ...just have cut and blow dry which is fairly quick . You can have colour /foils ...another day .
When you have hair washed ask for extra towel under neck for comfort as you will be tense and it is more comfortable .

Take bottle of iced water to sip .....drop your shoulders and remember to breathe properly ..........look around and focus on other customers .........dont look in the mirror at your reflection until hair done and you look so good!!!

Also i dont care now ........I tell everyone in these situations I have acute anxiety so all are usually understanding if I need the loo etc . sod them that dont . :winks:
Hairdressers are lovely I have found .

hope this helps xxx

[Lost_L]

Thank you for your replies Pinkdove and Snowgoose.

I love that feeling of when my hair is newly cut so will have to go for it soon! I think it totally lifts your mood for a bit.

Thanks for those tips snowgoose, I'll try those things. Normally I sit and stare in the mirror and think the whole time so maybe focusing on other people I'll forget about what's going on in my head!

x

[Ingenious]

Yes - although a bloke and therefore in the chair for a lot less time - I remember in my worst periods of anxiety and self consciousness that sitting there was horrible. I can't really explain it but I have this fear of people being very close to me like that and feeling under scrutiny (even more so opticians and dentists), plus as you say, once you're in the chair you feel stuck.

For me really it was always keeping in mind it was just a haircut - remembering to tell myself, it won't harm me, and it won't take long. I also found remembering to breathe properly helped, as did chatting to the hairdresser (took my mind away from dwelling on any minor symptom that might indicate a panic attack).

Good advice from Snowgoose too - don't be afraid to tell the hairdresser about this.

Coincidentally, a friend of mine IS a hairdresser and she gets panic attacks. So they are human too, and have their own problems, you never know the hairdresser might be more nervous than you.