The actress, currently starring in the 1994 movie Speed on ITV4, admitted a few years ago that she once believed she would die due to a series of stressful life events that had a detrimental physical impact on her body.
During a conversation with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield Norris, Bullock admitted that the final straw in a series of tragic events was a stalker breaking into her home and that after that, she “wasn’t the same.”.
Before the break-in, Bullock disclosed that her son Louis had a grand mal seizure, making her fear for his life. This was the first stressful event.
Some people equate a grand maor, a tonic-clonic seizure, with an epileptic fit. Other medical conditions, such as: can occasionally cause this seizure.
They decreased blood sugar.
Extreme fever.
Stroke.
These seizures frequently go through two stages: the “tonic” and “clonic”. Usually, during the initial phase, people become unconscious. People might get stiff and fall to the ground.
Before the break-in, Bullock revealed that her son Louis had a grand mal seizure, making her fear for his life. This was the first stressful event.
Grand mal seizures, also known as tonic-clonic or grand mal seizures, are sometimes associated with epileptic fits. Other medical conditions, such as: may occasionally cause this kind of seizure.
Bullock was concerned about her young son’s traumatic experience. Her hair started to fall out in clumps after being bitten by a poisonous spider a few days later. From that point on, things only got worse.
When I looked at it, I thought my body would crumble, the actress recalled. It wasn’t responding well to what was happening.
“I’ve noticed a thinning of my hair. I have alopecia spots everywhere I look. By the bathtub, I’m spreading my hair as I count to three.
“I had to genuinely evaluate my situation because I would die if I couldn’t pull myself together. Even though I can usually control most things, occasionally, my body will go through something I have no control over.
In addition to her alopecia, Bullock’s house invasion while hiding in the closet caused her to develop “severe anxiety” and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The actress gave an emotional account of her home being broken into while she was home. I’m in the closet, thinking, ‘This doesn’t end well. The fact that I’m in the cabinet will be of little assistance. On that one night only, Louis wasn’t with me.
On the one occasion when she did this, our nanny said, “Let me just take him to my apartment, which is up the street, because you’re going to be out late. We would have taken a different path if he had been at home because I would have hurried to the closet, which is now officially my space but was once his bedroom. “.
After the incident, the actress sought counselling, specifically eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), which she described as her “unravelling” process.
EMDR helps people deal with the images, feelings, beliefs, and physical sensations associated with traumatic memories that can result in various mental health issues. It does this by combining talk therapy with side-to-side eye movements.
A person can go from being constantly reminded of a traumatic event, and all of the unpleasant symptoms to feeling like it is behind them and no longer of importance, according to Dr Justin Havens, an EMDR consultant.
Your body’s natural healing and recovery process after a trauma can be sped up by using EMDR. Your therapist is by your side as you heal from the inside out.
Bullock discovered that this therapy helped alleviate her PTSD and the extreme stress that was causing her alopecia.
In contrast to a rapid response to an immediate threat or fear, those with PTSD experience a long-lasting biological reaction to high stress or terror.
In other words, even when there isn’t a threat, the body releases hormones to stop non-essential functions (like digestion, skin healing, and hair growth) so that energy can be concentrated on acting on our innate responses to danger. Some individuals might find this explanation helpful in comprehending why they begin losing their hair after being given a PTSD diagnosis.
When treating PTSD in balding people, it’s essential to massage the scalp gently and avoid scorching the hair with tools or harsh chemicals. A dermatologist can advise you on effective scalp treatments if you have sensitive and bothersome bald spots.
The following are additional examples of PTSD symptoms:
Nightmares and flashbacks
