03/06/2026
I got a haircut today to finally cut off the last of the thin hair that stayed through the shed. And I want to tell you the whole story because I think a lot of you need to hear it.
In 2020 I bought my gym fresh off a stressful job loss. I was working full time, running a brick and mortar, teaching 15+ classes a week, sleeping very little, and coping through caffeine and sheer willpower. I told myself this was just what it took. People with goals don’t slow down.
My body had other plans.
After three years at that pace my health got bad enough that I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I closed the gym, took my business online, and found real passion in an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. But I kept pushing. I kept chasing. I told myself I just needed to fix my sleep, not realizing the caffeine I leaned on every day was the reason I couldn’t sleep.
Then last April I started losing my hair in handfuls every shower. I’d later find out my thyroid was failing, a direct result of years of chronic stress I kept dismissing every time someone tried to warn me.
Even then, I couldn’t figure out what slowing down actually meant.
It took a rough holiday season and a very honest conversation with myself to finally admit I was pushing so hard to become something different that I was destroying the foundation I needed to get there. That misalignment nearly cost me my entire head of hair.
I am finally done shedding. My sleep is improving. I’m learning what it feels like to let my natural cortisol be enough… and honestly? It is enough.
This was never really about hair. It was the only way I was going to wake up and fix what was wrong.
There are no quick fixes. Most of what’s wrong with us is within our control, but it takes honesty, patience, and the willingness to start without knowing what’s on the other side.
I’m so glad I trusted myself on this one. Even if I was stubborn a little too long. 💚