“My hair’s coming out in the shower — am I going bald?”

Diffuse hair shedding all over (not a discrete patch) ~2–6 months after a trigger (PCDS Hair Loss Pathway 2024) — illness/fever, childbirth, surgery, crash diet, severe stress, certain drugs — is the classic picture of TELOGEN EFFLUVIUM, a reactive, usually self-limiting and reversible shed. Identify the trigger and check reversible CONTRIBUTORS (ferritin/iron — here heavy periods + vegetarian/crash diet; TFTs; nutrition; drugs; pregnancy), distinguish it from androgenetic/patterned thinning, alopecia areata (discrete patches) and scarring alopecia (prompt dermatology), and treat deficiencies. The reassurance (recovery) is true and central — but delivered as a brush-off ("it’ll grow back") it dismisses real distress; give REASONED reassurance with an honest regrowth timeline (months). The examinable hidden agenda is that the consultation is as much about IDENTITY and self-esteem as the scalp: at 28 her hair is central to how she sees herself, the shedding has caused distress, social withdrawal and possibly low mood. Acknowledge what the hair MEANS to her, validate it, support mood, and combine structured work-up + reassurance + emotional validation.