I'm really struggling.

[BaldAndAlone]

Thanks for the replies.

I wasn't really sure what I was expecting to hear, but I have never talked to anyone before about going bald and I thought it was pretty cool to come across a site like this .

Well, I don't think I'll be going down the therapy/anti-depressants route. I know a couple of my family have/are struggling with depression, but I am determined not to go down the same path. Perhaps I will just use this site as my therapy

Deep down I know that shaving is the only thing for it. I don't know what exactly is holding me back, but I know there is something.

[DAMMAG]

Mate, what's under that hat can't be too bad surely. Shave it off and let the boys here critique your sly look. Don't even bother critiquing your own look until you are used to it.

Damian.

[Morthen]

just shave it man you'll feel much better

[SBG Math Guy]

Welcome to slybaldguys,

You have nothing to lose by shaving your head.  If you don't like it, grow your hair back.  It's that simple.  But you have to realize something, EVERYONE on this planet goes through some type of problem.  The problems some of us have are bigger than what others go through.
But to be fair, there are so many people out there with bigger problems than you but they don't let the negative stuff get in their way of happiness.  So cheer up and enjoy what you have man.

[mangosink12572]

Go for it - - -remember that if you do not like it  - the hair you have will grow back - - -very few of us ever let it grow back - - -


Now shave the noggin and enjoy it  - - -

[buddha]

Well, I don't think I'll be going down the therapy/anti-depressants route. I know a couple of my family have/are struggling with depression, but I am determined not to go down the same path. Perhaps I will just use this site as my therapy

As a grown man who has been in/out of therapy a number of times I would encourage you to re-think this one. A lot of guys prefer the "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" philosophy with regard to problems encountered in life and 'SOMETIMES' this works. If it's a situation where "my girlfriend dumped me and I feel worthless", yeah, maybe get back in the race, put the old gf in the rearview and realize that there are bumps in the road and everybody runs over them once in a while. But what's going on in your original post sounds like old pain and IMO you can't deal very well with that on your own. I couldn't. But you have options.

I'm gonna play a little hardball right now and it is not intended to make you leave the forum or feel even worse about yourself. I, personally, can hear about a man's pain with compassion. Where I lose patience is when there is a real and viable option for resolving the pain and that man will not consider it for whatever personal reason. This doesn't mean that he has to stop talking about his pain, it just means that IMO it really isn't as bad as he wants everyone to believe so I stop regarding it with the importance that he wishes. Therapy is a real and viable option for you and it does not carry with it a mandate to be on drugs. But whoever first mentioned therapy as an option in the first place was dead on. If you ignore it because you don't want to follow in someone else's path all I can say is good luck with that. And as much as you can come in here and get help for your hair difficulties and as much as some members of this forum may want you to believe that you CAN use this site as your therapist.....I'll just say that I have my doubts.

But you're a grown man. You do what you gotta do.

P. S.: In case you hadn't guessed you're already on "THE SAME PATH".

[Papa Don]

Hello again BaldandAlone.  Nice picture you posted.  I see nothing wrong with your appearance.  Nice looking fellow.  IMHO you should rock the sly look.  Listen to the other guys and do the deed.  If you need our help in the future, we are just a keyboard away.  Best of luck to you.

[Professor Melon]

  Ahoy, B and A:
                                         Do use this site for therapy: you will find more accumulated wisdom on baldness here than anywhere else. Use a little intellectual hindsight: in five or six years--probably much less--you will be glad you got used to your sly bald self sooner rather than later, after a prolonged agony of denial and desperate "solutions." As many brothers suggest, shave it clean and live with it for thirty days. If you don't chime with the new image, you can grow what's left back and resume your headgear. My experience is that youy"ll "get" the boldness, honesty, and aesthetics of the new look. And you will not be alone. Given the way the economy is, there will be a lot more slick domes than previously. It's "in" but still distinctive, adult, and male. Let us see the new you. All best, Professor Melon

                           
 

[TGB1]

Good to hear from you again. Shave it and step out into the world proud of who and what you are. You have seen depression in your family and experienced yourself. there is no shame doing what it takes to deal with it. Avoiding the drugs would be good but only if you can deal with it in other ways.  Drive on.

[Snakehandler]

I went sly on January 4 & wish I had done it 10 years ago. Try it you'll like it

[BikerDave]

Dude, get over it. It's friggin' HAIR  for God's sake. It's not like your d!ck just fell off. Lot's of guys with full heads of hair are shaving their noggins just to be in fashion these days. Chicks dig the chrome dome look. There's nothing you can do about it so make the most of it. It sounds like your issues go a lot deeper than just being follicle impaired. Consider counseling to help you confront your deeper issues. Hair loss is definitely not your most overriding concern.

[phigg]

Shaved heads are "in" nowadays.  In fact, I was just told that this morning by the clerk at the pharmacy, as she commented on my head.
Everything has changed from when I was 25.  Now back then, going sly was seriously weird. Not any more. I seriously don't understand why anyone has such a hard time with being sly nowadays.  And, I've had nothing but good comments. Even if I had a bad one, it couldn't be nearly as bad as someone pointing out my thin hair- that's the worst.  Believe, I know... been there.
Shaving your head is taking back some control.
My hair wanted to leave me too.  I said, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass" and got rid of it.  I only did it recently, but wish I'd done it long ago.  (Just took a while to get my son onboard, but he's fine with it now)
And I swear, I've had some interesting looks and comments from chicks, like I never ever got before when I had "hair" (if you can call it that).

Also, don't knock therapy, and even the drugs aren't necessarily that bad. Most don't have the side effects you probably think they do. Beats living in a lonely depression.  You know where that leads to next if uncorrected.   
You have options, more than someone like I did 20 years ago.  So, the compassion is there but I have a hard time with giving too much sympathy.
Baldness will not be "cured" anytime soon, I assure you of that. Don't try to wait for it, you'll only make yourself more miserable.
Besides, did you ever stop to think maybe it's not something that should be cured?  Maybe it's normal human evolution still at work. Maybe in another 100,000 years, all males will be totally bald naturally. We've already gone from being pretty damn hairy to pretty much naked in the past million years or so we've existed*, so, this seems like a normal enough step to me.
Us MPB guys, we're just slightly ahead of the curve!

*(no offense to creationists, but it's not my cup of tea)