Very sad news 😭 Moriah Plath drops heartbreaking update about her alopecia struggle

Moriah Plath is opening up about her struggle with alopecia.

In PEOPLE’s exclusive look at the upcoming episode of Welcome to Plathville, the 23-year-old admitted that dealing with the condition has taken a toll on her over the years.

“When I was little, it all fell out,” she shared. “As I grew up, now and then I’d get little spots, but it was always something I could hide. But I was still carrying some wounds from that.”

“I was really insecure about it. And around Lydia’s wedding, I just started really falling out like this,” she said, snapping her fingers. “Within a few weeks it was all gone.”

According to the National Institute of Health, alopecia occurs when “the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss.” It usually affects the head and face, with the most common type being “patchy alopecia areata,” where a person develops coin-sized bald spots on the scalp or elsewhere. But more severe cases can cause hair loss all over the body.

The cause of the condition is unknown and it affects as many as 6.7 million people in the U.S. alone, the National Alopecia Areata Foundation reports.