Lyme Disease and Mental health
For those who are not diagnosed and treated in the early phases of Lyme disease, symptoms can progress to affect almost every part of the body. Some people present with chronic pain, some with autoimmune diseases, and some with predominantly neurological symptoms. Neurological Lyme often includes sudden changes in mood which can impact a person’s day to day life functions.
Early in the process of conventional medicine’s struggle to characterize chronic or post-treatment Lyme disease, psychologists noticed that some of their patients with anxiety and depression were presenting with other co-occurring symptoms. Depression, anxiety, and irritability presented with fatigue, pain, light and sound sensitivity, cognitive problems and numbness and tingling of the extremities. Depression and anxiety that is related to tick borne illness may not respond to treatment with traditional antidepressant medications.
Traditional psychotropic medications are designed to support the balancing of neurotransmitters, like serotonin. However, mood changes related to tick borne infection do not respond to traditional medications as they are not caused by neurotransmitter imbalances. The depression, anxiety, and irritability as a result of Lyme disease is due to encephalopathy, or in other words, a disease process happening in the brain. Inflammation, infection, lack of blood flow or damage to parts of the brain is to blame, therefore it is important that your practitioners are Lyme literate when treating complex mental health conditions like depression.
Diagnosing and treating infection and inflammation may improve mental health where traditional antidepressant medications fail. Anxiety and depression associated with Lyme disease can be severe, extreme, or last for extended periods of time. This severity of Lyme-associated depression and the sense of isolation associated with this complex illness is well known by Lyme-literate physicians and patients.
Research done by Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Copenhagen Research Centre for Mental Health, found that patients in Denmark who received a hospital diagnosis of Lyme disease had a 28% higher rate of mental disorders and were twice as likely to have attempted suicide post infection than individuals without a Lyme diagnosis (Fallon, B. A., The American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 178, No. 10, 2021). This study helps us understand that having Lyme disease puts one at greater risk of poor mental health and suicidality than the general public.
At the Stram Center we encourage those suffering with chronic illness to have mental health support as part of treatment. Our licensed mental health counselor, Danielle Stram, understands the intersection of Lyme disease and mental health and is here to help you navigate life’s challenges.
Therapy is important to help cope with the stress and changes that are involved with being sick and the healing process. If you or someone you know is suffering from Lyme disease, depression, and is at risk for suicide please reach out for help. You can now reach a national suicide and crisis hotline by dialing 988 if you are experiencing an emergency. Please make sure that you speak with your doctor about how you are doing mentally as you go through treatment.
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