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Thyroid Patients Explain The Devastating Effects on Their Mental Health

TW: Mental Health, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts 

A part of having hypothyroidism that is often overlooked is the strong connection between the disease and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

In Thyroid UK’s 2015 survey, it was revealed that over 50% of the respondents also lived with depression. 

So, I asked followers of my Facebook page how thyroid disease has affected their mental health. Because there’s so many stories out there.  It’s an area we need to raise awareness on as most people are totally unaware of the link.

People have been kept anonymous as some of these comments are so personal.

“I’ve never suffered in my life with anxiety & depression, until I was finally diagnosed with Hypothyroidism which keeps going into Hyperthyroidism. I thought I was going mad . I had poor concentration, panic attacks, the works. There’s many more but the story and list is too long.”

“I have a lot more anxiety than I used to. I prefer being home a lot of the time and it’s impacted on socialising and friendships. I feel that my life has become very rigid at times, needing more structure and routine than ever before and I cannot just go with the flow. At the same time it can be hard to plan far in advance due to not knowing how I’ll be feeling. Swings can and do happen, that’s the nature of Hashimoto’s unfortunately. I’ve become more paranoid about my health overall due to the fear of developing other conditions, mistrusting doctors as they gave me thyroid meds then took them away again leaving me to develop serious problems in the four/five years without meds. I now have serious trust issues when it comes to medical professionals. It’s all had a massive impact on my mental health.”

“This last few months, I seem to be sinking and am very emotional. I used to be known as slightly ‘hard’ and very rarely cried. But now I can’t stop. I just have to think of a sad article, remember my much loved Grandma etc. and the tears are flowing. It’s exhausting. I can cry for no reason whatsoever and I seem to spend a lot of time thinking back to happier times. Feeling so ill for so long is bound to have an impact on mental health and maybe I’ve just reached a peak where I can’t act as if everything is fine any more. I don’t socialise anymore either. I find it very difficult just to go to the shops. I’m taking early retirement due to my health as well as I just can’t cope with it all.”

“I’m isolated. I have depression. It’s the worst this time of year when it’s cold and dark outside. I have just enough energy to work and cook dinner but people expect more. I’m tired of meeting expectations. I shut a lot of people out of my life. It’s frustrating that I can’t always hear or comprehend what people are saying to me from the brain fog. I have anxiety about forgetting things so I double check everything. I’m afraid to change my routine because I might forget something important or be unprepared or overtired.”

“I feel emotionally flat and have to force a smile on days when I’m feeling my hypothyroidism symptoms. The fatigue and body aches bring me down and I feel I’m only existing and not really living life to the full. I am always seeking peace and quiet as I have low tolerance to loud noises . I am more hypersensitive to comments made from people which is annoying as I used to be a bubbly glass half full person before my diagnosis of hypothyroidism.”

“I have severe depression and panic attacks. It’s a major ordeal to leave the house. I have to plan an outing out beforehand and have developed some strange panic dealing with being in a car.”

“The biggest impact is living a much quieter life, more isolating than before. I’m in constant battle with myself. There is so much I want to do but when I do too much it takes me a long time to recover again. It does feel at times like the rest of world is living and I am no longer a part of it and as time goes by I’m just forgotten about and haven’t got the sustained energy to keep pushing myself to be out there. It’s isolating.”

“I have really dark times where I just cry to myself and shut myself off from everyone. It’s even affecting my work where some days I hide away and I feel so embarrassed speaking to people about it. And if I watch something that upsets me I automatically turn to having dark/ upsetting thoughts about myself.”

“Some days my brain seems to connect and then I realize what I should have known earlier.”

“It seems to really steal the sense of well-being from me. When I have a rare day where I’m feeling a sense of well-being, I sometimes still feel sad, because I know it’s going to end soon, and the next day will likely be bad again. Often times my mental outlook is grim, because I face an unknown future. Will I be chronically ill the rest of my life? Will I one day have more good days than bad? Will I ever be the mother I want to be? Most days, I have to admit I probably won’t be able to. I think living with hypothyroidism, or any other chronic illness, forces us to grieve the loss of the person we once were. We likely won’t ever see that person again.”

“This lifelong health condition can be debilitating… the symptoms are so broad and differs from one person to another. How each individual feels and what each one goes through can truly bring our spirits down. Mentally and physically we are challenged every second of the day with this condition. I personally struggle with fighting the negativity that this condition has put forth upon me. But as each day passes I can only be my own advocate to better understand and gain control of what challenges me.”

“I am so pleased all the depression and anxiety went as soon as I started NDT. I lost 17 years of my life to this horrible condition. I missed so much, the excuses I made so I didn’t have to go family gatherings, watching all the family go to a wedding as I couldn’t face it, but crying and feeling relieved when I was left alone. I am certainly making up for lost time now.”

“I feel lonely a lot because of social anxiety. My husband is the only one who understands my physical struggle and is willing to help me. I’ve dealt with depression over the years, but anxiety is a new one lately. I don’t like car rides for some reason. It got so bad one day that my husband pulled over to see what was going on because I almost basically stood up in my seat. I can’t remember what I’m doing or remember simple words to describe what I’m trying to say some days. I have to plan day by day because I never know how I’m going to feel. I get frustrated because I can’t sleep when I need to, and sleep when I don’t want. I’m always exhausted.”

Feel free to add your own in the comments section below. 

Read other blogs in the ‘Thyroid Patients Explain’ format here


If you are on thyroid medication and experiencing mental health issues, it could be that you are not optimally treated, or have other problems you need to address. Please know that you are certainly not alone and many patients do get better with optimal treatment. A properly treated thyroid condition should have no or very few symptoms. Of course, other illness, conditions and deficiencies can cause problems too, so explore them all if possible.

If you need support right now, you can contact;
https://www.samaritans.org/ and/or https://www.mind.org.uk/.

Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate Book CoverSee also:

The book Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate: When You’re Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tiredwhich covers Rachel’s personal journey of going from being suicidal and extremely unwell with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s, to no longer struggling with her mental health and instead thriving in every way.

THE FOLLOWING LINk has BEEN SPONSORED BY BETTERHELP

You may also consider online therapy with BetterHelp

You can click on the hyperlinks in the above post to learn more and see references to information given.

About Author

Rachel Hill is the highly ranked and multi-award winning thyroid patient advocate, writer, speaker and author behind The Invisible Hypothyroidism. Her thyroid advocacy work includes writing articles, authoring books, producing her Thyroid Family email newsletters and speaking on podcasts and at events about the many aspects thyroid disease affects and how to overcome these. She is well-recognised as a crucial and influential contributor to the thyroid community and has a large social media presence. Her bestselling books include "Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate" and "You, Me and Hypothyroidism".

8 Comments

  • Holly
    June 3, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    I have had thyroid issues sense I was 12 maybe younger that went diagnosed. Everyone thought it was anxiety and depression so I believed them bc I was young and dumb. When I was 19 is when things started really getting rough. I was hyperthyroid and then a year and a half later went to hypothyroid with my thyroid not working at all. It crashed the same time I was on thyroid meds. The thyroid suppressants also caused me depression which no doc would listen to. I was almost committed twice, I was suicidal, I was in pain and swinging between hyper thyroid. Eventually had a thyroid crisis and had a thyroidectomy bc I couldn’t take it any longer. Went gluten and dairy free which helped so much but still needed the surgery. That surgery gave me my life back. At 19 I was 110-115 lbs and in great shape. 2 years later I was 82 lbs and walking up stairs was running a marathon. Thyroid disease took my life from me and support pages like this helped me get it back. Docs thought I was bipolar but turns out swinging from hyper to hypo in the snap of your fingers would make anyone nutty. Still get flashbacks to what it was like being crazy and sick.

    Reply
  • Gill L
    October 2, 2019 at 11:39 am

    I can totally understand all the comments above. In December 18 6 months after diagnoses I was offered tablets for low mood. I refused as I hoped (from what I’d read) that correct levels would improve the situation. I totally pulled back from my life and the world. I got to what I believe to be the correct level of Levo for me in March this year and feel in the last 3 months I have turned a corner at last. It does mean I pick and choose more carefully what I do or don’t do but that means I spend more time doing what I really enjoy. If I have days when I don’t want to talk/go outside I don’t beat myself up about it as I know I could feel different in 24hrs time so I do the essentials only and hit the sofa and box set. It’s definately a different life and I’m sad for that but I can now occasionally party on with the best of them – it just takes a lot longer to recover. You’ve got to believe it can get better and keep fighting and trying new things to help it. Good luck and stay strong.

    Reply
  • Heather R Barrett
    September 19, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    I have been suffering since I was young! I turned 46 on Monday September 16, 2019. I have not been diagnosed yet even though I have all the symptoms of hypothyroidism. I have also been a nurse for 18 yrs! You would think they would listen to me! NO THEY DONT! Finally I have a doc appt in a week with my gynecologist, God I hope he listens. How can they not do a simple full thyroid panel? I just dont understand why that’s so hard!
    Thank you, Heather Barrett

    Reply
  • Ashley Brooke
    July 6, 2019 at 1:41 pm

    I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s when I was 14 years old (I’m now 19.) I was diagnosed in a mental hospital after my first suicide attempt, and I couldn’t be left alone anymore… Sever Depression was my first symptom and it peaked when I was around 12 years old, but I always remember as a child feeling so isolated and sad, but I didn’t understand so I shook it off. And what’s even harder is these summer seasons, where I have these scars from the past lacing my left shoulder where I have to be reminded every time I see them that “Your sick, you can’t get better, and this is your weakness.” Now, these days all I’m getting from doctors is Levothyroxine and the “There’s nothing more we can do.” There are days when I still just feel so… helpless. I’ll always have this lingering feeling of hopelessness and on other days I’ll go back and fourth from happy, to crying my eyes out and wanting to end everything… I know that’s not me, and that’s what’s so hard. So now I’ve just learned to find balance in isolation. I don’t really have many friends, I never have, but I’m okay with that because how do you help people understand something as complicated as this..? You can’t… So my biggest problem now is the bubble I’ve built around myself, and the strong desire for solitude. Yet what’s different now, is that it’s comforting.

    Reply
  • Karen
    December 31, 2018 at 4:01 am

    I have various mental health problems to start with but with thyroid disease its like being hit with a brick.. i did have to have total thyroidectomy due to the symptoms being put down to mental health for a while so thumbs up to doctors for graves 😢

    Reply
  • Jan Lee
    September 22, 2018 at 2:49 am

    I have had a mental health diagnosis for years, long before any thyroid issues even were diagnosed. Recently I’ve been diagnosed with…hmm let’s see, they won’t even tell me it it’s low thyroid or high thyroid. It’s ridiculous. The endo dr. just keeps saying well it’s thyroiditis and won’t say if it’s low or high. Last time I saw him he said well you don’t need blood tests anymore and I said well is it low or high? Oh you’re still in recovery from thyroiditis. Because I’ve had mental health issues long before the thyroid issues, they won’t blame any depression on the thyroid issues. It’s so frustrating. The endo dr. said yes you do have thyroid problems, (and my sister was diagnosed with Graves disease), but he won’t tell me anything but thyroiditis. I know people would say get a new endo dr. but it’s hard to do in my town. I already take medicine for depression so I don’t want to (or need to) take anything more for that but I would like to know if I need to take any thyroid meds!!

    Reply
  • Darcy
    April 26, 2018 at 7:32 pm

    I have been in a battle with my thyroid health for over 45 years! :'( As a child to an adult….. finally when I was 28 to have a doctor say “you have a thyroid disorder” It has robbed me of so many days, weeks and years of my health. And through it all more pills and advise on what I was doing wrong. Eat less, exercise more, take this pill, try this!!!! I was on Synthroid for over 30 years and didn’t even understand what was going on in my own body. Just took the pills. Hoping to feel better? And sadly never did. I’m on amour now and felling better everyday. Never again will I just listen blindly!! And take the meds. Thanks to many sites like this I feel hope a a sense of power over my life finally! Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Rachel Hill
      April 30, 2018 at 3:17 pm

      Hi Darcy, I’m glad to hear the NDT medication is helping you already. I was the same on T4-only meds. It’s so good to hear your story 🙂

      Reply

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