Thyroid and Mood Disorders

[Mel]

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 2, Issue 12 (June 2009).

Thyroid and Mood Disorders
By Gidig (Maria)

You go and talk to your doctor about depression, and they do a blood test to check your thyroid function. This may sound off the wall, but evidence and research is beginning to show that your thyroid and mood may be linked.

Many people who have a mood disorder, such as manic depression especially, seem to have thyroid dysfunction. Thyroid dysfunction could be caused by your thyroid working overtime, or snoozing on the job. So now, if you’re getting prescribed anti-depressants or mood stabilizers without your doctor checking your thyroid function, it may not be a bad idea to request that they take a look. This could save you a lot of misery with pills and depression later on.

What is the thyroid?

They thyroid is a large endocrine gland that is located in your throat. It is a controlling gland so to speak, making proteins, controlling how fast your body burns energy, and dictating how the body should react to other hormones. It does this by producing the thyroid hormone and sending it throughout the body.

Thyroid hormone

The thyroid hormone is obviously produced by the thyroid. It increases the basal metabolic rate, which is basically a measure of the rate of your metabolism in fancy terms. This gland also affects protein synthesis as well as many other functions that help around your body. The thyroid hormone is a very important one within your body. And now, it’s also being shown to affect your mood.

Hyperthyroidism

The definition of hyperthyroidism according to the American Thyroid Association is “any condition in which there is too much thyroid hormone in the body. In other words, the thyroid gland is overactive.”

Symptoms: 70% of the time hyperthyroidism will lead to overproduction of the thyroid hormone. Since the thyroid controls a large amount of bodily function, if it’s overproducing the thyroid hormone, it speeds up nearly everything in your body. You may be nervous, irritable, or have a racing heart, anxiety, difficultly sleeping and other similar symptoms. Many people lose quite a bit of weight due to increased metabolism, and women tend to have a lighter menstrual flow.

Treatment: Whether it be a beta blocker or an anti-thyroid drug, most people suffering from hyperthyroidism are on medication. If your doctor determines that you do have hyperthyroidism they will speak to you about other newer options to deal with this condition as well.

How might it affect my mood?: The symptoms of hyperthyroidism are fairly indicative of any mood changes. It can increase anxiety, make you nervous, give you mood swings, and otherwise greatly affect your mood.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is the opposite of Hyperthyroidism. Rather than having an overactive thyroid, those with hypothyroidism have an under active thyroid. This means that your thyroid is not producing enough of the important hormones your body needs. This, however, is a common condition; it is estimated that 10% of women have some sort of thyroid hormone deficiency.

Symptoms: You may have a slow metabolism, meaning you may gain weight if you have Hypothyroidism. Unlike Hyperthyroidism, this condition slows down everything in your body, potentially leading to weakness and/or fatigue. You may have dry, coarse hair, dry, pale skin, hair loss, muscle cramps and aches, and memory loss along with possible other symptoms. This can cause depression and irritability.

Treatment: Normally, as with Hyperthyroidism, you take an oral thyroid hormone to help and continue regulating your thyroid hormone.

How might it affect my mood?: The main mood symptom experienced with hypothyroidism is depression, which is tagged along with lethargy and physical weakness, both signs of depression. Mood swings are also common with this condition.


Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyroid_hormone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyroid
http://www.thyroid.org/patients/pati...hyroidism.html
http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/thy...isease/AN00986
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyp...ents-and-drugs