Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesSymptomsTreatmentHow to Get HelpFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Symptoms
Treatment
How to Get Help
Frequently Asked Questions
Hypothyroidismis a common thyroid condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. This can impact mental well-being.
Psychiatric symptoms like low mood, memory problems, and extreme fatigue are common among people with hypothyroidism.
This article discusses the link between hypothyroidism and psychiatric symptoms, including signs to look for, and how treatment of hypothyroidism can help.
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What Causes Psychiatric Symptoms?
Psychiatric symptoms include a variety of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that are tied to mental health challenges.
What Does “Psychiatric” Mean?While “psychiatric” is sometimes associated with serious mental illnesses, the word simply refers to characteristics of mental illness and does not necessarily mean a mental illness is present.
What Does “Psychiatric” Mean?
While “psychiatric” is sometimes associated with serious mental illnesses, the word simply refers to characteristics of mental illness and does not necessarily mean a mental illness is present.
Just as there are many causes of mental illness, there are a multitude of reasons why someone might experience psychiatric symptoms.
Causes can range from:
Hypothyroidism is one of these conditions. Thyroid hormones affect many areas and functions of the body, including the brain. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that 5% of Americans have hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism Psychiatric Symptoms
Though it is not intuitive that thyroid hormones, which come from the thyroid gland in the throat, affect the brain, psychiatric symptoms arefrequent symptoms of hypothyroidism. Psychiatric symptoms associated with hypothyroidism include:
In terms of cognitive issues, studies have shown that hypothyroidism affects brain functioning in several ways, including:
Depression and Hypothyroidism
The link betweendepressionand hypothyroidism is well established.
While depression as a mental illness affects mood and cognition, so can low thyroid hormone levels. Testing for thyroid hormone levels is a way to differentiate depression from other health conditions. Some estimates show as many as 60% of people with hypothyroidism also experience depression.
Anxiety and Hypothyroidism
There is less consensus on the strength of the association betweenanxietyand hypothyroidism. Nonetheless, several studies do point to a connection between hypothyroidism and anxiety. For example, a cross-sectional study noted that 63% of people with hypothyroidism may also experience anxiety,but other studies show a much lower prevalence.
Variations
Age may affect the presence of psychiatric symptoms. One study found thatsubclinical hypothyroidismwas associated with depression in younger patients (those under 60 years old), but not in older ones.
The authors note that these results conflict with other studies showing that subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with more risk of cognitive issues and depression in older adults. More research is needed into how the level of hypothyroidism, knowledge about one’s diagnosis, and age play a role in the experience of psychiatric symptoms.
Besides the severity of hypothyroidism and age, another contributing factor to psychiatric symptoms in hypothyroidism is that symptoms may be more common among people who know they have hypothyroidism.
More research is needed on how knowledge of hypothyroidism status and its potential to lead to psychiatric symptoms impacts the presence of psychiatric symptoms. However, there is abundant research that shows that issues with thyroid functioning do in fact impact mood and cognition.
Given that some hypothyroidism psychiatric symptoms often look the same as those ofdepression, hypothyroidism may be overlooked and misdiagnosed as depression. Furthermore, knowing one has hypothyroidism and that it can lead to low mood may also impact their experience of depression. The cause-and-effect relationship can be complicated. However, there are several other nonpsychiatric symptoms of hypothyroidism that can help determine if that may be the cause of psychiatric symptoms.
Other Hypothyroidism Symptoms
Besides psychiatric symptoms, othersymptoms of hypothyroidisminclude:
If left untreated, hypothyroidism may lead tomyxedema, but this is rare. Symptoms may include:
Diagnosis of hypothyroidism, including myxedema, is usually done with labs that test for thyroid hormone levels and may include blood content as well.
Treating Psychiatric Symptoms
Treatment for psychiatric symptoms of hypothyroidism focuses on treating the underlying thyroid issues. The standardtreatment for hypothyroidismis a medication calledlevothyroxine(T4), but may also include a combination of levothyroxine and liothyronine (T3). These medications help stimulate the underactive thyroid so that it produces normal thyroid hormones. This, in turn, helps maintain healthy thyroid hormone levels for the brain, which will help ensure improved psychological function.
If standard thyroid treatments do not help with psychiatric symptoms, there may be an underlying mental health condition. If that’s the case, treatment will focus on improving mental well-being. For example, if depressive symptoms persist in someone treated for hypothyroidism, they may be referred to treatment for depression. Mental health challenges are treatable. They include medication, therapy, or a combination of both.
If you are experiencing psychiatric symptoms such as depression, cognitive issues, or severe fatigue, it is best to speak with your healthcare provider. After listening to your experiences with psychiatric symptoms, your provider may test for thyroid problems to see if hypothyroidism is present. Such tests are sometimes the first step to determine if psychiatric symptoms are a result of hypothyroidism since hypothyroidism and mental health issues like depression are well established.
If your thyroid hormone levels check out as normal, your healthcare provider can guide you through next steps to improving your mental well-being.
Summary
Psychiatric symptoms, including depression and memory problems, are common among people with hypothyroidism. Diagnosing hypothyroidism may be the first step in treating psychiatric symptoms as hypothyroidism treatment may improve mental health support may be appropriate to treat underlying issues of mental well-being.
A Word From Verywell
It is not uncommon to feel down, tired, or forgetful, even on a normal day. There are so many reasons why these feelings surface. However, hypothyroidism is common and so are psychiatric symptoms among people with hypothyroidism.
Testing for hypothyroidism is straightforward and often starts with a simple blood draw at your healthcare provider’s office. If you learn you have hypothyroidism, do not fear. It is treatable. And if it turns out that you don’t have hypothyroidism, your provider will evaluate you further to determine the cause and treatment of your changes in mood and cognition.
While research has looked into hypothyroidism and bipolar disorder, there is no significant association between the two conditions.However, some people with hypothyroidism experience moodiness or mood swings, but this is different from clinically diagnosed bipolar disorder, which is a serious mental health issue that should not be considered simple “moodiness.”
It depends on how you define “crazy.” Hypothyroidism is associated with psychiatric symptoms like depression, anxiety, and cognitive issues. For example, hypothyroidism may cause forgetfulness, slowed thinking, or moodiness.This could make you feel “out of it” or not yourself.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).Samuels MH.Psychiatric and cognitive manifestations of hypothyroidism.Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2014;21(5):377-383. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000089Bathla M, Singh M, Relan P.Prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients with hypothyroidism.Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2016;20(4):468-474. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.183476Zhao T, Chen BM, Zhao XM, Shan ZY.Subclinical hypothyroidism and depression: a meta-analysis.Transl Psychiatry. 2018;8(1):1-8. doi:10.1038/s41398-018-0283-7Menon B.Hypothyroidism and bipolar affective disorder: is there a connection?Indian J Psychol Med. 2014;36(2):125-128.British Thyroid Foundation.Psychological symptoms and thyroid disorders.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).Samuels MH.Psychiatric and cognitive manifestations of hypothyroidism.Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2014;21(5):377-383. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000089Bathla M, Singh M, Relan P.Prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients with hypothyroidism.Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2016;20(4):468-474. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.183476Zhao T, Chen BM, Zhao XM, Shan ZY.Subclinical hypothyroidism and depression: a meta-analysis.Transl Psychiatry. 2018;8(1):1-8. doi:10.1038/s41398-018-0283-7Menon B.Hypothyroidism and bipolar affective disorder: is there a connection?Indian J Psychol Med. 2014;36(2):125-128.British Thyroid Foundation.Psychological symptoms and thyroid disorders.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).Samuels MH.Psychiatric and cognitive manifestations of hypothyroidism.Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2014;21(5):377-383. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000089Bathla M, Singh M, Relan P.Prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients with hypothyroidism.Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2016;20(4):468-474. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.183476Zhao T, Chen BM, Zhao XM, Shan ZY.Subclinical hypothyroidism and depression: a meta-analysis.Transl Psychiatry. 2018;8(1):1-8. doi:10.1038/s41398-018-0283-7Menon B.Hypothyroidism and bipolar affective disorder: is there a connection?Indian J Psychol Med. 2014;36(2):125-128.British Thyroid Foundation.Psychological symptoms and thyroid disorders.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).
Samuels MH.Psychiatric and cognitive manifestations of hypothyroidism.Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2014;21(5):377-383. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000089
Bathla M, Singh M, Relan P.Prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients with hypothyroidism.Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2016;20(4):468-474. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.183476
Zhao T, Chen BM, Zhao XM, Shan ZY.Subclinical hypothyroidism and depression: a meta-analysis.Transl Psychiatry. 2018;8(1):1-8. doi:10.1038/s41398-018-0283-7
Menon B.Hypothyroidism and bipolar affective disorder: is there a connection?Indian J Psychol Med. 2014;36(2):125-128.
British Thyroid Foundation.Psychological symptoms and thyroid disorders.
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