Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsEmotionalPhysicalSocialPractical
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Emotional
Physical
Social
Practical
There’s no cure for chronic Lyme disease and treatments can be complicated. However, there are steps that you can take to make living with Lyme disease more bearable. Read on to learn more.
Verywell / Sydney Saporito
Getting a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease can affect your mental and emotional health. People with chronic Lyme disease are more likely than those without the condition to feel negative.
In fact, more than half of people with Lyme disease experience mood swings, about one-fifth have anxiety, and about 13% have depression.
Lyme Disease and Mental IllnessLyme disease is associated with serious mental illnesses includingschizophreniaandbipolar disorder. Having Lyme disease can increase your risk for suicide.
Lyme Disease and Mental Illness
Lyme disease is associated with serious mental illnesses includingschizophreniaandbipolar disorder. Having Lyme disease can increase your risk for suicide.
This is all frightening information. Remember that most people with Lyme disease don’t experience mental health complications. However, if you begin experiencing mood swings or mental health symptoms that are uncharacteristic for you, speak with your healthcare provider immediately. In addition, try tofind a practitioner that specializes in Lyme diseaseand therefore has a more nuanced understanding of your symptoms.
You might consider talking to a trusted loved one about the mental and emotional effects of Lyme disease. That person can help you know when you might be experiencing these symptoms, and can help connect you with help.
Finally, whether or not you’re experiencing mental health symptoms, living with Lyme disease can be emotionally taxing.Online support groupscan connect you with other people living with Lyme disease who will understand your challenges and be able to share what has worked for them.
Thephysical effects of Lyme diseaseinclude arthritis, which occurs in up to 60% of patients who were not treated after a tick bite. About 12% of people experience neurological symptoms, including numbness or weakness, and about 1% of people experience heart problems, including a racing heart.
Exercise
Many people with chronic Lyme disease experience fatigue and painful arthritis. That often means that exercising is the last thing that you want to do, but getting exercise can actually improve symptoms, making you feel more energetic and limber.
One study found that even a low-intensity resistance training program reduced symptoms of Lyme disease. People who exercised three times a week for four weeks reported four times more days of feeling “healthy and full of energy.”
Diet
Lyme disease causes inflammation in the body, so people with chronic Lyme disease often benefit from following ananti-inflammatory diet. Broadly speaking, following this diet means:
Maintaining a healthy body weight can also help reduce inflammation and may help mitigate the symptoms of Lyme disease.
In addition, peoplewith Lyme disease should eat a dietthat encourages a healthy gut microbiome. Lyme disease itself and extensive treatment with antibiotics can both take a toll on your gut health. Eating for a healthy gut microbiomeincludes:
Sleep
People with Lyme disease often have a lower quality of sleep. At the same time, getting enough sleep can help you reduce inflammation and keep symptoms at bay. Make an effort to get the recommended eight hours of sleep each night. Establishinghealthy sleep hygienecan help. This includes:
Pain Management
It may take trial and error to find out what pain management techniques work for you during a Lyme disease flare-up. Common techniques that you can try include:
Talk to your healthcare provider about what pharmaceutical options might help you manage your pain.
Living with Lyme disease can take a toll on your relationships. This can include:
Talk to those who are most important to you about the ways that Lyme disease affects you. Having an open conversation can help prevent damage to your relationships. You and your loved ones may both benefit fromsupport groupsfor people with Lyme disease and their friends or family.
You might find it empowering to join organizations that advocate for patients with Lyme disease.
Keeping Track Of Flare-UpsEarly on after diagnosis, you should keep track of flare-ups, noting:How long they lastTriggersSymptomsHaving this information on hand will help you identify patterns and learn what works for you specifically to manage Lyme disease.
Keeping Track Of Flare-Ups
Early on after diagnosis, you should keep track of flare-ups, noting:How long they lastTriggersSymptomsHaving this information on hand will help you identify patterns and learn what works for you specifically to manage Lyme disease.
Early on after diagnosis, you should keep track of flare-ups, noting:
Having this information on hand will help you identify patterns and learn what works for you specifically to manage Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is still not very well understood. Because of that, finding a healthcare provider who is Lyme literate, or who specializes in treating Lyme disease, is very important. These practitioners have the most up-to-date research and information, and they understand the ways in which Lyme disease can manifest.
Disease Prevention
You might think that once you’ve been infected with Lyme disease you can let your tick-wariness wane. However, that’s not true. Even if you are experiencing symptoms of chronic Lyme disease, you can still be reinfected with Lyme. Because of that, you should still take steps topreventLyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, including:
Learning to live with Lyme disease can be an adjustment. Try to remember that there is plenty of support available, and scientists are learning more about treating and coping with Lyme disease every day.
5 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.Lantos PM.Chronic Lyme disease.Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2015;29(2):325-340. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2015.02.006Bransfield, Robert C.Neuropsychiatric Lyme borreliosis: an overview with a focus on a specialty psychiatrist’s clinical practice.Healthcare. September, 2018. doi:10.3390/healthcare6030104Bransfield, Robert C.Suicide and Lyme and associated diseases.Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2017. doi:10.2147/NDT.S136137D’Adamo, Christopher R.Supervised resistance exercise for patients with persistent symptoms of Lyme disease.Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. November 2015. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000683Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.
5 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.Lantos PM.Chronic Lyme disease.Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2015;29(2):325-340. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2015.02.006Bransfield, Robert C.Neuropsychiatric Lyme borreliosis: an overview with a focus on a specialty psychiatrist’s clinical practice.Healthcare. September, 2018. doi:10.3390/healthcare6030104Bransfield, Robert C.Suicide and Lyme and associated diseases.Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2017. doi:10.2147/NDT.S136137D’Adamo, Christopher R.Supervised resistance exercise for patients with persistent symptoms of Lyme disease.Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. November 2015. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000683Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.
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.
Lantos PM.Chronic Lyme disease.Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2015;29(2):325-340. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2015.02.006Bransfield, Robert C.Neuropsychiatric Lyme borreliosis: an overview with a focus on a specialty psychiatrist’s clinical practice.Healthcare. September, 2018. doi:10.3390/healthcare6030104Bransfield, Robert C.Suicide and Lyme and associated diseases.Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2017. doi:10.2147/NDT.S136137D’Adamo, Christopher R.Supervised resistance exercise for patients with persistent symptoms of Lyme disease.Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. November 2015. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000683Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.
Lantos PM.Chronic Lyme disease.Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2015;29(2):325-340. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2015.02.006
Bransfield, Robert C.Neuropsychiatric Lyme borreliosis: an overview with a focus on a specialty psychiatrist’s clinical practice.Healthcare. September, 2018. doi:10.3390/healthcare6030104
Bransfield, Robert C.Suicide and Lyme and associated diseases.Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2017. doi:10.2147/NDT.S136137
D’Adamo, Christopher R.Supervised resistance exercise for patients with persistent symptoms of Lyme disease.Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. November 2015. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000683
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.
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