Psychological Symptoms and Thyroid Disorders

source: British Thyroid Foundation

People with thyroid disorders often have emotional or mental health symptoms as well as physical symptoms. This is especially the case for people with hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid), hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid), thyroid related eye disease, or thyroid cancer.

What Kind of Emotional Problems Might I Experience?
Whatever your type of thyroid disorder, it can make you feel more emotional than you felt before and you may find that your mood changes, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. Common emotional problems are:

Overactivity
• Anxiety – a feeling of nervousness, with butterflies, heart racing and trembling

Underactivity
• Depression – low mood and difficulty enjoying things, tearfulness, loss of appetite and disturbed sleep
• Anxiety – this can be a result of the thyroid condition itself or from worries about managing the things that are expected of them in daily life

Either Overactivity or Underactivity
• Mood swings – irritability, snappiness or short-temper which people often call ‘moodiness’
• Sleeping difficulties