Psychological wellbeing People with thyroid disorders often have emotional or psychological 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. Content overview What kind of emotional problems might I experience? What causes psychological symptoms? What about treatment? Further information 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: 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 you in daily life Overactivity Anxiety - a feeling of nervousness, with butterflies, heart racing and trembling Either overactivity or underactivity Mood swings - irritability, snappiness or short-temper which people often call 'moodiness' Sleeping difficulties What causes the psychological symptoms? Having abnormal thyroid hormone levels can often upset your emotions. Sometimes psychological symptoms are a side effect of your treatment. For example, steroids can aggravate depression and beta blockers, prescribed to slow down your heart rate and to reduce anxiety if you are hyperthyroid, can make some people feel tired, depressed, and mentally less alert. A thyroid disorder can also cause changes in appearance. For example, changes due to thyroid eye disease, weight loss or gain, or loss of hair can contribute to feelings of low self-esteem or mood. It is uncertain whether stressful life events trigger thyroid disease. However, stress can aggravate symptoms caused by a thyroid condition, and make them much worse and take longer to settle. Learning that you have thyroid cancer is a stressful event. It is not unusual to have an emotional reaction before, during, or after treatment. It can even trigger trauma in some people which can severely affect our daily lives. Please speak to your doctor if you are concerned so they can identify the right support for you. Forgetting to take your medication can also be a factor. Some people lose motivation when it comes to daily tablet-taking or attending clinics. However, taking tablets irregularly can upset your hormone balance and aggravate the psychological symptoms. Often other factors can be the main cause of the problem, so it is always important to look at all things that may be affecting you. What about treatment? Fortunately, in the great majority of cases, if the thyroid is the cause of the problem, psychological symptoms will improve as the thyroid disorder is brought under control by treatment. Talk to your doctor about the psychological symptoms associated with your thyroid disorder. They may be an important part of your thyroid disorder, so just ask as many questions as you need to in order to understand what is happening to you. Further information Read our psychological wellbeing resources Please help us help others With your support we can help people to live better with thyroid disease. Your donations also fund vital research to improve treatments. Please consider making a donation or becoming a member. Donate to BTF Become a BTF member Manage Cookie Preferences Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility