Symptom 12. Depression and Anxiety: The Emotional Toll
Living with chronic pain and other debilitating symptoms takes an emotional toll, leading to the next set of symptoms on our list – depression and anxiety. Mental health issues are common among those with fibromyalgia, and it’s not hard to see why.
Depression is not just feeling down or sad. It’s a persistent feeling of sadness, loss of interest, and a decline in the ability to carry out daily tasks. The physical exhaustion, the cognitive difficulties, the constant pain – all these can trigger feelings of despair and hopelessness that translate into depression.
Anxiety, too, is a frequent companion to fibromyalgia. The unpredictable nature of the condition – not knowing when a flare-up might strike, worrying about managing pain, and the challenges of coping with other symptoms – can create a constant state of high alert or worry.
This connection between physical and mental health is critical. They are two sides of the same coin, influencing and interacting with each other. Recognizing and addressing these mental health symptoms is therefore an integral part of managing fibromyalgia. (*)
