Infectious Diseases and Mood
Infectious diseases such as chronic Lyme disease, reactivation of Epstein Barr Virus (the virus responsible for mononucleosis), and long-term COVID-19 symptoms can cause chronic depression through inflammation, nutrient scavenging, and direct effects on the brain and nervous system. In addition to causing significant fatigue, some viruses go dormant in the nervous system permanently, only to be reactivated in times of high stress. Each of these chronic infectious diseases also has a strong relationship with inflammation, which is another cause of depression. The ability to fight off an infectious disease that may affect mood is dependent on your immune system health, which may be compromised as a result of stress, autoimmunity, or exposure to molds or heavy metals.
What's Causing Your Depression?
When I say lifestyle, what I mean is the basic requirements of life—food, exercise, sleep, stress, and substance use. In short, it means the way you live—too much excitement or stress, too little sleep, forcing your body to deal with constant alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or poor diet. These contributors are the foundation of the chemistry of your body and mind, and will influence how your brain chemistry operates; and they may contribute to episodes of depression along the way if they are out of balance.
Most of us thrive when we keep our pace of life in the slow to medium range. Unfortunately the modern lifestyle doesn’t make this easy for us, because we are often saturated with responsibilities, work, tasks, information, commutes, and expectations to keep up with the pace of others. Depression can develop when dealing with difficult life situations, especially when the situation is long term.
Neurotransmitters are the main chemical messengers of mood, and they include "uppers", which lift your mood and stimulate excitement and activity, and "downers" which calm and relax. Neurotransmitter imbalances are pivotal treatment areas for mood disorders, and they can be tested and treated individually. Imbalances in neurotransmitters can result from many areas, included genetics, gut health issues, and hormone imbalances in the adrenals, thyroid, and sex hormones.
Depression can be a result of several different neurotransmitter imbalances, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. The two main branches of depression are serotonin dependent, which presents as a weepy, sad, melancholic 'blues' type of depression; and dopamine/norepinephrine dependent depression, which presents as a tired, lethargic, brain-fogged, and unmotivated type of depression.
Infectious Disease and Mood Mini-Course
Did You Know?
COVID-19 long-term symptoms of fatigue, depression, and brain fog may be related to scavenging of specific nutrients that are used to make neurotransmitters. When the body has to choose to heal the inflammation related to COVID-19 over keeping your mood stable, of course it chooses to put out the flames. That’s when your brain and body becomes depleted, and long term fatigue and depression develop.
The bacteria responsible for chronic Lyme Disease symptoms can invade the brain and neurological tissue and cause depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, fatigue, cognitive impairments, brain fog, obsessive compulsive disorder, and even suicidal thinking.
Abnormal immune response to Epstein Barr virus has been linked to depression, fatigue, and schizophrenia. People who were exposed to Epstein Barr Virus in childhood have a higher risk of psychiatric illness in adulthood. Holistic psychiatry can help treat the dormant virus and prevent recurrence.