Anxiety Disorder and Your Thyroid (strange connection)

Most people think of anxiety disorder as a purely psychological disorder, but we often forget that psychology is also affected by the biological mechanisms in our physical bodies.

A study presented at the 2020 Congress of the European Society of Endocrinology reminds us of this fact by revealing a connection between anxiety disorder and the thyroid.

The researchers recruited 29 men with an average age of 33.9 and 47 women with an average age of 31.7 who had consulted a neurologist or psychotherapist with a complaint of anxiety attacks.

The subjects had all been diagnosed with anxiety on the frequently used Anxiety and Depression Rating Scale (HADS). They had also been prescribed antianxiety medication that did not work for them.

The researchers performed ultrasounds on the thyroid glands of their subjects.

In 95 percent of these subjects, blood flow to their thyroid glands was higher than normal. The researchers recorded an increase in immune system antibodies, which indicates that their immune systems were attacking their thyroid glands.

Their thyroid hormones were a little high, but within the normal range.

This suggested to the scientists that their subjects suffered from inflammation in their thyroid glands brought about by a mistaken immune system attack on them. This is called autoimmune thyroiditis.

They then gave their subjects the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug called ibuprofen.

After eight weeks, they rescanned their thyroid glands, repeated the depression and anxiety rating scale, and found that the thyroid inflammation had subsided and that their subjects scored within the normal range for anxiety.

Therefore, inflammation of the thyroid can cause anxiety disorder and people who suffer from this debilitating psychological disorder should keep this in mind.

We are not suggesting that you take ibuprofen just in case your thyroid gland might be inflamed. Ibuprofen can cause nausea, vomiting, constipation, bloating, dizziness, headaches, nervousness, and—even more seriously—anemia, kidney problems, liver disease, stomach ulcers, shortness of breath, heart attacks, and stroke.

But you can step up the amount of anti-inflammatory foods in your diet and generally eat a varied diet with enough vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, and seeds to support your immune system.

Strong anti-inflammatory foods include almost all green leafy vegetables, orange and yellow vegetables, tomatoes, sweet green and red peppers, guavas, oranges, mango, pineapple, watermelon, shellfish, Turkey, cashews, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, olive oil, avocado, canola oil, whole grains, and oily fish like mackerel, salmon, and sardines.

But this may not be enough to eliminate anxiety—especially if it’s not caused by inflammation—but hundreds of people have eliminated their anxiety using the simple steps explained here…