Depression and Anxiety Are Real Issues for Those with Rheumatoid Arthritis

People living with rheumatoid arthritis might get so distracted with their own healthcare. From daily medications and frequent doctor's appointments to the terrible flares and hospitalizations, it’s tough to get a minute to think about emotional and mental health.

It can all get extremely overwhelming. It's easy to reach a breaking point, and it’s easy to start to lose hope when it feels physically impossible to get out of bed.

How often do you get to sit down and ask yourself how you're feeling? How often do you find yourself breaking down in tears that you cannot console? Some days, you may simply feel so horrible about yourself because your body just feels that bad. Having rheumatoid arthritis is not only hard on your body, but it's incredibly hard on your emotional well-being too.

It's more than just feeling sad from time to time

Clinical depression is not just about being a little down in the dumps from time to time. On the contrary, being depressed is extremely impactful on your overall physical health. Some people are skeptical that your mind has so much power over the physical health of your body - but it been proven in research time and time again. Mental health is an incredibly important component of not only quality of life, but also physical health as well.

Depression is an extremely common disorder affecting adults all over the world

Depression is extremely common, even in people who don't suffer from a chronic illness like rheumatoid. Having depression is a leading cause of disability globally, meaning that the disease is so severe that it's actually negatively impacting someone' life in a significant way. According to the World Health Organization, depression affects just about 7% of the adult population each year. Having depression affects not only your overall quality of life, but it can have some serious health consequences too.

If you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, are you more prone to having depression or anxiety?

If you have an autoimmune disease like rheumatoid arthritis, you're already fighting an uphill battle trying to stay on top of your disease. Flares can crop up at any time and knock you down with crippling pain and suffering. On top of that, the countless medications and doctors visits are enough to make anyone's head spin. People who have rheumatoid arthritis are more prone to get depression. And it's no wonder - having a chronic, debilitating autoimmune disease can be incredibly taxing on body and spirit.

Science says it all - even if we don't exactly know the reasons why

It's proven by science. Research shows that depression and symptoms of depression are much more common in people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis compared to the general population. The rate of depression in people who have rheumatoid arthritis has been estimated to be anywhere between 34 to 42 percent - that's almost half of these patients and more than triple the rate seen in the general population.

To put it simply, people living with RA are more prone to depression and anxiety. Read on to learn more.