Dr Hyla Cass, MD, author of Eight Weeks to Vibrant Health was interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.
How thyroid imbalance can cause anxiety and depression
- An aside on Abram Hoffer and orthomolecular medicine
- Thyroid disorders: frequency, causes, symptoms and the mood/anxiety connection
- Hashimotos thyroiditis and anxiety
- Hyperthyroidism and anxiety
- Testing: basal temperature and blood tests
- Conventional medical treatment
- Natural thyroid hormones and dietary factors
- Shoulder stands, rebounding and exercise for stress and anxiety
Hyla and I recently both presented at the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conference. While we were these I asked her to do a quick video. Here it is…
Here is Hyla’s answer to: “What are some of the other factors that can cause us to have a low thyroid function?”
Well, if you’re not converting T4 to T3, you want to go another step deeper, and that is why aren’t you converting T4 to T3? Because that is the active form. So it could be that you’re converting it to inactive form, which is reverse T3. That’s what you do in times of stress. It could be that you’re deficient in certain minerals that are required to convert the T4 to T3. Those are selenium, for example, zinc, magnesium.
We need to have a lot of chemicals in our body, a lot of good chemicals, good vitamins, good minerals for all the chemistry to work properly. So rather than simply replacing thyroid hormones, which is a good idea and it works, but also to find out what’s going on to make your body produce the T3 instead of giving it exogenously, giving external T3. But let’s encourage the body first to make it.
Or your adrenals can be wiped out. You get really stressed and your adrenals are working too hard, and they kind of go on strike. What happens when your adrenals are really exhausted is they’re releasing cortisol. You actually suppress your thyroid, your production of thyroid. You could actually have a low TSH and a low T4 and a low T3. It has to do with your adrenal glands being really tired. What you look for is reverse T3. That’s a good clue that your adrenals are not functioning on all cylinders.
Here is the paper: The prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in patients with euthyroid Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: a comparative study, discussing the connection between thyroid disorders and anxiety and depression (and treatment resistant depression)
Euthyroid Hashimotos thyroiditis and euthyroid goiter increase predisposition to major depression and anxiety disorders, and thyroid autoimmunity and other thyroid pathologies should be investigated in euthyroid patients with chronic and treatment-resistant complaints.
We discussed hyperthyroidism and psychiatric diagnoses. Here is the paper in the European Journal of Endinocrinology: Hyperthyroidism and psychiatric morbidity: evidence from a Danish nationwide register study:
Hyperthyroid individuals have an increased risk of being hospitalized with psychiatric diagnoses and being treated with antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anxiolytics, both before and after the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism.
Here is the 2014 paper I mentioned – Paradigm shifts in thyroid hormone replacement therapies for hypothyroidism.
Impaired psychological well-being, depression or anxiety are observed in 5-10% of hypothyroid patients receiving levothyroxine, despite normal TSH levels
Here is a link to my interview with Dr. Prousky – Tapering off psychiatric drugs so they don’t ruin your life. It has information about the Canadian Society for Orthomolecular Medicine
Here are two of Hyla’s great books:
Natural Highs: Supplements, Nutrition, and Mind-Body Techniques to Help You Feel Good All the Time
Get your free gifts from Dr. Hyla Cass: “Outsmart Your Addiction Quiz” and “Reclaim Your Brain” e-report
If you are not already registered for the Anxiety Summit you can get live access to the speakers of the day here www.theAnxietySummit.com
The highlight of the summit for me is that one statement. Its not about treatment resistant depression. Its that we haven’t found the cause yet. I’ve been treated for depression for 40 years. Most “drugs” work for a couple of years and then stop. Now its getting harder and harder to find one that works. Thanks for giving me hope.
Karen – that’s wonderful! so glad we gave you hope and hopefully plenty of good resources too
I first heard Hyla speak a few weeks ago on the SYY Summit and she’s so generous with her information and explains everything so clearly.
I have her ebook of her ‘Reclaim Your Brain’ and her ‘8 Weeks to Vibrant Health’ and can’t wait to read these. As I say, very generous and very clear – I wish she lived near me – I’d go to see her and recommend her to family members who are suffering as I am.
So good to listen to – THANK YOU
Jayne
I think Hyla is fabulous too – so glad you enjoyed this! Enjoy the rest of the summit!
Trudy
I just got diagnosed with low T3 thyroid. T3=2.2. TSH=.87. T4=1.2
experiencing all of the symptoms of the low thyroid and not feeling great. My doctor is giving me no treatment at this time and wants to retest me in a month. What are your suggestions for treatment with these levels? What can I do to feel better if I don’t qualify for thyroid hormone? Thank you so much
Lisa
An expert in this area is Chris Kresser and he has an excellent series of articles on this topic – here is the first one http://chriskresser.com/low-t3-syndrome-i-its-not-about-the-thyroid/