How an Underactive Thyroid Affects Your Moods

The thyroid is a fairly small organ, yet it greatly affects your mind and body. Thyroid hormones control many processes in your body, like regulating your metabolism and keeping it in balance. 

If your body produces too much or not enough of the right hormones, you experience negative physical and mental effects. 

Gordon Hart, PA-C, and Brian A. Yeaman, MD, at Balance Hormone Center diagnose and design your thyroid imbalance treatment based on the severity of your symptoms. Treatment may include in-office IV therapy sessions or natural thyroid hormone therapy.

What is an underactive thyroid?

An underactive thyroid is called hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism means that your thyroid isn’t producing enough of the essential thyroid hormones. You can experience this if you have an iodine deficiency, pituitary disorder, or an autoimmune disease, among other conditions. 

Medication can also cause an underactive thyroid.

Hypothyroidism causes your body’s metabolic processes to run more slowly than normal. Your body's efficiency suffers from running low on metabolic energy. The symptoms include fatigue, dry skin, sensitivity to the cold, and weight gain. You might have hypothyroidism if you've noticed that you've put on weight and frequently feel hungry.

Hypothyroidism symptoms

Physical symptoms of an underactive thyroid include weight gain, slower heartbeat, slowed reflexes, and decreased libido. If your thyroid is underactive, you might also experience: 

• Mood swings
• Depression
• Dry skin
• Dry hair
• Poor memory
• High cholesterol
• Widespread body aches
• Constipation

Women with an underactive thyroid may also have abnormally heavy menstrual periods.

Hypothyroidism and depression

The thyroid hormones your body produces not only influence the heart, circulation, digestion, or growth but also activate the metabolism of the nerve cells and brain activity. Thus, the thyroid also significantly influences your mental health and wellness.

The following symptoms can indicate an underactive thyroid:

• Sadness
• Indifference
• Fatigue
• Concentration difficulties
• Confusion
• Fluctuating moods

Those with hypothyroidism often endure depressive moods, apathy, rapid exhaustion, tiredness, and concentration problems. The spectrum of symptoms is highly diverse.

The psychological symptoms of hypothyroidism usually appear before the physical symptoms, which is why it’s often diagnosed late. 

Treating an underactive thyroid

Our skilled team at Balance Hormone Center creates your thyroid imbalance treatment based on the severity of the symptoms you’re experiencing. Natural thyroid hormone therapy for hypothyroidism may be helpful.

Compared to synthetic hormones, these thyroid therapy treatments are more readily absorbed by your body. You’re less likely to experience side effects because natural thyroid hormone therapy involves using hormones that are molecularly similar to your natural thyroid hormones. You may also benefit from in-office IV therapy sessions.

Before living another day with a thyroid hormone imbalance, see what our team at Balance Hormone Center can do for you. Book your appointment online or over the phone today.