Fibromyalgia and Depression

By Karen Crosby

This is such a vast area to explore and sometimes quite complicated, I thought it was time I explored this a little.

It is commonly known that living with chronic pain like fibro causes depression and anxiety because of fatigue, sometimes lack of activity and sleep problems, so we can explore this in more depth:

Brain Chemicals

Serotonin

It is widely known that Fibro patients have low serotonin levels, thus causing depression and other problems.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that sends signals between your nerve cells, and although it is a common misconception that is it only found in the brain, it is in fact found mostly in the digestive system, in blood platelets and throughout the central nervous system.  It is made of an essential amino acid called tryptophan, which is found in the diet, in foods such as red meat, cheese, nuts and other foods.  When this is low, this leads to low serotonin and can result in mood disorders like anxiety and depression.

Serotonin plays a part in every part of the body, from motor skills to emotions, and is a natural mood enhancer.  Serotonin helps with sleeping, digestion and appetite, control and function of bowel movements, blood clotting, sleep and many others.

However, it is also responsible for bone health if the levels are continually too high, and can lead to osteoporosis.

So looking at serotonin alone, all of the above makes me realise is it not only responsible for mood, but is also linked to IBS, sleep patterns, and as it has a wide use throughout the body, it could be linked with other symptoms too.

Noradrenaline (also known as norepinephrine)

This is also a neurotransmitter (substance responsible for sending signals between nerve cells), and a stress hormone.

When a stressful event occurs, noradrenaline is part of the body’s response and affects the way the brain pays attention to the perceived danger.  It therefore increases alertness as part of the fight or flight response, speeds up reaction times, increases blood flow to the muscles (to prepare for flight), increases heart rate to pump more oxygen around the body ready for running away, and triggers release of glucose into the blood stream.

Noradrenaline is also involved in our ability to concentrate, thus linking it also to ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and depression.  Because it is linked to concentration, it is said to play a part in cognitive dysfunction, also known to us as “fibro fog”.

Dopamine

This is another neurotransmitter, and is responsible for the reward centres of the brain and motor control (Parkins disease is caused by loss of dopamine secreting neurons, leading to motor impairment).

Recent evidence shows that dopamine is also involved in pain modulation, and that fibro patients have an abnormal dopamine response to pain because there is a disturbance to the transmission of this substance. 

Depression in general terms

Now we have looked at the brain chemicals and how they play a wide ranging role in Fibro, lets look at depression in general: 

Symptoms

1.   Feeling tired (fatigue) and so no energy.

2.   Low self-confidence.

3.   Trouble sleeping (too much or not enough).

4.   Feeling agitation and restlessness.

5.   Finding it hard to concentrate, and having problems making decisions.

6.   Loss of appetite resulting in weight loss.

Take some of the above list, and see how they are linked not only to depression, but look at them as general fibro symptoms.

Fatigue, lack of sleep, agitation and restlessness, fibro fog!

The list is endless! 

Causes of depression 

1.   Stressful event in your life like a bereavement or relationship breakdown.

2.   Genetic links means you are at higher risk of depression if there is a family history.

3.   Having a long-term health problem like a chronic pain condition!

4.   Having other mental health conditions like anxiety.

Anxiety

Anxiety is closely linked with depression, but as far as fibro is concerned, it could be linked to the fear and apprehension about living with chronic pain, and also anxiety can be triggered by the extreme fatigue that fibro brings about.

Research shows clearly the strong links between fibro and anxiety, but it is not fully understood.  Fibro has so many possible causes, that anxiety may be one of them.

It is important to mention that people suffering from anxiety do often have an increase in nerve responses to stimuli such as touch.  This brings with it a hypersensitivity to physical sensations such as pain.  And in addition to this, anxiety can cause muscle tension, resulting in tenderness and aches. 

Final Tips

Remember to try and relax as much as possible, do some gentle exercise like walking, try relaxation techniques (lots of guided ones on YouTube), and as usual I recommend yoga and meditation!

I wish you a happy, pain free life!