Are anxiety and depression caused by an infection?
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 11:44 am
I am posting this in the hope that it might stimulate a new direction of research into anxiety and depression. Having observed my wife suffer anxiety and depression and the infections that sometimes accompany her worst episodes, I am convinced that anxiety and depression are caused by a pathogen. The most compelling evidence for this is as follows: Three years ago my wife (a physically healthy woman but chronic sufferer of treatable depression, anxiety and panic) had a successful double mastectomy for breast cancer which required no further treatment. During the week leading up to the operation, and during the seven week recovery period after the operation she had absolutely no depression or anxiety when she and everyone who knew her expected her anxiety to significantly worsen. Normally it worsens when any bad news arrives, and even when friends or relatives are ill. But during her preparation and recovery phase she was emotionally stable and even mildly happy. Indeed she reported having an inner strength she'd never believed possible, and felt like "she had a backbone of iron" - her words. Friends and family remarked on her sudden strength too. The interesting point here is that during that eight week period she was given large doses of antibiotic and antiviral and anti fungal drugs. Once she stopped the regime, her mood remained good for a while then returned to its previous state.
Last year she went 6 months feeling happy and confident and normal in every respect for no obvious reason. Then in late December she began feeling mildly anxious, which increased to full blown panic attacks by January. In early February she experienced urinary stinging and blood in her urine, which was treated as a UTI with antibiotics. The symptoms disappeared after two days. Her mood improved slightly then deteriorated quickly until a second UTI presented 2 weeks later with fever and stinging. It too was treated with antibiotics. The UTI symptoms disappeared and her mood improved slightly then worsened again to deep depression and nearly continuous panic. Three days ago she began shaking with fever, was very confused and feeling freezing cold. Her temperature was measured as 40 degrees C by the ambulance medics, and she spent the past two nights in hospital where she was treated with intravenous antibiotics, and returned home with another course of oral antibiotic. Her mood during the periods when the UTI presents itself is like a "concentrated version" of her background mood. This leads me to wonder if the UTIs (traditionally regarded as merely a woman's burden because of poorly arranged anatomy) are merely opportunistic infections riding on the back of an underlying as-yet undiscovered pathogen that is causing chronic low mood, not just in her but in the millions of other women (and men) world wide. The fact she was so good when her system was bombarded with anti viral, anti fungal and antibiotic drugs is strong indicator that a pathogen (or combination of pathogens) is the root cause of the anxiety and depression.
Last year she went 6 months feeling happy and confident and normal in every respect for no obvious reason. Then in late December she began feeling mildly anxious, which increased to full blown panic attacks by January. In early February she experienced urinary stinging and blood in her urine, which was treated as a UTI with antibiotics. The symptoms disappeared after two days. Her mood improved slightly then deteriorated quickly until a second UTI presented 2 weeks later with fever and stinging. It too was treated with antibiotics. The UTI symptoms disappeared and her mood improved slightly then worsened again to deep depression and nearly continuous panic. Three days ago she began shaking with fever, was very confused and feeling freezing cold. Her temperature was measured as 40 degrees C by the ambulance medics, and she spent the past two nights in hospital where she was treated with intravenous antibiotics, and returned home with another course of oral antibiotic. Her mood during the periods when the UTI presents itself is like a "concentrated version" of her background mood. This leads me to wonder if the UTIs (traditionally regarded as merely a woman's burden because of poorly arranged anatomy) are merely opportunistic infections riding on the back of an underlying as-yet undiscovered pathogen that is causing chronic low mood, not just in her but in the millions of other women (and men) world wide. The fact she was so good when her system was bombarded with anti viral, anti fungal and antibiotic drugs is strong indicator that a pathogen (or combination of pathogens) is the root cause of the anxiety and depression.