Psychological Symptoms of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is becoming more prevalent in America, but it is not an easy disease to diagnose. Knowing the psychological symptoms can help doctors diagnose lyme disease, which can disguise itself as so many ailments.

What Causes the Psychological Symptoms?

• If Lyme disease is left inside the body, it can begin to attack the nervous system and cause problems in the brain. Psychological symptoms or behaviors come on during the late stages of Lyme disease.

Neurological Problems

• Neurological problems happen specifically because the brain isn't functioning at its highest capacity. Lyme disease can cause meningitis, which is inflammation of the membranes around the brain, or Bell's palsy, which is paralysis of one or both sides of the facial muscles.

Anxiety and Depression

• Depression comes on because of the chronic fatigue of Lyme disease along with sleep apnea. While people often slip into depression because of the disease, when Lyme disease attacks the nervous system it creates a chemical imbalance that causes anxiety and depression.

Mood Disorders

• The chemical imbalance caused by Lyme disease is also the culprit for severe mood swings; it can cause unstable psychological behaviors like crying bouts or fits of rage. Any behavior that is not normal for a person should be reported to a physician.

Other Symptoms

• If left completely undiagnosed and untreated, Lyme disease could cause severe dementia. Other patients report problems concentrating and periodic spells of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).