Ticks and Lyme Disease—A Dangerous Duo for Mental Health

Ticks—those tiny, 8-legged, spider-like bugs—can pack a debilitating punch when they bite humans. The reason? They can transmit serious illnesses to us because they feed on the blood of animals that can carry infectious diseases. As small as they are, the power of a tick bite can cause a wide range of physical, psychiatric, and neurological symptoms that might even become fatal for some people. Known as vector-borne diseases—meaning transmission from animal to animal or animal to humans—9 tick species in the U.S. are known to transmit 16 diseases to us, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, Powassan virus, and the most notorious—Lyme disease. Alarming new research shows that having Lyme disease increases the risk not only for mental health issues but also for suicide attempts, indicating that Lyme disease can have life-or-death consequences. Alarming new research shows that having Lyme disease increases the risk not only for mental health issues but also for suicide attempts, indicating that Lyme disease can have life-or-death consequences.

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How Do You Get Lyme Disease?

The blacklegged tick (also known as a deer tick) which can be found throughout the eastern half of the country and the Western blacklegged tick along the Pacific coast are carriers of the bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease. They tend to hang out in leaf debris on the ground, in wooded areas, and on the tops of tall grasses where they can easily latch onto your skin or clothing (they have claws at the bottom of their legs!) as you pass by—or hitch a ride on your dog. Once they find a potential host, ticks gravitate to the warm moist areas of the body and, unbeknownst to you, can burrow into your skin to feed on your blood. People often don’t know that they’ve been bitten, either because they don’t notice or feel the tick—ones in the nymph stage are the size of poppy seeds—or there is no tell-tale bullseye left behind. Nonetheless, if the tick is a carrier of the bacteria, it will infect you within 36-48 hours. Then, in as few as 3 days or as many as 30 or more, flu-like symptoms, along with a rash or swollen lymph nodes will start to develop, and eventually so can problems such as these:

• Facial palsy
• Limb and nerve pain
• Joint pain and swelling
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Racing heart or irregular heartbeat
• Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, thereby affecting the central nervous system

Lyme Disease is the “Great Imitator”

Although treatment with antibiotics ASAP can usually alleviate symptoms, the blood tests for Lyme disease are challenging because the antibodies might not develop until a few weeks after infection. Furthermore, without knowing that you’ve been bitten by a tick and because the infectious bacteria can affect the brain, many of the symptoms mimic a host of other disorders, so the possibility of you having Lyme disease might be completely overlooked by a doctor. The additional symptoms can resemble those of neurological disorders like:

• Fibromyalgia
• Dementia
• Traumatic brain injury
• Chronic fatigue syndrome

as well as psychiatric conditions such as:

• Psychotic disorders (i.e. delusions, paranoia, and schizophrenia)
• Depression
• Anxiety disorders
• Bipolar disorder
• Explosive anger problems
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Suicidal thoughts and completed suicides

In a new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers analyzed Denmark’s patient register databases from 1994 – 2016. They found that those with Lyme disease (more than 12,000 patients) had a considerably increased risk for mental health disorders and suicide attempts, compared to patients who did not have Lyme. Another research paper that studied the link between tick-borne diseases, including Lyme, and suicide was published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. The researchers postulated that the unexplained suicides were associated with the significant psychiatric and other debilitating symptoms from Lyme disease along with dismissive attitudes that healthcare providers and family or friends had about the disease being the underlying cause of the patients’ symptoms.

Lyme Bacteria Can be Elusive

What makes Lyme disease even more complicated and potentially hard to detect is that the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria can become dormant for months—or even years—in the central nervous system. Moreover, it is a type of pathogen known as a spirochete [pronounced SPY-roh-kete] that can imbed itself in cell membranes, including those in the brain, making it even more difficult to detect. However, the subsequent inflammation and immune response affect multiple systems in the body and lead to so many challenging mental and physical symptoms. Unfortunately, because symptoms can manifest even long after a tick bite, it can be very difficult to connect the dots back to the root cause.

Keeping Safe from Tick Bites

Most people enjoy spending time in the great outdoors; it’s so beneficial for our physical and mental well-being. However, ticks of all sorts are part of our natural world. Despite the havoc they can wreak on human health, believe it or not, they actually serve an important ecological purpose. Birds, lizards, frogs, and other critters eat them, while ticks feed on and spread diseases that kill sick or weakened animals to help control their populations. Since eliminating ticks from the environment isn’t viable, keeping yourself safe from them is the best course of action. In order to do this it’s important to understand and avoid potential tick habitats—or if you are venturing into them for a hike or trip to the beach—it’s critical to know and follow your state or local guidelines for the prevention of tick-borne illnesses. If you think you may have gotten Lyme disease, it can be very helpful to schedule an appointment with a functional medicine physician who is Lyme-literate and well-versed in the best treatments that can lead to optimal recovery from the infection and its symptoms. Similarly, if you’re struggling with cognitive or mental health issues that aren’t responding to treatment, it may be time to investigate if infection like Lyme disease may be contributing to your symptoms. Symptoms of Lyme disease can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.