Patient Voices on Psychological Wellbeing, May 2013

"I could talk about psychological wellbeing all day on this lovely couch"

The previous post introduced the Patients Voices meeting we held in London on 11th May. This post shares the notes from the breakout discussion group which looked at Psychological Wellbeing with a thyroid condition. 

With many thanks to the participant who has kindly typed these up and included the links to the two articles which help illustrate some of the points the group explored.

Psychological Wellbeing, Discussion Group Notes:

We talked about coping strategies people have for helping manage their psychological wellbeing with thyroid conditions.  

One person has been on anti-depressants for just under 6 months and it has transformed her life.  She did have adverse effects the first couple of weeks but was warned about this by her doctor and stuck with the prescription.  One interesting note is the antidepressant has a warning note it should be not be given to thyroid patients but the doctor is still prescribing the medication. 

A couple of people talked about concerns if long term lack of treatment for thyroid conditions might affect brain function generally.  Some in the group had suffered untreated for years, they think in hindsight. 

Also when the doctor does realise there is an issue with the patient's thyroid, they don't say enough about coping with how people may FEEL with this condition. 

There was a bit of a discussion about the differences people are feeling between overactive and underactive thyroid conditions, but we didn't talk a lot about that, and I don't have any detailed notes about it.

One person talked about her issues with general physical weakness.  She talks a lot to herself to keep her spirits up.  Also she's learned to pace herself to bank her energy.  

Working and raising children is an added stress.  If people have the opportunity to not work, then they can rest more during the day.  Also if you work, you'll try to hide your symptoms from co-workers which is an added stress.

For many, there was a feeling of years wasted.  Too often people compared themselves to others and thought they hadn't accomplished as much.  One person keeps a journal listing anything she does and completes.  She refers to that to help her realise she is getting things done.

I mentioned research I've seen in the past where the human brain is wired to remember negative experiences much more prominantly than positive experiences. The theory is this goes back to caveman days where that memory trait helped people to survive.  One way to combat this bias is to keep a scrap book of positive things you did or experienced. That way you can read that to balance out your memory better.  I can't find the original article anymore, but here's 2 articles on the internet I found just now that indicate similar technique:

Article One - Journaling and sharing can enhance happiness 

Article Two - The memory bias

 Someone mentioned that coping techniques generally for any chronic illness can be useful, so don't just look for articles about thyroid conditions.

Relaxation and exercise are really helpful to people in the discussion group.  Also breathing and meditation were found to be helpful.  Trying to 'be in the moment' was good too.   I mentioned some research I've seen that walking and getting outside in nature is really good for health and mental wellbeing.  There's research indicating the effect of walking can be equivalent to taking antidepressants.  Also a friend of mine and I realised as part of losing weight that the biggest battle with exercise is getting out the door initially.  Once you pass that hurdle you do exercise like walking and you enjoy it - even 5 or 10 minutes is good.  So we thought you have to do whatever you can to facilitate getting out the door - like keep your walking shoes and exercise clothes handy/nearby the door.

Coming back to doctors, people said that doctors generally don't explain enough what could happen with regard to thyroid conditions.  They don't seem to pool knowledge.  Also advice is not holistic - you have to advocate for yourself.

It's also variable how people's conditions are picked up correctly by doctors.  With some patients the doctor figures things out quickly and with others they wait years for the condition to be recognised correctly.  It also makes a big difference if the doctor is supportive. 

There seem to be lots of different opinions amongst different doctors and also lack of follow through by doctors on other related health issues.

When doctors more clearly say what's happening or what to expect with the condition, then the patient feels more psychologically stable because they understand more what is happening to them. 

Sadly  some doctors  don't seem to be concerned about quality of life for patients with thyroid condition.  Also thyroid conditions are not viewed as a major illness. 

Lastly, it was noted that the group on Saturday is really rare and very treasured by attendees.