MS Wellness - Mental Health

Anxiety disorders are three times more common in MS than in the general population. Anxiety has been linked to decreased social interaction, increased risk of excessive alcohol use, increased levels of pain and may even impact cognitive skills such as how fast your brain processes information.(1)

Depression in its various forms is one of the most common symptoms of multiple sclerosis. In fact, studies have suggested that clinical depression—the most severe form—is more frequent among people with MS than it is in the general population or in many other chronic illnesses. Depression is equally common in other immune-mediated, neuroinflammatory diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease) suggesting that inflammation is a contributing factor to depression in these conditions.(2)