Home » Do Essential Tremor Patients Experience Anxiety or Depression?

Do Essential Tremor Patients Experience Anxiety or Depression?

by Andrew Jonathan

Anxiety is a normal reaction during times of stress. The normal response to depression is a reaction to grief or loss. Because life isn’t an uninterrupted state of happiness, every day brings small challenges or minor, but stressful situations. In these instances, our bodies and minds might temporarily increase anxiety or sink to depression and despair. It’s usually not an issue, but things change, and we get back to a positive state.

For those who suffer from Essential tremor (ET) However every day life can be extremely taxing. For people whose hands are the most affected, even simple manual tasks that others assume are routine tasks become causes of discontent and frustration. When you go out, it can be many embarrassing moments that are followed by a decline in self-confidence and confidence. The process of getting through the day is always followed by anxiety and depression which can even lead to depression.

Depression and anxiety are a fact of life.

The issue of November 2019 of Neurology featured the findings of a Chines investigation of 245 Han Chinese patients with ET. The researchers sought to find out the extent to which mental and other essential tremor symptoms like depression and anxiety were among the patients suffering from ET and, hopefully, discover risk factors that could make them more vulnerable to these psychological states.

Depression and anxiety were assessed by using standardized rating scales and certain features were compared between those with or without anxiety or depression. Researchers discovered that “63.3 percent of patients suffered from at least mild anxiety, and 54.3 percent suffered from at least slight depression.”

In association with other factors

The study found a link between the severity of depression or anxiety and the degree to which patients evaluated their functional limitations (the less they believed they had a capacity to function ET the more likely they would experience depression or anxiety. Furthermore that the lower their score on the “Mini-Mental State Examination,” the more severe their anxiety/depression scores. Additionally the presence of tremors in the neck/head, face or voice can put patients at risk for depression or anxiety. 

In the end, the authors found that the riskiest factors for anxiety included female gender, head/neck/voice tremor, as well as high scores for functional disability; the two latter two factors were associated with depression. 

It was interesting to note that there was no correlation that could be proven between the severity that doctors deemed the severity of a person’s leg or arm tremors. Also, the reasons for depression and anxiety are both related to do with the individual’s personal experience regarding how hard ET caused their life and how they perform.

Examining for signs of psychological distress

The authors suggest that for individuals who have been diagnosed with ET it is recommended that they be examined for depression and anxiety “especially women and people with cranial tremors and self-reported functional impairment.” We could take it further and suggest an annual screening for people who struggle with emotions that may not be the first thing an occupied neurologist or primary care physician inquires about.

Essential Tremor is not fun it brings with it daily issues that can cause anxieties, anxiety, fear depression, anxiety, and despair, to just some. The opening line by the International Essential Tremor Foundation acknowledges that during times of stress, the tremors increase, leading to greater anxiety and depression. In order to stop this vicious cycle, it is a matter of recognizing the inner turmoil that can be alleviated with affirmation, support, and compassion. Since we now know at 50 percent of those suffering from ET (according to this Chinese study) suffer from depression and anxiety as well as impairment, it makes sense to start screening early and on a regular basis.

Read: Improve Your Vocational Circumstance With The Best Astrologer In Montreal

Related Posts

Marketmillion logo

MarketMillion is an online webpage that provides business news, tech, telecom, digital marketing, auto news, and website reviews around World.

Contact us: [email protected]

@2022 – MarketMillion. All Right Reserved. Designed by Techager Team