Can catching a cold throw your emotions off?

Think back to the last cold or flu you had. It might have lasted a week or even just a few days but at the time, it felt like eternity. Your brain felt foggy, exhausted from disrupted sleep thanks to a persistent cough. Your appetite was non-existent, and your throat was red-raw. You felt hot and sweaty from fever. It’s any wonder you felt so down.

But there is another reason you may have felt depressive-like symptoms that goes beyond the physical.

Physical symptoms, mental health impacts

“We do unfortunately tend to dissect the body from the neck down and we forget what’s happening with the effect of the illness on our brain,” says Dr Shona.

Changes in hormones, like elevation in our cortisol level (widely known as the stress hormone), and a reduction of serotonin and dopamine levels – our happy hormones – can be caused by the onset of a physical illness, explains Dr Shona.

“The physical illness sets off the stress response which can then dysregulate our hormones and, in addition, may affect the gut microbiome because of changed hormonal signalling and neurotransmitter signalling,” she says.

While it’s not necessarily a straight line, dysregulated hormones and affected gut microbiome can leave us feeling down in the dumps.

This means even those who usually experience good mental health can be impacted by the onset of a virus or infection.

Maintaining your mental wellbeing when sick

Dr Shona shares what you can do to help keep the blues at bay next time you’re sick:
 

• Relative rest: If you exercise during a period of acute inflammation (when you’ve got a nasty cold, for example), the immune response will mount, and the inflammation will increase making you feel worse.
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate: We can lose a lot of fluid when we’re sick – from fever, mucus production or vomiting. Dehydration can impact your neurotransmitters and affect those ‘happy hormones’. Even mild dehydration can cause irritability.
• Eating for energy: You might not feel like eating when you’re unwell but it’s good practice to make sure you’re getting nutritious foods to keep you going.
• Connect with loved ones: Sitting in a darkened room all by yourself when you're feeling unwell is not going to be good for the release of the neurotransmitters that you need to make yourself start to feel well again. If you need to isolate, pick up the phone.

But the most important thing to do, according to Dr Shona is “to not fall into a heap because there has been an illness that your body has experienced.”

As we begin to beat the physical illness, our mental health should return to its baseline.

For those living with illness, such as an auto-immune disease, it can be more challenging.

Living with an illness

Research shows a prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression among people with chronic disease.

“If you're living with an illness...it’s an insult of a kind to the immune system,” explains Dr Shona.

And the impact on wellbeing is often two-fold. When there is a constant threat to the body, the mind recognizes it too, explains Dr Shona. The things many of us perceive as relatively easy – exercising regularly, keeping hydrated, sleeping well, and eating the right foods – can be challenging for someone living with an illness and can ultimately impact their mental wellbeing.

“It’s the effects of the chronic illness on your physical being and the effects of the physical illness on your mental wellbeing as well,” she says.

Dr Shona acknowledges while it can be difficult, proactively managing your illness through sleep, diet, hydration and exercise, can help to alleviate the mental health symptoms.

What should you do if mental health symptoms persist?

Whether your illness is isolated to a virus, or you are living with an illness, if your mental health symptoms persist, Dr Shona encourages seeking help early.

“What's important is that we're not waiting for a mental health issue to really blow out. We want to get in and manage early,” she says.

Talking to your GP can be helpful to consider lifestyle changes and access treatment to address your mental health concerns before they advance to be chronic conditions. 

Medibank’s 24/7 Medibank Mental Health Support is also available for all Medibank health insurance members. Talk with a mental health professional over the phone or online about any mental health or emotional concern, and guidance on what to do next. Chat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1800 644 325 or log in to My Medibank.

If you, or someone you know, need immediate support or medical assistance, contact 000 in an emergency or Lifeline on 13 11 14.