Endo Emotions: What it does to your Mental Health
For my FP (Final Presentation) of Winter Term 2020, I'm closing out with a project on bringing awareness to a disease I live with called endometriosis. For this FP I conducted a short FaceTime Q&A with my cousin, who was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 19. My guiding question for this project is: How can we better understand the mental impacts of a physical disease?
Most patients with endo have very little knowledge of the disease, let alone the mental impacts of it.
Endometriosis is a disabling disease that stems from the uterus. Scars and lesions form on the in and outside of your pelvic region. The scars and lesions cause internal bleeding, and intense pain daily for most women. Every case has a different path to diagnosis. If you want to learn more about the ins and outs of this disease, check out my blog post here before continuing with reading this post.
Endo is important to talk about because it's one of the most common gynecologic disorders in America, but it's also the most misunderstood. 1 in 10 women struggle with endometriosis, and if this subject is not on your radar, it should be.
In 2015, the Journal Of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology published a study called, "Impact of endometriosis on quality of life and mental health: pelvic pain makes the difference." In this study, doctors who specialize in pelvic pain looked at the systematic side effects that come with endo pain. The doctors who did the study came to an understanding that endometriosis is a symptomatic disease, and there needs to be more than one approach when treating it.
"In conclusion, our findings suggest that when the problems caused by endometriosis primarily involve pelvic pain, the medical treatment (which should be aimed at the symptomatic relief) may not be sufficient. Our findings suggest that these patients may significantly benefit from psychological interventions; in this regard, there is evidence of the effectiveness of group-based and mindfulness-based interventions, and cognitive behavioral therapy."
Women with endo have irregular periods, low levels of estrogen, and high levels of progesterone. Having low levels of estrogen causes depression and anxiety in women. Testimonies of women with endo touch on the mental side of this disease, but never fully expose what it does to your moods and personality.
Below is a video from part of my FaceTime Interview!
Most patients with endo have very little knowledge of the disease, let alone the mental impacts of it.
Endometriosis is a disabling disease that stems from the uterus. Scars and lesions form on the in and outside of your pelvic region. The scars and lesions cause internal bleeding, and intense pain daily for most women. Every case has a different path to diagnosis. If you want to learn more about the ins and outs of this disease, check out my blog post here before continuing with reading this post.
Endo is important to talk about because it's one of the most common gynecologic disorders in America, but it's also the most misunderstood. 1 in 10 women struggle with endometriosis, and if this subject is not on your radar, it should be.
In 2015, the Journal Of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology published a study called, "Impact of endometriosis on quality of life and mental health: pelvic pain makes the difference." In this study, doctors who specialize in pelvic pain looked at the systematic side effects that come with endo pain. The doctors who did the study came to an understanding that endometriosis is a symptomatic disease, and there needs to be more than one approach when treating it.
"In conclusion, our findings suggest that when the problems caused by endometriosis primarily involve pelvic pain, the medical treatment (which should be aimed at the symptomatic relief) may not be sufficient. Our findings suggest that these patients may significantly benefit from psychological interventions; in this regard, there is evidence of the effectiveness of group-based and mindfulness-based interventions, and cognitive behavioral therapy."
Women with endo have irregular periods, low levels of estrogen, and high levels of progesterone. Having low levels of estrogen causes depression and anxiety in women. Testimonies of women with endo touch on the mental side of this disease, but never fully expose what it does to your moods and personality.
Below is a video from part of my FaceTime Interview!
My initial question was: How can we better understand the mental impacts of a physical disease?
Possessing empathy is key when talking about endo because it helps us approach the topic appropriately. It's important to create open dialogue about endo pain and to raise awareness so that patients can know how to manage their physical and mental suffering.
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