May is Mental Health Month. The campaign this year is "WhyCare?" and emphasizes how the “power of caring” can make a life-changing impact on the more than 40 million people in the U.S. who face the day-to-day reality of having a mental health condition. The focus is on increasing education, resources, and access to care.

We believe it's important to educate people about potential mast cell involvement in mental health issues. Presented here is a sampling of articles and medical abstracts to aid and encourage communities to raise awareness of the impact that mast cell-related conditions can have on mental health. Disclaimer

Articles & Resources of Interest

Below is a partial list of articles and abstracts that discuss the effects of mast cell-related conditions on mental health.

Autism

• Mast Cells, Brain Inflammation and Autism
• Decreased Mitochondrial Function and Increased Brain Inflammation in Bipolar Disorder and Other Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Dr. Theoharis C. Theoharides, Dr. Bodi Zhang & Dr. Pio Conti

Autonomic Nervous System Disorders (POTS/Dysautonomia)

• Orthostatic Intolerance Symptoms Are Associated With Depression And Diminished Quality Of Life In Patients With Postural Tachycardia Syndrome
• Modulation Of Autonomic Activity In Neurological Conditions: Epilepsy And Tourette Syndrome
• The Anxiety Question in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia: Is the Autonomic Nervous System to Blame?

Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue (HDCT)

• Brain Structure and Joint Hypermobility: Relevance to The Expression of Psychiatric Symptoms
• Mental Health - The Ehlers-Danlos Support UK
• Psychiatric And Psychological Aspects In The Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (For Non-Experts)
• Psychiatric Disorders In Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Are Frequent, Diverse And Strongly Associated With Pain
• Psychiatric Misdiagnoses in EDS: When is Anxiety not Anxiety?" Dr. Alan Pocinki, Webinar

Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

• Psychiatric Symptoms In Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

Lyme Disease & Tick Borne Encephalitis

• Mental Disorders In The Course Of Lyme Borreliosis And Tick Borne Encephalitis

Mast Cell Activation Disorders (MCAD)

• Brain Mast Cells Link The Immune System To Anxiety-Like Behavior
  
• Decreased Mitochondrial Function and Increased Brain Inflammation in Bipolar Disorder and Other Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Dr. Theoharis C. Theoharides, Dr. Bodi Zhang & Dr. Pio Conti
• Mast Cell Activation Disease: An Underappreciated Cause Of Neurologic And Psychiatric Symptoms And Diseases
  
• MCAS: Neurologic And Psychiatric Symptoms, by Mast Attack
  
• Neuropsychiatric Features Of Mast Cell Disease: Part 1 of 2, by Mast Attack
  
• Neuropsychiatric Features Of Mast Cell Disease: Part 2 of 2, by Mast Attack
  

Mastocytosis

• White Matter Abnormalities are Also Repeatedly Present in Patients With Systemic Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

• The Role of the Brain and Mast Cells in MCS

Multiple Sclerosis

• Effect Of Stress On Brain Inflammation And Multiple Sclerosis.
• Emotional Changes

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)

• Mast Cell Disorders and ME/CFS | note from Dr Charles Shepherd following last night’s BBC programme | 16 March 2017
• The Anxiety Question in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia: Is the Autonomic Nervous System to Blame?

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Resources

• Mental Health Care Toolbox For EDS/HSD
• Mental Health Resources For Connective Tissue, Mast Cell Disorders, by Oh Twist!

More

• 3 Things You Need To Know: Mast Cells & Mental Illness
• Losing Consciousness
• No, You Are Not an Hysterical Female, and This Is Not Just Anxiety
• Oscar Winners About the Physically and Mentally Disabled
• The Interaction Between Chronic Illness and Mental Health No One Talks About
• Why I Love Knowing I Have High-Functioning Autism
• Why Should You Care About Mast Cell Activation Disorder?

To learn more about Mental Health Month visit these websites:

• National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Mental Health America