Chronic Illness and Your Mood: What to Know

How chronic illness and depression are linked, why treating both matters, signs that are easy to miss, and how Behavioral Health Integration brings mental health care into your primary care.

Download this guide as a PDF

In this guide

Ask Yourself

• Has managing my condition worn me down?
• Do I enjoy less than I used to?
• Have I felt low for 2 weeks or more?

Tell Your Provider About

• Changes in mood or interest
• Every medicine and treatment you use
• Days self-care feels like too much

What You Can Do

• Bring up your mood at your next visit
• Ask about care for mood and body together
• Thoughts of suicide? Call or text 988

What the guideline says

• NIMH says people who have a chronic disease are at a higher risk of developing depression, and depression may raise the risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
• CDC says people with diabetes are 2 to 3 times more likely to have depression than people without diabetes.
• People who have a chronic disease and depression tend to have more severe symptoms of both illnesses, NIMH says.
• Some signs of depression, such as fatigue, sleep changes and appetite changes, can look like part of a physical illness.
• Depression is treatable even with a chronic disease, and Behavioral Health Integration brings mental health care into primary care with an appointed care team member.

Source: National Institute of Mental Health, Understanding the Link Between Chronic Disease and Depression (2024)

Read the full article: Chronic Illness and Depression: Why Treating Both Together Matters →

This guide is general health information and does not replace advice from your own provider.