The Connection Between PCOS and Depression and Anxiety

Written By: Urooj Kodwavi 

PCOS stands for is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and is seen within 7% of women, the cause of PCOS is unknown although the down side to this syndrome is infertility. Usually women are diagnosed with PCOS when they are having trouble getting pregnant, and therefore this can cause depression amongst those who have PCOS. Although the connection between PCOS and depression and anxiety doesn’t just stop there, those who have PCOS are three times more likely to have depression or anxiety. Those who have PCOS and also have depression and anxiety those symptoms are more likely to be severe. 

The link between depression and anxiety within those who have PCOS is unknown, but what could have caused the link could be the hormonal differences associated with the disorder, infertility, insecurity and many other reasons. Those who have PCOS are usually anxious about if they will ever get pregnant or not, their own weight and the lack of control that they have over their body and health. The truth is we all feel this way, but for those who have PCOS it is more defined because if they are unable to keep their weight controlled or if they can’t manage the lifestyle that comes with having PCOS. 

In society’s point of view and even our own point of view of ourselves as women is the association between us being a women and a mother. Yes, sometimes we don’t want to be a mother but being a women means that we can have kids and womanhood is usually associated with being a mother. Sometimes we can’t be a mother for different reasons, and sometimes we opt not to be — but for those who have PCOS they don’t have control over their body. The pressure a women feels from society to become a mother is so high, that if you add the factor of those women having PCOS is just terrible. They can’t control their body, and the fact that they already have trouble getting pregnant that even when they are pregnant they are at high risk of miscarriage.

There is about 70% of women who have PCOS that are also insulin-resistant, this means that their body doesn’t take glucose the way it should — this is also a factor why those who have PCOS are depressed. Because insulin resistance is associated with depression, unfortunately the reason for this is unknown.

PCOS is known to cause stress which can lead to anxiety and depression. The stress is caused not just by the lifestyle PCOS requires, but also because of the lack of control they have over their bodies. 

The treatment of this is through therapy and the doctor can work with the patient to find the underlying issue and trying to solve it with the patient.