Arthritis and your mental health

Learn to understand the close links between your mental health and your arthritis symptoms, so that you can take a whole-person approach towards feeling better while living with arthritis. 

How might arthritis affect my mental health?

Arthritis can cause pain and severe fatigue, along with other symptoms that make you feel unwell. Many types of arthritis are long-term conditions. 

Some forms of arthritis make you more prone to depression or anxiety. And living with a mental health condition can make it harder to manage your arthritis and cope with daily life. 

Depression is a mental health problem that involves a feeling of low mood that lasts for weeks or months. Common symptoms include: 

• feelings of hopelessness 
• a lack of energy 
• problems sleeping. 

Physical symptoms can also include sore muscles and headaches.  

Anxiety is when you experience feelings of worry about something that’s happening or might happen. We all feel anxious from time to time. But anxiety can become a mental health problem if:

• you feel it a lot 
• it starts to impact your life, or 
• it’s hard to control. 

You might feel anxious all the time about a lot of things, or only some of the time, about certain things. Mind has more information about different kinds of anxiety disorders. 

It’s normal to feel low sometimes, or anxious. It does not mean you have a mental health condition. But living with arthritis can take a toll. There may be times when you feel able to cope well and times when you need more support. Ask your GP for support if how you’re feeling is impacting your daily life. 

Common arthritis symptoms that may affect your mood 

The most common symptoms of arthritis are pain and fatigue. Most people who live with arthritis have flare-ups from time to time, too. 

Pain

Pain can be very hard to deal with. It may: 

• make it difficult for you to focus 
• disturb your sleep 
• make daily tasks harder 
• impact your work and your relationships 
• stop you doing some of the things you enjoy. 

Over time, this might leave you feeling angry, low and less able to cope. 

Flare-ups

There may be times when your pain and other symptoms are worse than usual. These are often called flare-ups or flares. A flare-up can affect all aspects of your daily life. 

You might notice that certain things such as illness or stress can trigger a flare-up. But a lot of the time, they’re hard to predict and may happen with no clear cause. Not knowing when your symptoms might worsen can lead to anxiety. The worry may prevent you making plans to do things you enjoy, which in turn can affect your mood. 

If you're having frequent flare-ups, let your healthcare team know. They can review your treatments and offer you more support. Be honest with them about how you're feeling. 

With the right treatments, you should be able to reduce how often flare-ups happen and how severe they are.

Fatigue

Fatigue is so much more than feeling tired. It may take time to accept that you have a lot less energy than you used to. And it can be hard to know whether your fatigue is feeling worse because of your mental health, or whether it's the other way round. 

• Depression, anxiety and stress can all affect your energy levels. 
• Some medicines that you may be taking for your arthritis, pain or mental health problems can cause tiredness or make fatigue feel worse. 
• Stopping or starting some medicines used to help with mental health problems can also lead to fatigue. 

If fatigue is having a big impact on your life, speak to your healthcare team. They can figure out the reasons for it and suggest ways they might be able to help you. 

Arthritis and your emotions

There will be times when it seems like all you’re doing is coping with your arthritis. This may make it harder to do things you enjoy, or to find time for things that matter to you.  

You might also be dealing with: 

• pain, fatigue or other symptoms 
• waiting to be diagnosed or for treatment to start 
• problems with sleep 
• managing medicines and their side effects 
• making time for appointments and tests 
• feeling anxious about the future 
• loss of confidence 
• feeling unsupported by loved ones, your employer, or health professionals. 

Alongside treatment for your arthritis, you may also want to reach out for support with your mental health. (Scroll to the bottom of this page for advice about how to do this.) 

Some medications that are used to treat arthritis have side effects that can affect your mood or mental health. Your GP should discuss your medications with you to help build a full picture of how your arthritis could be affecting your mood. 

Your feelings about a diagnosis

Even if it was a relief to be diagnosed, it may still be hard to come to terms with having arthritis. It can be a shock to find out your condition is lifelong. 

You might feel: 

• a sense of loss for the life you had before your symptoms started 
• angry or low 
• as though some days, it’s hard to accept how your life has changed. 

It can take time to adjust to living with a long-term condition. Try not to be too hard on yourself if you have days when you find it more difficult. 

Looking after yourself

This section will focus on helping you to live well with arthritis and manage its impact on your mental health. 

Pacing yourself 

Living with arthritis can take up a lot of time and energy. You might need to make time for appointments, exercises and treatments. 

Arthritis can also mean that day-to-day activities take you longer. You may find your symptoms are made worse in the short term if you try to do more than usual.  

Pacing can help with fatigue. It involves spreading out what you do, so you do not use up all your energy at once. It’s about finding a balance between being active and resting, as well as taking note of the things that drain you most. It can also mean doing things in a different way to help conserve your energy and use your time well. 

Taking steps to reduce anxiety 

Living with arthritis can make it harder to manage daily demands. This may leave you feeling worried or anxious about how you’ll cope. 

These concerns can lead you to focus on your health more than you used to. But being more focused on your symptoms can make them seem worse. This may then feed the cycle, making you feel like you were right to be anxious.  

There are things you can do to help yourself manage your worries: 

• try to focus on what you can control right now, rather than what might happen 
• write down your thoughts or talk through your worries with someone you trust 
• some people like to keep a note of questions for their next healthcare appointment, so they do not forget anything they want to ask about. 

Keeping moving and eating well 

Staying active is good for your mental and physical health. 

Exercise can: 

• reduce the risk of your muscles or other tissues getting weaker 
• keep your joints moving well 
• improve bone strength 
• boost your mood and reduce stress. 

But listen to your body. If you notice a certain activity often causes a flare-up, adapt how you do it or do something different.  

A physiotherapist can suggest exercises that are tailored to you. In some areas, you can refer yourself for physiotherapy if you have access to the internet. Or you can ask your GP to refer you. 

Pain, fatigue or low mood can make eating well more difficult. But eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of looking after yourself. 

Sleep problems 

Good sleep can:  

• help you cope with pain 
• improve your mental wellbeing 
• help your body to repair damaged tissue and keep inflammation under control 
• strengthen your immune system 
• make it easier for you to focus. 

Sleep problems are much more common in people living with conditions that cause long-term pain, such as arthritis. And issues with sleeping can be a symptom of a mental health issue, as well as making mental health problems harder to deal with.

Smoking, alcohol and recreational drugs 

You may have tried using alcohol, cigarettes or drugs to help you relax or to combat pain. 

As well as being harmful to your health, these substances can make your arthritis symptoms worse. 

If you drink alcohol to help you manage your thoughts or feelings, this might be a sign of depression. Alcohol can also make low mood worse. If you think you might be depressed or dependent on alcohol, speak to your GP, who will be able to help. 

Drinking a lot of alcohol if you’re taking certain medicines – such as methotrexate – can also cause other health problems. And alcohol or recreational drug use can interact badly with some medications you might take for your mental health.  

It's best to keep your alcohol consumption to below 14 units a week and check the leaflet that comes with your medication before you consume any alcohol at all. 

Contact your GP or healthcare team if you’re in a lot of pain. They can discuss other options for treatment, as well as services such as physiotherapy or a pain management clinic. They can also help you get support with your mental health if you feel you need it. 

Getting support

Struggling with your physical or mental health can be stressful. It can also make you feel very alone. 

Joining a support group for your condition can help you talk about what you’re going through with other people who understand how you feel. 

Your healthcare team will be able to tell you about any local in-person groups they know of if you do not have access to the internet. 

Should I tell my employer about my condition?

You might be concerned about disclosing your mental or physical health condition at work. 

Most workplaces are happy to make adjustments so that everyone can thrive. If your condition has a substantial and long-term impact on your life, your employer has a legal duty to do so.  

How can I ask my friends and family for help? 

It can be hard for other people to understand what living with arthritis is like. Often, those who care about us want to help, but they may not know how to. 

You might want to show your friends and family this webpage. You could also try asking them to help you by: 

• listening to you talk about how you feel 
• learning about arthritis 
• talking through your treatment options with you 
• joining you at appointments 
• helping you to understand information you are given about your health 
• offering practical support with things like driving, cooking or picking up medicines when you’re having a flare-up. 

How can I feel less anxious about talking to doctors? 

Some people find it hard to talk to doctors about how they are feeling, which can make it harder to access the support they need. 

This might be the case if:

• you've ever felt dismissed or ignored by a doctor or healthcare professional 
• you find it hard to access or understand information 
• information you’ve been given is unclear or is not written in your first language. 

If talking to your doctor feels daunting, it may help to prepare questions in advance, write down what you want to say, or bring someone with you for support. 

If you’re having difficulties with a hospital team, you can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). They help with a range of things, such as communication between you and your doctors. 

What help can I access for my mental health? 

If you're struggling with your mental health, do not feel like you have to cope on your own. There is support available. 

The type of support on offer will depend on where you live. In England, you may be able to refer yourself for NHS talking therapies without seeing a doctor first. If you live elsewhere in the UK, your GP or healthcare team can tell you what support you can access. 

They might suggest: 

• Talking treatments. In some areas, the NHS provides therapy designed for people who are living with long-term physical health conditions. 
• A pain management programme to help improve your quality of life with long-term pain. These programmes are usually run by specialists through a hospital pain clinic. 
• Medication to help with mental health problems, pain, or both.  

James’ story

At the age of 21 I was doing a teaching qualification and working in a bar, so when I woke one morning limping, I just thought I’d overdone it. Weeks went by and the limp got worse. Then one morning I woke screaming in pain, my feet and ankles swollen and red. I went to A&E where I was given antibiotics, but the pain and swelling got even worse, to the point where I needed crutches. 

Eventually, a rheumatologist diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. When they told me it was something you had for life, I was in shock, then denial. They gave me medication and syringed fluid from my joints, but it took a year for me to walk without a wheelchair or crutches. 

Even then, doing anything took it out of me, which made me feel angry, mostly with myself. Fatigue really impacts your mental health. It’s a grey area – are you depressed or fatigued? They mirror each other. Both leave you with no energy and feeling very low.  

One day, some time later, I woke with that same screaming pain, everything swollen. At hospital, they diagnosed axial spondyloarthritis. My rheumatologist confirmed the diagnosis and put me on etanercept, which luckily worked. But my mental health was still up and down. 

There was so much frustration and embarrassment. I didn’t want to speak to anyone, which made things worse. I’d be angry at myself for feeling depressed. I remember punching a phone in frustration, which was a turning point. I realised I needed to get things under control. 

Seeing comments from other young people on the Arthritis UK website was very impactful and gave me a sense of community. For the first time, I knew it wasn’t just me. That 100% helped me accept and come to terms with my conditions. That community, where there’s so much love and support, changed everything. It’s where my journey to acceptance really started.  

Nowadays, I see eating well and exercising as my arsenal in helping manage these conditions. I was quite toxic just after my diagnoses, but now I focus on what I can do to help myself. 

I've recently had some counselling. I was referred to someone who specialises in talking to people with medical conditions and we have talked about things linked to the arthritis. It's early days but I can already feel myself looking at things differently. 

Exercise is great too, because you're blowing off steam, so focused on what you're doing that any tension or anxiety is worked out of your system. It's also great mentally because you know you're doing something that directly helps your body. Now, if I do have a flare-up, I don’t blame myself. I know I've done everything I could to avoid it. 

It’s my passion to show others arthritis is nothing to be ashamed of, and that they can still live a good life if they look after themselves and accept support. 

Sources

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2022) Osteoarthritis in over 16s: diagnosis and management. NICE guideline NG226.  
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2020) Rheumatoid arthritis in adults: management. NICE guideline NG100.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2009) Depression in adults with a chronic physical health problem: recognition and management. NICE clinical guideline CG91.

Last review: October 2026

Next review: October 2029

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