According to a new study published in the Arthritis Care and Research journal, up to a third of people aged 45 and older suffering with arthritis are also experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety.
Arthritis is a type of joint disorder. Individuals experience chronic pain in their joints as a result of inflammation. There are over 100 different types of arthritis, the most common form being osteoarthritis; this is a degenerative joint disease that can arise as a result of trauma to the joint, infection of a joint or old age.
It has previously been known that arthritis is associated with increased rates of keyworddepression. This new study reports that rates of anxiety could be as much as double that of depression, due to the fact that doctors tend not to check for symptoms of anxiety, many people are going undiagnosed and suffering in silence.
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to help address anxiety symptoms. Mindfulness is becoming aware, of moment by moment thoughts, emotions and body sensation with non-judgemental awareness. This has been shown to change people’s subjective experience of pain, therefore could be have a double impact of reducing anxiety and helping an individual deal with the physical pain of arthritis.
