Cause and Effect

[tamaranth]

After being suddenly savaged by a brief-but-intense headache yesterday -- not for the first time -- I'm starting to wonder if the day's-worth of black mood (with no apparent cause) before the headache was a kind of signal -- the way that some epileptics get warning signs of fits -- rather than a cause. I have certainly had headaches without the preceding mood swing, and moods without headaches. But this particular species of headache -- brief, migraine-ish, nauseating and (most distinctively) making me extremely sleepy -- only ever seems to happen after a meaningless mood swing.

I have another theory -- or question, at any rate.
It's a given that physical illnesses -- colds, 'flu, stomach bugs, bubonic plague etc -- are transmitted by viruses. Does this happen with mental / emotional conditions? (I'm thinking of the bouts of lowness which occasionally seem to prevail, rather than severe psychiatric conditions). If not, why not?

Comments

[daemongirl.livejournal.com]

my headaches might be stress related
i have had some bad ones before exams...

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Severe headaches are often stress-related, and there is a strong (and much studied) correlation between stress and mood swings and/or depression. There is also a known correlation between headaches, mood-swings and good ol' PMT. On the other hand, periods of humidity or low pressure can produce headaches in some people (me, 'frinstance) and I find such weather also to be tiring and thus lowering to the spirits. But that might be personal.
I've never seen any research on a viral link to mental illness, but personal experience tells me that depression often seems to crop up in clumps -- one person goes and this seems to set off a chain reaction. I guess the obvious explanation might be that the first instance provides a kind of role-model which is then followed (the sub-conscious squeaking 'Oh, look, there *is* a way out'?). So it could be a meme, if one believes in those (I don't, but mostly because an ex was so fervent about them. Anti-meme, anyone?) There has been a lot of stuff lately arguing that many forms of mental illness are inheritable and perhaps there may be genetic predisposition in some cases. However, as it is also held that some mental illness is down to a chemical imbalance in the brain, then I suppose in principal there could be a virus involved somewhere. Then again, I'm not any kind of scientist and I'm speculating based on my reading in psychology books. (And I'm not the best proponent of scientific rigour, alas, being co-inventor of the bicycle flat tyre virus. Oh well).
Longwindedly,
La Marquise de S.

[del-c.livejournal.com]

I have a vague memory of an Oliver Sacks book on migraines mentioning that they sometimes announce their presence ahead of time in various ways, including scotoma (patterns of light and darkness in the vision) and jamais vu (the conviction that you have never seen this place before). It's possible that your black dog is something similar, although IIRC those other symptoms came on within minutes of the migraine, and not hours.

On the gripping hand, the other impression I got from the book was that everybody's migraine is different.

(Googling, I hazard a guess that the book I read was this one-- Migraine: The Evolution of a Common Disorder (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0685178757&pwb=1)). The blurb reads:

The many manifestations of migraine can vary dramatically from one patient to another, even within the same patient at different times. Among the most compelling and perplexing of these symptoms are the strange visual hallucinations and distortions of space, time, and body image which migraineurs sometimes experience. Portrayals of these uncanny states have found their way into many works of art, from the heavenly visions of Hildegard von Bingen to Alice in Wonderland. Dr. Oliver Sacks argues that migraine cannot be understood simply as an illness, but must be viewed as a complex condition with a unique role to play in each individual's life.

[msilverstar]

They just discovered that most ulcers are caused by bacteria, a surprise to everyone. So why not virus-borne brain chemistry tweakers?