Ankylosing Spondylitis and depression

Well it seems that a lot of people suffering from AS do also suffers from a form of depression.
Though I am not sure that without AS their depression will be gone... But of course dealing with AS is tough!
It is a chronic illness and a painful one. So there is no doubt it has an influence on the mood.
Lack of sleep, chronic pain, reduced capabilities, are all factors that can be hard to cop with.
Then the social aspect is also a difficult thing to deal with as a lot of people are unaware about what AS means. It also request to sometimes say no to some people although we really want to spent some time with them, or to cancel an event or activity at the last moment... all this can become hard to understand for some people and can lead to a lot of misunderstanding. This can have a huge impact too in someone affected by AS.

Chronic illness and pain can contribute to causing depression. It can be hard not getting the answers or treatment you need. Have outlets for your frustrations and tell your doctor that you expect proper treatment asap. You can become angry, depressed or want to give up. Please ask for therapy and medication if needed.

I’m a strong willed person and for me to fee depression isn’t typical, but I did struggle. Mostly my struggle was fingering out how to accept my limitations. Why? I was a very athletic and active person. The pain and fatigue got to a point where I could hardly move and lost 37 pounds (I only had 4% fat content so it was all muscle mass), the inability to do for myself and other things really was a struggle.