Lyme Mental Health (LMH) was created to provide education and advocacy for Lyme and other chronically ill patients whose illnesses drastically impact their mental health. Due to a combination of the biological impact of illness, the loss of functionality that occurs due to illness, and a health care system that is often adversarial, dismissive, and even belittling towards them, this population is at extraordinary risk for negative mental health outcomes, including suicidality.

If we take the CDCs estimate that there are more than 300,000 new Lyme cases a year in the US alone, there is an ever increasing need for more awareness, education, and advocacy for patients impacted—patients who very often do not have the energy to advocate for themselves. The impact that Lyme has on mental health is simply one part of the puzzle in this complex illness. We at LMH advocate for non-reductionist approaches to understanding Lyme and other complex chronic illnesses.

Over time, it is our hope that this website can be a hub for information and knowledge for patients, families and professionals so that we may further the conversation on Lyme disease and Mental Health. We can imagine one day becoming a non-profit organization built to serve this community through providing educational resources such as courses, workshops, therapy referral lists, and research.

For now, we are just going to take it one step at a time because that’s all we can do.