Huntington’s disease can have significant impacts on mental wellbeing for everybody in affected families. While the physical and cognitive impacts of Huntington’s for people who carry the gene expansion are perhaps more well recognised, those who have Huntington’s or support somebody with the condition will also be well aware of its emotional impacts throughout families.
The physical changes linked to Huntington’s commonly begin at 35-45 years of age, but difficulties with mental wellbeing may develop as much as 15 years earlier. These struggles often profoundly affect people who carry the gene expansion that causes Huntington’s, and they also affect family members, impacting on relationships and mental health for everyone. Psychological wellbeing difficulties are painfully common, with many people in Huntington’s families experiencing understandable low mood, anxiety, grief, anger and irritability.
This will not be news for members of Huntington’s families, who are often very aware of these challenges already. However, there is little research into these difficulties, which means they are not always well understood by healthcare workers and researchers. There is also very limited support available which recognises the complexities that come with Huntington’s, in terms of mental health and overall wellbeing.
