DEPRESSION AND GUT CONNECTION
Updated: 2 days ago
Your gut and your brain talk to each other all day long. When Lyme, coinfections and antibiotics throw the gut off balance, it can show up as more than stomach trouble. So many of us feel it in our mood too.
Depression with Lyme is real. It is not a weakness, and it is not all in your head. I gathered the newest research on the gut and depression connection here so you can understand it and share it with your doctor.
Short on time or energy? A quick-view graphic with the key points is at the bottom of this post.
The supplements Rise Above Lyme recommends for this topic are listed at the bottom of this post for easy shopping.
IN THIS POST
-How the gut and brain talk
-Lyme, the gut and mood
-New research on gut bacteria and depression
-Older studies that still matter
-You are not alone
-Find the products
HOW THE GUT AND BRAIN TALK
-The gut has its own nervous system, which Johns Hopkins calls a "second brain." It connects with the brain in your head.
-This connection works both ways. Johns Hopkins explains that the brain affects gut symptoms, and the gut affects the brain too.
-Johns Hopkins also shared that this connection ties together digestion, mood, overall health and even the way we think.
LYME, THE GUT AND MOOD
-2025: A Global Lyme Alliance funded study from the University of Kentucky, led by Dr. Ilhem Messaoudi, found that both monkeys with Lyme and monkeys treated with antibiotics lost some of the helpful gut bacteria that make butyrate. This showed that Lyme itself, not just antibiotics, can upset gut bacteria. It is not yet known how long these changes last.
-2022: Global Lyme Alliance began funding this University of Kentucky research to learn whether gut changes from Lyme antibiotics play a part in lingering Lyme symptoms. It was described as the first study of its kind.
-2021: A Global Lyme Alliance funded study of nearly 7 million people in Denmark found that people diagnosed with Lyme had a 42 percent higher risk of mood disorders, like depression, than people without Lyme.
-2021: Global Lyme Alliance shared that both Lyme and long-term antibiotics can affect the gut, including problems like Candida overgrowth. Lyme literate doctors may suggest probiotics or diet changes to help protect the gut. They also shared Dr. Richard Horowitz's point that gut microbes play a part in nerve and mental health conditions.
-2020: A study by Johns Hopkins researchers and their colleagues found that people with lingering symptoms after Lyme treatment had a different mix of gut bacteria than healthy people, with more Blautia bacteria and fewer Bacteroides bacteria. The gut pattern alone correctly sorted over 80 percent of cases. Johns Hopkins noted that Bacteroides make GABA, a calming brain messenger, and that low GABA can cause anxiety and depression.
NEW RESEARCH ON GUT BACTERIA AND DEPRESSION
-2025: A review of 24 studies in BMC Psychiatry found that people with depression tended to have more inflammation-causing gut bacteria and fewer helpful bacteria that make short-chain fatty acids. The researchers noted that diet and medications can affect these results, and larger studies are needed.
-2025: Researchers in the Netherlands began a new project to learn whether gut bacteria actually cause depression, not just show up alongside it. They hope to find prebiotics and probiotics that can be tested as new depression treatments.
-2023: In a small King's College London study of 49 adults with depression who were still struggling on antidepressants, those who added a probiotic improved more than those on a placebo, starting around week four. This was a pilot study, the probiotic maker helped fund it, and larger studies are needed.
-2022: A Dutch study in Nature Communications linked 13 types of gut bacteria to depression symptoms in 1,054 people. These bacteria are involved in making brain messengers tied to depression, like serotonin, GABA, glutamate and butyrate. The results were largely confirmed in a separate group of 1,539 people in Amsterdam, and a second Dutch study of 3,211 people from six ethnic groups also found gut bacteria patterns linked to depression symptoms. This shows a link, not proof that the bacteria cause depression.
OLDER STUDIES THAT STILL MATTER
-2018: A review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences found that some studies showed people with depression had fewer of certain helpful gut bacteria, like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. When gut bacteria from people with depression were moved into mice with no gut bacteria of their own, the mice showed depression-like behavior. Antibiotics, ongoing stress and a poor diet can all upset gut bacteria, and they are linked to a higher risk of depression.
-2017: A review in Clinics and Practice explained that when gut bacteria are out of balance, the gut lining can become leakier (often called leaky gut), letting bacterial products into the blood. This can drive inflammation, which is linked to depression and anxiety. The authors said probiotics could not yet be called a reliable treatment for depression, and more research was needed.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Caring for your gut is one more piece of the healing puzzle. If you are struggling with depression, please tell your doctor, and lean on the people who love you. You are not alone.
If you ever have thoughts of hurting yourself, please call or text 988 right away.
FIND THE PRODUCTS
These mood probiotics are the ones I hear about the most from others.
PROBIO MOOD SAP (Nutritional Fundamentals for Health)
Mood probiotic
PROBIOMOOD (Pure Encapsulations)
Mood probiotic
FLORAMEND PRIME PROBIOTIC (Thorne)
Probiotic
HYPERBIOTICS PRO-MOOD PROBIOTIC
Mood probiotic with L-theanine
All supplements and herbals are 25% off when you sign up with Fullscript (not a sale, a permanent discount):
RELATED RISE ABOVE LYME POSTS
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY - POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
MENTAL HEALTH
GUT ISSUES DIRECTORY
GUT ISSUES
PROBIOTICS AND SACCAROMYCES BOULLARDI
SOURCES
Global Lyme Alliance, New Study Reveals Gut Impact of Lyme Disease (2025)
BMC Psychiatry, Gut Microbiota Variations in Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review (2025)
University of Amsterdam, Guts to Beat Depression (2025)
King's College London, Probiotic Supplementation in Adults with Major Depressive Disorder (2023)
Nature Communications, Gut Microbiome-Wide Association Study of Depressive Symptoms (2022)
University of Kentucky, Study to Explore Why Lyme Disease Symptoms Persist for Some (2022)
Global Lyme Alliance, Lyme Disease and Mental Disorders Study (2021)
Global Lyme Alliance, Gastrointestinal Issues with Lyme Disease (2021)
Johns Hopkins Medicine, PTLD: Recent Advancements in Long-Haul Lyme Disease Research (2021)
mBio, A Distinct Microbiome Signature in Posttreatment Lyme Disease Patients (2020)
Johns Hopkins Medicine, The Brain-Gut Connection
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Recognizing Depression from the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2018)
Clinics and Practice, Gut Microbiota's Effect on Mental Health: The Gut-Brain Axis (2017)
Disclaimer: Rise Above Lyme makes no claims about any possible benefit of using any product mentioned within this site. Always consult with your doctor before adding anything. The information shared is based on personal experience, years of accumulated researched resources from Lyme Literate doctors and polls conducted within Lyme groups from actual patient experience using these solution ideas.
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