Managing your mental health with ITP
Last updated July 21, 2025, by Elena Schmidt
Fact-checked by PatrÃcia Silva, PhD
Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) can bring more than physical symptoms — it may also come with emotional challenges that are harder to see but equally important to acknowledge. Feelings like anxiety, depression, stress, and exhaustion are not uncommon. These emotions can reflect the real weight of living with an unpredictable condition.
You’re not alone in facing these mental health struggles. While everyone’s experience is different, many people find that with the right tools, emotional support, and self-awareness, it’s possible to better manage both ITP and mental health over time.
How ITP affects mental health
Fatigue, bruising, and bleeding are just a few ITP symptoms that may impact your physical and mental health. They can disrupt your sense of safety and increase your risk for stress, anxiety, and depression.
Even daily activities may come with hidden risks when your platelet counts are low. Something as routine as brushing your teeth may cause bleeding, and a small bump might lead to a bruise that lingers for days.
Anxiety often sets in when you’re vigilantly monitoring every sign or symptom, uncertain if bruising or tiredness points to something more serious. Depression may follow if fatigue becomes unrelenting or when lifestyle changes, like avoiding travel or limiting exercise, start to chip away at your joy.
If coping with ITPÂ feels unmanageable, acknowledging those emotions is the first step toward improving your mental health.
Recognizing and acknowledging your feelings
Pushing your ITP fears, disappointment, grief, and anxiety aside won’t make the feelings disappear. Research shows that suppressing emotions can increase the body’s stress response, affecting heart rate, blood pressure, and hormone levels. These effects can make it even harder to cope with chronic illness.
When you bury discomfort, it usually also finds ways to surface, such as through:
- constant negative thought patterns
- short temper
- social withdrawal
- panic
- general sense of unease.
Recognizing your emotional responses starts with honesty. That may mean quietly admitting to yourself how much ITP has affected your mental health and expressing it in a way that feels right, like saying it out loud, journaling, drawing, or opening up to someone. Naming the experience gives you space to work through it.
Strategies and lifestyle changes to support mental health
Caring for your ITP and mental health often means finding daily strategies that support your body and your emotional well-being.
You might find relief by talking to a counselor who understands chronic illness, carving out time for mindfulness and meditation, or taking up hobbies to improve stress management and bring a sense of joy back into your routine.
Therapy and counseling
Talking with a therapist who understands chronic illness can help you sort through the emotional layers that come with ITP diagnosis, treatment, and daily life.
You might worry about whether it’s safe to fly, get a tattoo, have surgery, or drink a glass of wine. You may feel disappointed that you can’t make plans as you used to or frustrated that your body is acting out. You might feel anxious about the rare possibility of a major bleed.
Counseling gives you space to unload these burdens without needing to downplay their impact.
Working with a therapist who understands ITP and mental health may also help you:
- recognize how anxiety shows up in your body or mood
- develop strategies for coping with ITPÂ when your platelet count is low
- work through medical trauma or past experiences with delayed diagnosis
- communicate more clearly with loved ones and care teams
- create routines that support your emotional and physical health.
If you’re unsure where to start, ask your hematologist if they work with any ITP therapy providers who specialize in this autoimmune condition. Online directories also allow you to search by focus area, such as health psychology, chronic illness, or rare disease support.
Mindfulness and meditation
Mindfulness and meditation can help you meet the mental and emotional toll of ITP with calm awareness. These mind-body practices teach you how to stay present with mental noise and physical sensations without spiraling into fear or judgment.
Research shows that mindfulness and meditation help activate your body’s natural stress management systems. They increase calming brain chemicals and reduce cortisol-fueled stress responses that can drive disease and mental health issues.
One structured meditation program is mindfulness-based stress reduction, which has been shown to benefit those with chronic conditions. This program teaches you to relate to your thoughts and physical symptoms with self-compassion.
But you don’t have to commit to a full program to feel the effects. Even focusing on your breath for a few minutes a day or listening to a short guided meditation can improve how you respond to stress and discomfort. Over time, these practices may help you feel more grounded and regulated.
Hobbies
Hobbies are another effective outlet to support your ITP and mental health goals. Engaging in activities helps you move your body, reduce tension, and reconnect with meaning.
Yoga is one example. This ancient practice blends breath, movement, and meditation to calm the mind and restore balance in the body.
Laughter also has therapeutic power. Watching a funny show, finding humor in your daily life, or attending a local comedy night can release tension and lift your mood.
Finally, nature-based hobbies like walking, cycling, and gardening can reconnect you to your body in a gentle way. Movement increases blood flow, supports emotional release, and often comes with the added benefits of sunlight and fresh air.
Above all, hobbies are powerful reminders that you are more than your ITP diagnosis. They bring you back to what makes you feel alive.
Building a support network
Managing ITP and mental health with a support system can make all the difference in how you cope.
Connecting with people who share your diagnosis can help you feel seen. The Platelet Disorder Support Association offers a range of ITP resources for peers and caregivers, including local and virtual ITP support groups, conferences, and online forums where you can ask questions, share your experience, and connect with others on the same journey.
Support can also come from loved ones and professionals. You might lean on a close friend who checks in after your lab results, a therapist who helps you process, or a religious or spiritual community that helps you hold on to meaning.
Building your emotional support network could take time. However, even one significant connection can help you feel more empowered, hopeful, and connected.
Bleeding Disorders News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
