Sometimes, the first sign of an overactive thyroid caused by Graves’ disease is psychosis — like confusion or delusions — and blood tests can confirm it’s due to this specific condition.

In Graves' disease, the body's immune system accidentally attacks the thyroid by making antibodies that turn it on too much, causing it to overproduce hormones and leading to a condition called hyperthyroidism.

When someone has Graves’ disease, their thyroid hormones get too high, which tells the brain to stop making a hormone that stimulates the thyroid — so that hormone ends up being very low or even missing in blood tests.

Sometimes people with Graves’ disease get eye or skin problems even when their thyroid hormone levels are normal, which suggests these issues might be caused by the immune system attacking tissues directly, not just from too much thyroid hormone.

A young adult had sudden psychosis — like hearing voices and mood changes — and it turned out to be the first sign of an overactive thyroid caused by an immune system problem. This shows that sometimes, mental health symptoms can actually be caused by a physical illness.