The hormone also plays a role in your state of mind, including how well your brain works. That's why low testosterone has been linked with symptoms such as mood swings, increased stress, and depression.
Testosterone can help regulate your mood, so low levels of testosterone could be to blame for increased irritability, periods of depression, and a general lack of focus. There have also been studies that show a correlation between testosterone levels and memory—low testosterone could negatively affect memory.
While gender affirming hormone therapy usually results in an improvement in mood, some people may experience mood swings or a worsening of anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions as a result of the shifts associated with starting a second puberty.
Elevated testosterone has been linked to lower cognitive empathy, the ability to recognize what another person is thinking and feeling, in numerous studies. Testosterone's influence on social decision-making may also be influenced by how it pertains to the ability to enhance the person's status.
The hormone also plays a role in your state of mind, including how well your brain works. That's why low testosterone has been linked with symptoms such as mood swings, increased stress, and depression.
One study even found that men suffering from low testosterone were more likely to experience symptoms of depression. Mood swings and mental changes can cause confusion and difficulty communicating with your partner, which can make any relationship suffer.
Anxiety, irritability, depression, and other mood changes are common in people with low testosterone.
Because testosterone helps regulate your mood, “you can fall in one direction where your testosterone is too low, so you're irritable and cranky,” Dahl says. “You can also fall in the other direction, where your testosterone is too high and you're irritable and cranky.”
Reducing stress does boost long-term testosterone levels.
Ongoing psychological stress has been found to lower testosterone levels. Ongoing stress induces the body to release elevated amounts of the stress hormone cortisol, which signals to the body to make changes allowing it to better cope with the stress.
Using testosterone as a gender-affirming medication can create emotional side effects such as: Gender euphoria. Decreased depression and anxiety. Increased sex drive.
Other warning signs of low testosterone include brittle bones and poor focus. "Many patients report that they feel like they have brain fog," says Tamler. "Often, that fog lifts once I treat them."
Low testosterone is nothing to be embarrassed about, but for some men, the symptoms this condition can cause can feel embarrassing to discuss. Without help, this condition won't go away on its own.
Low testosterone can significantly lower your sex drive and virility. Low testosterone can also cause emotional instability, mood swings, and sleep problems, and reduce your overall vitality. Symptoms of low testosterone include: Erectile dysfunction.
Untreated testosterone deficiency will greatly increase your risk for developing heart disease, osteoporosis, and other age-related diseases.
Low T can cause emotional and physical symptoms, including depression and anxiety. While many men associate low testosterone with sexual symptoms like low libido or ED, many men don't realize the impact that this condition can have on their mental health.
For example, a study from Harvard Medical School in 2003 found that even among men who started out with normal testosterone results noted loss of fat, increased muscle mass, better mood, and less anxiety when receiving testosterone therapy.
While testosterone definitely plays a role in your sexual function, many men with low levels of testosterone (also referred to as low-T or hypogonadism) can get erections just fine.
Take some time each week to talk about your feelings, frustrations, and appreciations. Although the symptoms of low testosterone can take cracks at a relationship, communication is the glue that will help a relationship while an individual goes through treatment.