Depression and anxiety affect women in their estrogen-producing years more often than men or postmenopausal women. Estrogen is also linked to mood disruptions that occur only in women -- premenstrual syndrome, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and postpartum depression.
Mood swings are another effect of low estrogen. You may feel sad, anxious, or frustrated. Shifting hormone levels and night sweats may disrupt your sleep. This can cause fatigue, which may make mood swings worse.
Low estrogen levels can lead to irritability, anxiety, and depression. Your moods can change quickly and vary greatly, from laughing to crying within minutes.
Changes in your hormones during menopause can impact your mental health as well as your physical health. You may experience feelings of anxiety, stress or even depression. Menopausal symptoms may include: anger and irritability.
Boosts your mood
Those mood swings you get right before your menstrual cycle might be caused by the shifting levels of estrogen. The hormone is known to help keep serotonin levels regular (those “feel-good hormones”) and help the effectiveness of endorphins.
Estrogen helps protect the heart from disease, potentially by maintaining higher levels of good cholesterol, called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), in your blood. Lower estrogen levels, especially during menopause, can increase your risk of developing heart disease.
The drop in estrogen and progesterone that occurs at the end of a women's menstrual cycle may cause anxiety and other mood symptoms. This is similar to the drop experienced during perimenopause, the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause.
Estrogen can also affect emotional arousal and change the intensity of emotional experiences. Clinicians have long recognized estrogen's therapeutic potential for mood change.
HRT with Estrogen May Lower Fear Response & Anxiety
They found that estrogen may have a calming effect on the fear response, including for women suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
It may take a few weeks to feel the effects of treatment and there may be some side effects at first. A GP will usually recommend trying treatment for 3 months to see if it helps. If it does not, they may suggest changing your dose, or changing the type of HRT you're taking.
If you have estrogen or progesterone imbalances, you can have difficult remembering things. You might cry at the drop of a hat and you can experience mood swings from deeply sad one minute to happy the next.
Women who have low estrogen levels may be more prone to developing anxiety and mood disorders, or experience worsened symptoms, when they face stressful or traumatic events. Women who have high estrogen levels may be more resilient and cope better with stress and trauma.
Estrogen signaling affects aggressive interactions, as well as several behaviors that are closely linked with aggression, including sexual behavior, communication, and learning and memory.
The primary hormone related to anxiety is cortisol. You might have heard people mention cortisol before, referring to it as the “stress” hormone. This is because cortisol levels are elevated during prolonged periods of stress.
Your skin also becomes thinner, because the levels of collagen and elastin also dip along with estrogen. The hormone estrogen is responsible for making skin look younger due to the hyaluronic acid it produces. Estrogen not only affects your skin but also your muscle mass, metabolism, and energy levels.
Estrogen acts everywhere in the body, including the parts of the brain that control emotion. Some of estrogen's effects include: Increasing serotonin, and the number of serotonin receptors in the brain. Modifying the production and the effects of endorphins, the "feel-good" chemicals in the brain.
And people who are expressive of the estrogen/oxytocin system tend to be intuitive, imaginative, trusting, empathetic, and contextual long-term thinkers. They are sensitive to people's feelings, too, and typically have good verbal and social skills.
The first changes you will probably notice are that your skin will become a bit drier and thinner. Your pores will become smaller and there will be less oil production. You may become more prone to bruising or cuts and in the first few weeks you'll notice that the odors of your sweat and urine will change.
Summary. High estrogen levels can cause symptoms such as irregular or heavy periods, weight gain, fatigue, and fibroids in females. In males, they can cause breast tissue growth, erectile dysfunction, and infertility.
Estrogen is responsible for an increase in cortisol and testosterone levels, which naturally increase energy levels.
Low estrogen symptoms include changes to your period, headaches, moodiness, and hot flashes. Other signs include dry skin, difficulty concentrating, breast tenderness, and vaginal dryness. Estrogen is a hormone responsible for maintaining vaginal blood flow and lubrication.
When it comes to happiness, in particular, the primary signaling chemicals include: Serotonin. Dopamine. Endorphins.
When the hormones that affect your brain neurohormones are off, you are off. You may experience symptoms that change the way you think, feel, and act in negative ways. It also makes you more vulnerable to conditions like anxiety, depression, and even psychosis.