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.
Mood swings
Do you find yourself crying for no reason or having sudden outbursts of anger? Mood swings are often caused by hormonal imbalances. If your emotions seem out of control, it could be time to get your hormone levels checked.
Oestrogen deficiency is thought to be the instigator of tears, cognitive decline, depression and almost everything bad in menopause (or at least it feels that way).
Some of the most common emotional changes that people share about estrogen are crying more, feeling more tender, and even experiencing greater empathy. These changes can be subtle or intense, depending on your body and sensitivity to GAHT.
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.
Unfortunately, any change in hormones is likely to cause mood swings. If your mood changes quickly and dramatically for no identifiable reason, it may be because you have too much estrogen.
An insufficient amount of progesterone results in a decrease in endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are chemicals that reduce pain and increase the presence of happiness. So, the absence of these endorphins is associated with emotional symptoms including irritability, crying easily, anger and depression.
That's because rising progesterone in your Week 3 (which begins the day after ovulation and lasts 8 days) and plunging estrogen in your Week 4 (your premenstrual week) both affect mood-moderating brain chemicals in a way that can trigger the urge to cry from something sad, high stress or even no reason at all.
Progesterone is usually soothing to mood but can sometimes cause anxiety. A negative mood reaction to changing levels of progesterone is called neurosteroid change sensitivity or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and affects about one in twenty women.
This type of crying may result from a mental health condition, such as burnout, anxiety, or depression. It might instead stem from hormonal imbalances or neurological conditions. If frequent crying for no apparent reason is causing concern, see a doctor for a diagnosis or a referral to a mental health professional.
Yes, hormone imbalance can lead to anxiety and depression.
What hormones cause depression? A drop in estrogen and progesterone may trigger depressive episodes. Increased levels of progesterone, such as through taking a progesterone-only contraceptive, may also increase the risk of depression in some people. Low testosterone levels may also cause depression.
Progesterone levels begin to rise after ovulation through the end of the menstrual cycle. Symptoms of high progesterone are similar to premenstrual syndrome and can include anxiety and agitation, bloating, breast swelling and tenderness, depression, fatigue, and weight gain.
When fertilization doesn't occur your progesterone levels drop resulting in an imbalance of your sexual hormones. During this period you are likely to feel more irritable, anxious and experience mood swings. You might recognize this imbalance as Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) (1).
The most noticeable manifestation of low progesterone levels is irregular periods and short cycles, but sometimes symptoms like premenstrual spotting may appear. Other symptoms may include mood changes, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression. Progesterone affects the regulation of fluid levels in the body.
Progesterone in MHT and depression. The balance of evidence available suggests that progesterone in MHT may lead to negative mood symptoms.
Estrogen can reduce menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. If you have a uterus, you'll likely need to take progesterone along with the estrogen. Estrogen without progesterone increases the risk of uterine cancer.
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.
Mood swings: Estrogen dominance can cause a range of mood swings, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. Decreased sex drive: As the levels of estrogen hormone rises, one may notice a dip in their sexual drive. Severe headaches or migraines: Headaches during the menstrual cycles are normal and everyone experiences it.
Women with low estrogen, on the other hand, may suffer from bad moods, anger, resentment, aggression or reclusiveness. Moods increase when low estrogen levels are raised in many cases. This can be due to supplementation, the end of a menstrual cycle point, or healthy foods that will even out your hormonal balance.