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 changes can feel like PMS.
About 4 in 10 women have mood symptoms during perimenopause that are similar to PMS, or premenstrual syndrome. You might feel irritable, have low energy, feel tearful and moody, or have a hard time concentrating.
Mood swings occur when serotonin levels rise and fall rapidly, leading to the roller coaster ride of emotion many women experience during their menstruation and menopause cycles. Both estrogen and progesterone, which fluctuate during a woman's cycle, control serotonin production levels.
Hormonal changes
Oestrogen is our happy hormone. It makes us feel good as it acts as an antidepressant. So, unfortunately, as our oestrogen starts to fall as we go through the peri-menopause and the menopause, that can affect our mood and that's what can bring on the teariness.
People who menstruate experience mood changes regularly due to shifting estrogen levels. Dr. Louann Brizendine (she/her) explained that fluctuating hormone levels increase crying; this is common when someone's fluctuating hormones of your menstrual cycle go up and down more aggressively, which can cause more crying.
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.
Symptoms of low estrogen can include: Hot flashes, flushes, and night sweats are the most common symptoms of low estrogen. At times, blood rushes to your skin's surface. This can give you a feeling of warmth (hot flash).
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.
But if you begin to feel persistently sad and like just about anything could send you into a crying spell, the hormonal changes of menopause are more than likely to blame. If you're severely depressed, don't hesitate to seek help from a medical professional.
As estrogen levels drastically change in perimenopause, high levels can cause bloating, breast tenderness, and heavy bleeding. Once these levels become more consistently low, that can cause hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, changes in fat distribution (new or growing “spare tire”), insomnia, and fatigue.
When estrogen is too high or too low you may get menstrual cycle changes, dry skin, hot flashes, trouble sleeping, night sweats, vaginal thinning and dryness, low sex drive, mood swings, weight gain, PMS, breast lumps, fatigue, depression and anxiety.
Overview. Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a condition that's characterized by episodes of sudden uncontrollable and inappropriate laughing or crying.
But, if you find yourself embarrassed about your excessive crying, or if you suddenly start to weep when you don't even feel sad, you could have a problem called pseudobulbar affect. Pseudobulbar affect can be caused by a number of neurological problems, such as Parkinson's disease, stroke, and head trauma.
So, the absence of these endorphins is associated with emotional symptoms including irritability, crying easily, anger and depression. Physical symptoms of low progesterone may include breast tenderness, bloating, weight gain, carbohydrate cravings (including chocolate), headache, fatigue, insomnia, or pelvic cramps.
Fluctuations with progesterone levels can do the same thing to emotions by changing the brain chemistry which can lead to depression. Estrogen becomes the dominant hormone which can cause cortisol levels to rise and increase feelings of anxiety.
Low progesterone can lead to feelings of anxiety, sadness, or depression. The increase in progesterone during pregnancy is why so many women report feeling AMAZING during pregnancy.
In men, high progesterone levels will increase estrogen levels, which can result in symptoms such as depression, fatigue and the development of heart conditions. For women, high progesterone is associated with symptoms including anxiety, bloating, depression, reduced sex drive and/or weight fluctuations.
Anxiety or agitation. Fatigue. Depression. Low libido (sex drive)