Reading Time: 4 minutes How Do Hormones Affect Mental Health and Mood
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This is a health and wellness post about hormones affects on mood by Quentin
Mental health and hormonal imbalances are directly related. When there is a hormonal imbalance, the risk of mental health increases. This article will cover how different hormones affect our moods and well being.
Table of Contents
How The Hormone Estrogen Affects Mood
It is a type of hormone that plays a crucial role in how the body works. This hormone is responsible for regulating drugs used as mood regulators. The function of estrogen is to increase the chemicals in the body. This elevates an individual’s moods, thus feeling good.
Also, estrogen is responsible for regulating a group of hormones that blocks pathways that cause pain in the body and stimulate happiness and euphoria. Therefore, mood swings and irritability are the symptoms associated with low levels of estrogen in the body. It can cause depression and difficulties in maintaining concentration. Lastly, excess estrogen is likely to lead to anxiety and mental clouding of consciousness.
Can Low DHEA Cause Anxiety and Depression?
DHEA and DHEA are the most concentrated hormones that occur naturally in the body. They are critical for healthy body functions. However, low T can affect mental health and cause depression and anxiety in adults. Research has indicated that DHEA supplements can be used to treat depressed older patients.
However, the supplements negatively affect the body as it increases the levels of natural testosterone. Higher levels of natural testorterone leads to side effects such as sleep disorder and irregular menses.
Does Cortisol Cause Anxiety And Depression?
Cortisol is known as a stress hormone. Due to the pressures faced in society, our bodies endure unending chronic stress. Thus, the adrenal glands release the cortisol hormone continuously. However, this leads to chronic inflammation in the body. Also, an increase in cortisol hormone leads to increased blood sugar, blood pressure, depression, and anxiety.
Excess cortisol hormone can be caused by chronic stress, relationships, and a genetic disorder. Therefore, it is essential to change lifestyle behavior through meditation to reduce stress and cortisol levels.
Are Thyroid Hormones Essential For Mental Health?
The thyroid is responsible for metabolic disorders leading to an effect on the energy rates of the whole body. The hormone is activated by thyroid-stimulating hormone (THS), which stimulates the thyroid gland, leading to hormones T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine).
The hormones released have different iodine molecules present.T3 and T4 regulate moods, thus influencing the metabolic rate responsible for energy levels and emotions in the body.
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The Hormone Progesterone Effects On Mood
An increase in progesterone causes changes in the reproductive system. Also, when the levels of the hormone increase, it leads to anxiety, depression, and insomnia. However, low progesterone levels in the body lead to the dominance of the estrogen hormone, thus causing mood swings such as anxiety and irritability.
How Does Hormone Imbalance Affect Your Mental Health?
Our hormones have an indirect effect on mental health. It often leads to changes in the physical transformation which affects our self-esteem and perception. Therefore, it is vital to be aware of how physical changes due to hormonal imbalances may lead to mental health conditions. Several hormonal imbalances may affect our mental health. Hormones affect our moods.
Individuals with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are statistically likely to suffer from depression and anxiety three times more than individuals without PCOS. This is because the symptoms of PCOS, such as infertility, can cause frustrations, thus leading to anxiety. Also, research indicates that insulin resistance is a factor that leads people with PCOS to develop mental health conditions.
Endometriosis is a chronic condition that causes a lot of pain, leading to depression, anxiety, and anger management problems. This is because chronic pain alone can lead to emotional instability, thus causing mental health conditions.
Another indirect effect of hormone son mental health is premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PDD). This is because individuals with this disorder are likely to suffer from depression due to hormonal fluctuations while menstruating.
Menopause and perimenopause lead to a decrease in hormones in the body. When the menstrual cycles stop, both estrogen and progesterone levels drop down, which leads to emotional instability.
Lastly, many women suffer from mental health conditions caused by postpartum. This is because of the changes in hormonal balances. After giving birth, women need to take care of their emotional well-being to recover fully. If these moments are not used to take care of oneself, it may lead to mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Bottom Line Hormones Affect Moods
We all have hormones. Understanding how our hormones affect moods is a step towards improving our mental health and well being.
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Greg is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 22+ years experience in Financial Services. He has held numerous FINRA Securities licenses (series 7, 63, 65, and 66), and is an expert on Investment Products and Financial Planning. Greg has 22+ years experience as a real estate investor and degrees in Psychology and Philosophy.
Greg has been quoted/interviewed in Yahoo Money, Yahoo Finance, USA Today, Authority Magazine, Realtor.com, Business Insider, and others.
Greg is an avid runner, and the father to identical twin girls and their awesome brother. His love of budgeting and his kids led him to join The Great Resignation in 2021.
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