Understanding the Balance Between Women's Hormones and Depression

Depression is a common mental health disorder impacting roughly five percent of adults around the world. It’s a rather large umbrella encompassing many underlying causes and potential triggers.

One leading cause of depression can be linked to hormonal changes. Women have a higher prevalence of hormonal shifts starting at puberty through menopause. For this reason, women tend to develop depression at higher rates. It’s estimated that depression is 50 percent more common in women compared to men.

Here’s a look at the delicate balancing act between hormones and depression.

Puberty Hormonal Changes

Puberty can be an overwhelming time for young women as they start to transition out of the girlhood phase of life. During this time, there’s a new and rapid fluctuation in estrogen and progesterone levels. These hormones can have a negative impact on mood, resulting in irritability, anxiety, and depression.

The hormone shift also causes physical changes like acne, body odor, and new hair growth. These body changes can be somewhat off-putting and cause stress, low self-esteem, and feelings of self-consciousness. When your body starts feeling foreign, it can lead to depressive feelings.

Menstrual Cycle

Hormonal changes are a normal occurrence during the menstrual cycle. Some weeks may feel like a roller coaster ride, while others are milder. This can even be a day to day change during your period. When hormone levels are high, you may feel extremely motivated and like you can conquer the world. Then a week later, you may feel the downswing and emotional distress.

Many women know there are going to be rough days during their cycle, but still can’t ward off the feelings of depression during this time. Even those who have healthy hormone levels and try to address the balancing act are subject to this.

Pre-Menstrual Syndrome

Pre-menstrual syndrome, or PMS, is often a stereotypical joke used on women during their time of the month. Not all women, however, experience PMS. Many who do have reported very mild symptoms with little impact on their life.

For those women who deal with severe symptoms, this time can be quite challenging. Hormone changes can lead to brain fog, irritability, mood changes, physical discomfort, and anxiety. If there is some underlying depression already being managed, adding any or all of these symptoms to the list can cause depression to flare up even worse.

Menopause

There is no concrete age for when menopause manifests itself. Women go through this phase at a variety of ages and experience correlating symptoms at different levels of severity. No matter what age you enter the menopause phase, there is going to be an associated drop in estrogen.

A dramatic drop in estrogen leads to concentration issues, sadness, mood swings favoring the low side, and depression. Low estrogen is not solely a characteristic of menopause, but is a key component.

Progesterone’s Influence

Another key hormone of the female reproductive system is progesterone. It’s the main hormone for pregnancy and helps prepare the body for fetal growth to take place. It also helps balance other hormones, including estrogen, to support the health of the pregnancy.

Progesterone is present in both men and women. Still, it often fluctuates more in women due to the natural changes in the reproductive system.

When progesterone is at its prime level, it promotes quality sleep, helps regulate mood, and helps maintain a sense of calm when under stress. If progesterone is running on the low side, you may notice difficulty with sleep, more mood swings, and higher levels of stress. Poor sleep and more stress can lead to the onset of depression as well.

Are you currently struggling with depression? Do you wonder if there could be some connection to your hormones? Contact us today to schedule a session of women’s therapy to discuss options that can help.