Women's Hormones and Anxiety

Anxiety is a common mental health condition affecting roughly four percent of the global population. While it’s a universal experience, women are twice as likely to develop anxiety issues compared to their male counterparts.

Daily life is fast-paced and filled with demands from all directions. It’s no wonder that anxiety numbers are climbing. Unfortunately, the narrative for women’s experiences is often downplayed or dismissed in societal norms. We receive comments that we’re being “dramatic” or are “overreacting.” Jokes get made about a certain time of the month and hormone influences in our reactions.

The truth of the matter is, there indeed is a hormonal aspect to women’s experiences with anxiety. It’s a misunderstood relationship that should have more light shed on it to increase awareness.

Key Hormones to Understand

There are two main hormone players to be aware of where anxiety is concerned. These are estrogen and progesterone.

Estrogen is typically known for its involvement in the female reproductive system and sexual development. Your levels will fluctuate throughout your life as you move through different seasons of life. This hormone evokes a calming, mood enhancing effect and boosts serotonin levels.

Progesterone is important for female reproductive health and supporting pregnancy cycles. It also helps regulate your menstrual cycle. This hormone works in one of two ways. It can be calming or it can be anxiety inducing.

Premenstrual Phase and Anxiety

During the days leading up to your menstruation period, you may experience heightened anxiety. Your estrogen levels drop and your progesterone levels increase. This shift in hormone levels can make you feel irritable and anxious. For many, this is known as pre-menstrual syndrome symptoms, or PMS.

Some women experience these types of symptoms on a more severe level, often called pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD. With PMDD, anxiety can be a significant disruptor to daily life and result in the development of additional mental health challenges like depression.

Perimenopause and Menopause

Perimenopause typically occurs sometime in your 40s to 50s. It’s the phase that comes just before you hit menopause. You’ll experience another fluctuation as your body begins to reduce hormone production in your ovaries, specifically estrogen and progesterone.

You may experience the onset of hot flashes, mood swings, a change to your menstrual cycle, and anxiety. This may be new feelings of anxiousness or heightened feelings compared to your normal level.

During menopause, your estrogen level significantly decreases. Since estrogen is tied to serotonin levels, you’ll experience a decline there as well. This shift can cause depression, anxiety, irritability, and even panic attacks. Sleep disturbances are normal, which can also contribute to increased anxiety.

Pregnancy and Postpartum

Childbirth is a gift but it’s no easy feat. The process of creating a new life requires the body to do miraculous things. Your hormone levels change to accommodate the needs of the baby’s growth and development. This drastic change in estrogen and progesterone can create high levels of anxiety, specifically the drop in progesterone.

Add this to other factors like weight changes, sleep deprivation, and increased stress from new responsibilities and you have a solid argument for anxiety to occur.

Thyroid Issues

Thyroid imbalances are becoming more and more common among women, which can easily go undiagnosed due to the variety and overlap of symptoms. The thyroid is a powerhouse gland that releases hormones that influence almost every organ and system in the body.

When you have any type of dysfunction in your thyroid and hormone production, anxiety can easily be a symptom. While it’s more often noted with hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid, it is also observed in those with hypothyroidism.

Managing Hormonal Anxiety

Mood and hormone fluctuations are going to occur in various phases of life. That’s unavoidable. But you shouldn’t have to deal with crippling anxiety in the process.

Therapy for women issues can be a great avenue to explore your situation further, develop ways to cope with what you’re experiencing, and reduce the burden on your daily functioning. Please reach out to me to learn more.