We all hear about how pregnancy can impact our mental health because of Postpartum Depression. We all hear about how menopause can impact our mental health because a lot of women experience clinical Depression after menopause. We all hear about Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and how rough the couple of weeks before periods can be for some women.
The thing I don't see talked about a lot (outside of a couple women's discussion forums) is how normal monthly hormone fluctuations (your period, your lady's days, Aunt Flo, whatever you want to call it) impact an already existing mental health condition. I know that since I've been struggling with severe anxiety since last summer, my anxiety and my intrusive thoughts spike about a week, sometimes 2 weeks, before my period. I get normal PMS, and then my anxiety skyrockets on top of that. It seems like any little thing can trigger my anxiety around that time, too. I even started to wonder if I might have PMDD. I don't, but I was concerned about it until I figured out how common it was for most mental health conditions to be worse during monthly hormone fluctuations.
I was curious about this because I never knew that my mental health condition could be so closely tied to my hormones. I talked about it with my therapist, and she said it was a common complaint among females with anxiety. I read in 2 discussion forums for women that most women felt like their OCD, Anxiety, or Depression was more severe a week or two before their periods, even when they didn't have Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.
What can you do to help when your mental health condition is so closely tied to your hormones? Well, a large number of the ladies in the discussion forums with anxiety conditions said they chose to go on birth control just to level out their hormones. If Depression is the problem when your hormones fluctuate, my therapist mentioned that doctors will usually prescribe Prozac to help. You just have to talk to your gynecologist and/or your regular doctor. Since my problem is OCD, I just take L-theanine (200mg) that my therapist suggested when my anxiety gets higher than normal before my period.
I also do some other things when my anxiety is high because of hormone fluctuations. I try to stay busy doing things I enjoy. I spend extra time practicing ukulele, and I watch people play songs on ukulele on YouTube. I talk to friends more. I try to write, even when I don't feel like writing because I'm exhausted. I read more. I watch funny shows like I Love Lucy on Hulu. (I also ate a whole bag of marshmallows over a period of a week and a half, which may be a bad thing...)
My point is that during the 2 weeks before my period, I have to double my coping efforts. I have to cope with the PMS as well as the extra high anxiety. I can't give in to the all the cravings for the extra sugar and caffeine and the junk food like I used to because that would just negatively impact my anxiety. I also can't just give into the PMS fatigue because then my anxious brain gets bored and goes haywire, so I clean things in spurts of energy between rest periods.
I'll end with this: I hadn't realized that my mental health condition could be impacted by the usual, monthly hormone fluctuations. PMS with an added mental health condition can be an overwhelming combination, and it's okay to talk to your doctor/gynecologist about something (like medication or some extra coping techniques) they think might help. It doesn't even mean that you have PMDD, but if you think you might you should talk to your doctor because PMDD has a specific treatment plan outside of your already diagnosed mental health condition.
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