Hormones are our body’s chemical messengers. Produced in our endocrine glands, they travel around our bloodstream, telling our cells and organs what to do. Our hormones influence different bodily functions, like our metabolism, growth and reproductive health, but they also help to regulate our moods and emotions. This means that when our hormones are off balance, we might notice a change in our mental health.
Different types of hormones
What’s a hormonal imbalance?
A hormonal imbalance is when you have too much or too little of a certain hormone. Even if our levels are slightly off, this can have a big impact on our bodies. The cause of a hormonal imbalance varies from person to person, but it could be down to:
If you were assigned female at birth, you may experience a hormonal imbalance as a result of:
Hormones and mental health
Because our hormones help to regulate our emotions, hormonal imbalances and changes can have a big impact on our mental health. When our hormones are off, we might notice that our mood fluctuates or that we feel more anxious, upset or irritable than usual. Hormones can also affect your sleep, which can affect your mental health.
Some hormonal changes and imbalances that might affect your mental health include:
The menstrual cycle causes hormones to rise and fall across the month; these changes can affect our mood. 30% of people who menstruate experience moderate to severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and 5-8% of those experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Although PMDD is far more severe, and can be very debilitating, both disorders can trigger mental health symptoms, including mood swings, anxiety and depression.
Perimenopause and menopause causes oestrogen and progesterone hormone levels drop, which can lead to mood swings, anxiety and depression in some people. Read more about menopause and mental health here.
Thyroid conditions, caused by imbalances in your thyroid hormones (too many or not enough), are linked to mental health symptoms, like anxiety, depression, low mood and irritability.
Postpartum depression is connected to rapidly changing hormones during pregnancy and after childbirth.
The link between stress and hormones
When our brain thinks we’re in a threatening situation, it releases the stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline. This triggers our fight or flight response, causing our body to become highly alert to danger; our heart beats faster, our breathing quickens and our blood pressure increases.
It’s okay to experience stress every now and then, but when our body is constantly in fight or flight mode, this prevents us from having any down time, which can lead to chronic stress. Chronic stress can take a serious toll on our mental health - the symptoms can include anxiety or depression. We’ve written more about chronic stress here.
Managing your mental health
If you think that you might be experiencing a mental health issue as a result of a hormone imbalance, make an appointment with your GP as soon as possible. They will be able to help you get to the bottom of whether your hormones are affecting your mental health, and vice versa.
To treat a mental health issue, your GP may recommend cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). At ieso, we offer typed CBT for a range of mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression. Typed therapy is where the patient and therapist ‘speak’ by typing back and forward. It’s just as effective as face-to-face therapy, but if you would rather have a face-to-face session, we offer video calls in some areas. Find out more.
Certain lifestyle changes can also benefit your hormones and your mental health, such as:
Getting plenty of sleep: Sleep is an opportunity for our mind to process our emotions and recharge. When we don’t get enough sleep, this can make us feel more irritable and stressed, plus it can worsen existing mental health issues.
Doing regular exercise: It doesn’t have to be overly strenuous, just make sure that you’re moving your body every day - and if you can do it outdoors, that’s even better. If you’re going through menopause, weight-bearing exercises are good due to the cardiovascular benefits.
Eating healthy, regular meals: When we eat well, it helps us to feel good. Try to avoid too many processed products and eat plenty of whole foods.
Making time to de-stress: When feelings of stress aren’t dealt with, they pile up, so it’s important to make time to de-stress to lighten the load. You could do something relaxing, like reading, meditating or deep breathing, or you could do something that you enjoy, like seeing your friends or watching TV. Anything that gives you a break from uncomfortable feelings and allows you to focus on something positive will help.
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