Hormones and Depression

How Hormones influence your moods?

Hormones have a significant impact on mood and how you feel, think to react to your surroundings and events around you. Hormones influence your serotonin, dopamine and other feel-good neurotransmitters, leading to anxiety and depression. 

I’d like to help you uncover how this happens to you and what you can do about it.

Hormones and Depression

How Hormones influence your moods?

Hormones have a significant impact on mood and how you feel, think to react to your surroundings and events around you.Hormones influence your serotonin, dopamine and other feel-good neurotransmitters, leading to anxiety and depression. 

I’d like to help you uncover how this happens to you and what you can do about it.

Your Cycle
Day 1 to Day 14 (Follicular Phase) Typically you’ll experience:
Low metabolic rate
Reduced hormone activity
Low thyroid function
Fatigue, foggy and cold
And for some, you may feel low or even depressed during this time.

Estrogen helps stabilize beta-endorphins and serotonin. If it goes to low during this period, then your moods will suffer you might experience:

Foggy Mind
Depression
Memory Lapses
Headaches
Frequent urination
Sleep Problems

You may also swing to estrogen excess in the latter half of your cycle after ovulation and into the luteal phase Day 14 onwards

Elevated estrogen may bring up severe symptoms such as:

Heavy Bleeding
Breast Tenderness
Increased premenstrual symptoms
Fibrocystic Breasts
Ovarian Cyst
Abdominal weight
Anxiety, Irritability
Water Retention
Increased Triglyceride Levels

“Your menstrual cycle isn’t static which means your systems won’t be either”

The problem occurs when estrogen shots up during this phase and progesterone remain low. This imbalance affects neurotransmitter production. Your serotonin and GABA may drop out at this time causing more excitatory neurotransmitters to be dominant.

If you find these symptoms are cyclic then this might be an issue for you:

Anxiety
Depression
Panic Attacks
Insomnia
Irritable Bowel
PMS/ Hormone dysfunction
Fibromyalgia/ increased pain perception
Obesity
Eating disorders
Obsessions and Compulsions
Muscle pain
Alcohol Craving
Migraine Headaches

Do you suffer from a shorter Menstrual cycle?

26 days or less. A shorter period also is an indication your hormones aren’t in balance. This is what is known as a Luteal phase deficiency and looks like a shorter cycle; you may experience spotting and have all the tell tales signs of low progesterone.

It is during these fluctuations that your neurotransmitters might go a little crazy. 

The main neurotransmitters we will focus on today are:

GABA (inhibitory)

GABA regulates dopamine and serotonin
Estrogen suppresses GABA
Progesterone Potentiates GABA

Glutamate (excitatory)

Progesterone suppresses Glutamate
Estrogen excites glutamate
Estrogen dominance and glutamate

The potentially means that if you go through cycles in your menstrual cycle of being estrogen dominant, then you might also react to high glutamate foods such as MSG. Tomatoes.

Serotonin

Serotonin makes you feel happy and regulates mood, appetite and cravings.
Estrogen modulates serotonin
Progesterone potentiates serotonin

Low Serotonin

Mental obsessions
Compulsiveness
Depression 
Sleep-cycle disturbances
Sweet and starchy food cravings or increased appetite
Low libido
Irritability
Digestive health issues
Joylessness
Sense of overwhelm in life

High Serotonin

Shivering
Muscle stiffness
Confusion
Restlessness
Agitation
Rapid heart rate
Sweating
Loss of coordination
Twitching muscles

Dopamine

Dopamine helps with motivation, memory, sex drive … it’s your Va Va Voom
Balanced of estrogen aids dopamine balance
Progesterone modulates dopamine production

Signs low dopamine

Low Dopamine
Fatigue
Lots breast milk
lack of motivation
inability to experience pleasure
insomnia
hard time getting going in the morning
mood swings
forgetfulness
memory loss
inability to focus and concentrate
failure to connect with others
low libido
sugar cravings
caffeine cravings
inability to handle stress
inability to lose weight

High Dopamine

Burning tongue
Aggression
Hyperactivity
Mania
can’t sit still
Nausea
Vomiting
Hiccups
muscle twitching
paranoia

First, you need to identify your hormone imbalance through tracking and testing, then start by balancing out your hormones over time.

5 Simple Steps to Balance Hormones

1. Track Your Cycle
2. Cleanse
3. Balance your macronutrients
4. Reset your nervous system