Most, if not all women, have experienced a turn for the worse mental health when that “time” of the month clocks on their calendar. Their moods dip, anxiety shoots up, and thoughts become disturbingly dark.
But hormonal change does not only affects the mind of the women, men can also experience hormonal effects such as anger and depression.
Such mental health problems caused by changes in our hormones can greatly affect our mood and even our performance at work. Let us then determine the links between our mind and our fluctuating hormones and what can be their concerning effects to your job.
The Mental-Hormone Links
- Let’s first look at PMS, a favorite joke of comedians but totally not a laughing matter for the women who suffer with it. There are different reasons why some women sail through their monthly cycle with no or only a few symptoms and why others struggle every month experiencing depression, fatigue, and anxiety. Some of these reasons are nutrition, genetics, and yes – hormone balance.
Some women find it hard to concentrate on their jobs that they even call in sick before or during their period. If you are on your period during work deadlines but concentration is not easy, it will be better if you will break large projects into smaller and shorter tasks. You can also go on frequent breaks to walk around or stretch.
- Other key points where mind and hormones intersect are pregnancy and post-partum. Soon to be mommies usually encounter significant depression while being pregnant or after giving birth (post-partum depression). Though many consider moodiness and rollercoaster emotions are common and normal.
Thus, work cannot be avoided during and after pregnancy even if you suffer from several mental health. If your depression is giving you a difficult time in the office by crying and outbursting your emotions every now and then, admit first to yourself that you are depressed. By recognizing what you are going through, you can easily talk to a doctor and ask for his/her help.
- The next key point of the mood-hormone link which is widely recognized but not fully-understood is known as “menopause”. We are only enclosed to the definition of menopause as the point at which women stops having their periods for a period of 1 year and it usually happens to them at the age of 51 (average in the US). We aren’t aware that the symptoms of menopause, erratic periods, hot flashes, brain fog, and sex drive changes occur during the time before menopause. This is called perimenopause wherein there is already a decline in estrogens and progesterone or they go up and down unpredictably. Many women also don’t know that perimenopause can start as early as their late thirties.
Work is still inevitable at this age and even if you reach 51, you cannot just simply quit work just because you are experiencing symptoms of a mind-hormone link. The best way to address perimenopause indications is to have an open communication with your boss and your team. Telling them what you are going through can seriously help in reducing your stress in the office due to erratic periods or hot flashes. They can also support you and handle your tasks in case you will need to take a day off.
- There are also other imbalances in our hormones that can cause various symptoms at any point in life. These are progesterone deficiency, estrogen insufficiency or abundance, as well as testosterone deficiency. The alpha males, when having too many estrogen in their body, can experience despair and mood swings. If in case they will have too little testosterone, they can suffer from despair, fatigue, low sex drive, and they can even gain some weight. While in women, it is a more popular fact that sex hormone imbalances can be the reason for a wide range of mental health symptoms.
If you usually bring your work home or extend some time at night in the office, you need to change your habits and set some boundaries. Staying late at work will not be helpful and can only worsen your despair or fatigue. Spend a little time exercising to make you feel active or join a yoga class for meditation and breathing exercise.
What you should remember
Ignoring your symptoms or medications such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medicines are not your immediate answers to mental health issues brought about by hormonal changes. If at work or not, you should learn to nurture yourself with good nutrition, surround yourself with people who truly care, and ask your physician to thoroughly assess your symptoms. Hormonal imbalances and its effects can be addressed through the help of your family, friends, and professionals and in the end, not make a mess of your mind at home or at your job.
Sarah Grace Del Rosario is a health blogger and advocate. She currently works at HGH Vallarta, of the of the leading suppliers of hgh for sale. Aging can be a scary process, one that no one wants to go through – or at least avoid for the longest possible time. The hormonal drop is inevitable with aging in both men and women, and it brings along a series of issues such as mood swings, loss of muscle mass and strength, weight gain, and constant exhaustion. HGH Vallarta can reverse the decline in your hormone levels by helping you refocus on your diet and daily routine and at the same time restore your hormonal balance through hormone optimization, a process designed to add years to your youth.
