Why women get emotional before thier period?
In
addition to all the physical symptoms and issues women have to deal with, they
also have to deal with mood swings during their period.
Some of these
swings are minor but some of them are debilitating and devastating.
What causes these
moods?
Are they the most
mysterious of menstrual cycle issues?
How bad can it
get?
What are the
remedies for these swings?
How can a woman take
control over these menstrual cycle moods?
First let’s look
at the symptoms and causes. Why do women experience these moods?
Symptoms and Causes
What is the cause
of these moods? What happens within a women’s body during pms (Pre-menstrual
Syndrome) and during menstruation that causes these mood swings? Certainly
there are hormones in play and a hormone imbalance at work. No one really knows
exactly what happens in the body to cause this emotional roller coaster. Some
studies show no changes in these hormones while other studies show general
increased in all hormones. PMS occurs before the cycle begins and there are
certainly changes in moods during that time. Then during the period itself
there can be serious mood alterations as well as after the period is over.
These feelings
that a woman experiences before, during and after her period can range from
depression to anger to rage. Not every woman suffers with these moods but a
large majority does. It is the hormone estrogen that causes these changes in one’s
mood. In the first stages of menstruation a women’s body increases the amount
of estrogen that is produces by a dramatic rate. Estrogen actually adds to the
good feelings that a woman might experience under normal circumstances. When
estrogen is increased so are the endorphins, serotonin and enkephalins.
Because the woman’s body is preparing for pregnancy during the menstrual cycle these brain chemicals are increased to accommodate that. When the woman does not become pregnant these chemicals are quickly reduced and this is the cause of the moods that women experience. Women can go from feeling very good to feeling very bad in a very short period of time prior to her actual period. This is known as PMS or Pre Menstrual Syndrome.
During the time that estrogen is being produced in a large amount by the body, the lining of the uterus is increased and a woman can suffer many other symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle such as headaches, cramps, bloating, cravings, sore breasts and overall tension. All of these symptoms can contribute to the amount and the intensity of the mood swings during the period.
There is still another factor in these changes in moods for women during the menstrual cycle, and that is the presence of external stressors. These may be the normal stresses of her everyday life but they are multiplied during menstruation due to the other symptoms of the cycle.
