5 Tips For Minimizing Mood Swings

Mood swings may not be a daily occurrence for all women going through a menopausal shift, but if you do experience mood swings, rest assured that you’re not alone. Women can also suffer depression, anger, and anxiety during menopause. In either case, there are steps you can take to get your moods under control. RELATED: Chronic Mood Swings? This Might Be a Sign of Early Menopause What causes mood swings during menopause? It’s not clear what causes mood swings. However, women who have mood swings related to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can attest to the connection between hormone levels and emotions. Changing hormone levels during the menstrual cycle is how parts of the brain — the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland — communicate with a woman’s reproductive system. Communication between a woman’s brain and reproductive organs may happen differently during menopause, but it’s still happening. Although there isn’t a precise understanding of how hormones affect mood, there are several theories, including some that examine how mood-enhancing mechanisms in the brain are linked to hormone levels. Women using estrogen patches, for example, develop more mood-enhancing serotonin receptors in the brain. Hormones can also affect endorphin levels, the chemical associated with “runner’s high.”...