Women's Mental Health
Women’s mental health and hormones are interconnected in a complex and crucial way. Hormones play a significant role in regulating various physiological processes in a woman’s body, including the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause. These hormonal fluctuations can have a profound impact on a woman’s emotional well-being and mental health. Understanding and addressing women’s mental health in the context of hormonal changes is essential for promoting overall well-being.
Postpartum depression and anxiety are more frequently discussed than peripartum depression and anxiety, but hormonal fluctuations exist from the very beginning of your pregnancy, and some women develop symptoms of depression or anxiety during their pregnancy, before their babies are born. In these instances, it’s very important to weigh the risks versus the benefit, because there are many cases where allowing depressive or anxious symptoms to worsen could be more detrimental to an unborn baby than the low risk of certain medications. This is important to have a thorough discussion about in order to be able to make an informed decision. Pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but it can also be a wild ride!
Maybe for you, PMS is more than just feeling crampy and curling up on the couch with a carton of ice cream. You may feel like things have been going so well, and seemingly out of nowhere everything is annoying, you hate yourself and everyone around you, your partner seems to think you’re going crazy and you’re starting to wonder the same thing yourself. You may notice that following your menstruation, these intense feelings fade away, and sometimes that scares you even more. You think, ‘do I just have to go through this every single month?’ You may have had a baby, and while you love your baby more than anything, you are struggling to connect with them and even feeling disconnected from yourself. You feel like you’re wasting what you expected to be some of the happiest times in a fog that won’t clear. You might worry constantly that something terrible could happen to your perfect helpless baby at any moment; it drains you and you feel exhausted, but you can’t sleep, even when the baby does, because you have to watch their little tummy fall and rise so you’re sure they’re going to wake up in the morning. You may even have intrusive thoughts that feel strange and foreign, ‘what if I hurt my baby?’, though they’re deeply disturbing because you would never do such a thing. We are here to help! Hormones are powerful, but you don’t have to succumb to them as the curse that comes with being a woman, we are not at their mercy! You may not look forward to your period each month but you don’t have to dread it in anticipation that it’s going to throw you for an emotional loop over and over again. You are not an inadequate mom for seeking help, you are not alone in your experience, and you do not have to wait it out and hope you feel better. You are strong for doing what’s best for you and therefore what’s best for your child, and it’s our pleasure to help you clear the noise from your mind and regain your ability to feel fully present for the exciting moments to come.
Pre-menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)
Someone with PMDD experiences significant mood and physical symptoms that occur during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle and substantially impact their daily life. The diagnosis of PMDD involves the presence of specific criteria including:
- The timing of symptoms, which must start in the week before the onset of menstruation and improve within a few days after the onset
- The severity of symptoms including at least five of the following
- A least one mood-related symptom, such as marked mood swings, irritability, depressed mood, or increased anxiety
- Decreased interest in usual activities
- Difficulty concentrating
- Lethargy or lack of energy
- Changes in appetite
- Sleep disturbances
- Physical symptoms like breast tenderness or swelling, joint or muscle pain, bloating, or weight gain
Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression occurs after childbirth and involves persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness, and feelings of inadequacy. It typically begins within the first few weeks after childbirth but can develop anytime within the first year. It is more severe and long-lasting than the “baby blues,” which are common and transient mood changes after giving birth. It can look similar to a typical major depressive episode, but in postpartum can also specifically include:
- Difficulty bonding with your baby
- Withdrawing from family and friends
- Overwhelming exhaustion
- Frequent crying spells, often unprovoked
- Intense reactivity, irritability or anger
- Fear that you aren’t capable of being a good mother
- Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
Postpartum Anxiety
Postpartum anxiety occurs after childbirth and involves persistent and excessive worry, fear, or unease. It is different from general worry or the stress that comes with new parenthood, can be very distressing, and can make adjusting to your new role feel impossible. Postpartum anxiety typically includes:
- Constant worry about your baby’s health and safety
- Obsessive or intrusive thoughts or fears, often irrational but no less disturbing
- Difficulty sleeping related to intense worry that something could happen to your baby overnight
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Intense reactivity, irritability or anger
- Difficulty getting things done because you feel the lack of your full attention will jeopardize your baby’s safety
Postpartum Mood Disorders
Postpartum mood disorders encompass a broader range of mental health conditions that can occur after childbirth. This category includes postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, but also other mood disorders like postpartum bipolar disorder (manic or depressive episodes after childbirth), postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and postpartum psychosis (a severe and rare condition characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking). Postpartum mood disorders can vary in their symptoms and severity but generally involve a disruption in mood, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.
It’s important to note that postpartum mood disorders are not a reflection of personal weakness or inadequacy as a parent. They are believed to result from a combination of hormonal, genetic, and environmental factors, but are heavily influenced by the fluctuation in hormones experienced after childbirth.