Periods and mood swings Why do You get Mood Swings?



Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a collection of physical and emotional symptoms that start a week or so before your period. It makes some people feel moodier than usual and others bloated and achy.

For many women, PMS can also cause mood swings in the weeks leading up to their period. Mood swings involve a sudden, unexplained change in mood. You might wake up in a great mood but find yourself becoming angry and irritable an hour or two later for no reason.



PMS affects a high percentage of women of childbearing age, with many women feeling mood changes in the days before menstruation. And while menstrual symptoms like irritability, anger, and mood swings are a monthly bother for most women, severe PMS can be emotionally debilitating for some. Fortunately, treating PMS with medication and lifestyle changes can help women control mood changes and other emotional difficulties.









Eat a well-balanced diet to curb PMS symptoms Make sure you're nourishing your body and eating a diet that provides it with the nutrients you need to thrive. Some research suggests that diets with adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D may reduce the risk of PMS. Diets high in thiamine and riboflavin might also reduce the risk of experiencing PMS. Not sure if you’re getting the nutrients you need? Track your food for a few days to get an overall picture.





How to Ease PMS Mood Swings

Work out regularly to prevent PMS symptoms

Exercise is a crucial part of a balanced life, so get the juices flowing for your overall health. It's important not to just exercise when you have symptoms, but keep an ongoing exercise routine. Regular exercise may help with premenstrual headache, breast swelling, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, and vomiting.

Mood swings are common around the time of menstruation. From feeling irritable, to angry, to crying your eyes out, you often have to deal with a rollercoaster of emotions in a short period of time.Premenstrual Syndrome can cause wild, emotional mood swings for women. In one day woman can go from an angry outburst to a crying spell, followed by an anxiety attack. These emotional rises and falls are usually due to our fluctuating hormones. We can become more strategic in how we heal the underlying causes of these symptoms in order to live without mood swings, depression, and anxiety.For most women, successfully healing PMS can occur with changes to lifestyle and diet. Here are some ways to begin addressing underlying causes and access your healing.Most women undergo mood changes during premenstrual period. The highest incidence occurs among women in their late twenty to early thirty.Experts aren’t sure about the exact cause of PMS, but it’s likely linked to hormonal fluctuations that happen during the second half of the menstrual cycle.Ovulation happens about halfway through your cycle. During this time, the body releases an egg, causing estrogen and progesterone levels to drop. A shift in these hormones can lead to both physical and emotional symptoms.Changes in progesterone and estrogen levels also influence serotonin levels. This is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate your mood, sleep cycle, and appetite. Low levels of serotonin are linked to feelings of sadness and irritability, in addition to trouble sleeping and unusual food cravings — all common PMS symptoms. Mood swings are one of the most commonTrusted Source and most severe PMS symptoms.The exact etiology of PMS and PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) is unknown but is likely multifactorial and includes both physiologic and psychological causes. Numerous studies have suggested that although female with PMDD and PMS have normal levels of estrogen and progesterone, they may have an abnormal response to normal hormonal changes.The PMS syndrome has a several of symptoms: weight gain, bloating, headache, breast tenderness, mood fluctuation, restlessness, anxiety, depression, fatigue, irritability, and a feeling of being out of control. These symptoms may occur in the two weeks prior to menstruation and there must be at least a seven day symptom free interval in the first half of the menstrual cycle. Symptoms must occur in at least two consecutive cycles for the diagnosis to be made.Most common Premenstrual emotional symptomsPremenstrual syndrome affects a lot of female, those that have reached the age of potential childbearing. This syndrome is known to cause stress, emotional and depression to women. PMS typically starts to manifest itself around the fourteenth till the twenty fourth day after ovulation.Low levels of serotonin and dopamine can cause anxiety and sadness .Hormonal changes during the second half of the menstrual cycle, called the luteal phase, may cause a low mood and irritability in some women. After ovulation, which occurs midcycle, the levels of the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone begin to fall.Rising and falling levels of these hormones can affect brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.Examples of these neurotransmitters are serotonin and dopamine, which are both chemicals that influence mood, sleep, and motivation.Women can get nervous over little things that come their way. Such women may become really stressed out at all times. Relaxation will be a great remedy to this. Those who love listening to music can add their recovery with a good music at all times.Affected women gets irritated over little things around her. This situation occurs when a woman have a bad eyes for everything around her. Such women find it hard to appreciate others at this time.Getting down and depressed is a common emotional symptom of this syndrome. PMS can also cause women to become addicted to drinks, drugs, etc. The use of antidepressants (such as SSRI’s) can help to reduce the effect of this syndrome.PMS and anxiety is common, getting pretty anxious at all time can be very serious. Women anticipating for their menstrual cycle with fear have a higher tendency of getting emotionally derailed. The PMS anxiety treatment is relaxing at all times.How to manage mood swing symptomsAlthough there is no control measure yet for this syndrome, there are series of ways through which mood swings can be managed.This is usually a result of serious pain in the abdomen area.This symptom makes women loose it all. Getting angry over little things with oneself or people around can be really disturbing. Relaxation and listening to music will surely help with this. In some cases, behavioral therapy can be needed.Herbal remedies to helpHerbal remedies could be the answer. Agnus castus is useful for helping to relieve symptoms of PMS, for example,mood swings, irritability, water retention, sore breasts and painful periods.Agnus castus gently supports your progesterone levels which in many cases are overshadowed by oestrogen.At the other end of the spectrum, if oestrogen is low, fermented soy isoflavones can be effective in gently correcting this imbalance.Please note, if you are taking hormonal contraceptives such as the pill, hormone-balancing herbal remedies may not be suitable for you.Avoid caffeine and alcoholAvoidance of drinks rich in caffeine and alcohol can help to manage PMS mood swing. Alcohol is a depressant and must be avoided during this period to keep yourself on the right track. Caffeine can cause an increase in anxiety, nervousness and insomnia which are symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.Most women crave for what they love most during their menstrual period. Having the ability to eat healthy can help a lot at this point of time. It is advisable to always add magnesium to your diet. Also, eating six small meals as compared to three heavy meals can help to maintain the body's sugar level. Eating magnesium rich food which can help to ease mood swings and regulate serotonin during the menstrual period.Stick to a workout routine during PMSExercising your body is a good idea during this difficult period of time. Having proper exercise can help to stretch out muscles and on the other hand allowing flow of oxygen through the muscles. Also, exercise can help to release endorphin to boost sleep and make you feel happier.Resting can help to relax your body at all time. Sleeping for at least five hours daily always help to increase your body metabolism. Premenstrual syndrome can be managed by sleeping either in the day or at night. Sleeping well can go a long way in helping to ease the effect of the premenstrual syndrome.