How are menstruation and mood swings related?

You probably know it. What used to feel manageable is suddenly completely unmanageable. You're yelling at your mother . Your boyfriend is annoying you. The clothes don't fit right. Your surplus is in the red, and maybe most of all you just want to crawl under the covers .

You go to the toilet, pee, wipe yourself, find blood on the paper. It all makes sense, like finding the missing puzzle piece. You've got your period, and you now understand why you've been irritable and lacking energy for the past few days. You may know it as PMS - premenstrual syndrome or premenstrual syndrome in English. The syndrome covers the physical and psychological symptoms that may bother you when you're about to get your period. And let's just be clear before we continue - PMS is a very real and very real situation and for most menstruating women, something that affects them in many different ways.

Mood swings and menstruation

There is a completely natural reason why you may experience annoying symptoms and mood swings when you are about to have your period. You will learn about them in this post. Conversely, the hormones that are racing around your body during your menstrual cycle can also create completely positive types of mood swings - those days when you feel like you are on top of everything, looking down with full overview and energy surplus and just think that you are delicious and cool.

When PMS hits, you become tearful and tired to the bone, it's related to your estrogen and progesterone levels dropping drastically. In fact, it's not yet 100% scientifically proven that hormones are to blame for PMS symptoms, but this is still the explanation many doctors lean towards.

Can stress affect menstruation?

The short answer is yes. And in many different ways. It's a bit like a chicken and egg situation. Some menstruating women can be so mentally affected for a period that their period stops coming. This can be due to stress, malnutrition, increased sports activity. If you experience short-term stress, this can also delay your ovulation, which delays when your period starts. It's simply the body's way of saying that you shouldn't get pregnant right now.

Conversely, PMS symptoms can also create stress-like reactions. PMS can create increased anxiety and sensitivity to stress. The things you normally have the energy for may seem very overwhelming around your period and the days before. Therefore, it is important that you take good care of yourself and perhaps make a few fewer plans in your calendar than you usually do.

What can you do yourself when you experience mood swings and other psychological symptoms during your period?

We've written about it before - there are different things you can do to help yourself when PMS hits you a little too hard.

Be kind to yourself.

Give yourself permission to go the way you want. If the path leads you to bed, where you need to lie down and relax, then give yourself permission. It will only get worse if you don't listen to your body and its needs.

Educate, educate, educate

You know that feeling where it’s much easier to deal with a situation when you understand the background to the situation and you can say “wow, that’s why I feel this way, it makes sense!” If so, then learn more about yourself and your body . It might help to learn more about your menstrual cycle, read up on the different phases and the typical symptoms that each phase brings with it. We’ve written a post about the menstrual cycle here that goes through the four phases .

Say it out loud

Maybe your mother, girlfriend, friend, colleague, will be much more understanding of your situation if you say: “hey, I’m having my period or PMS, can you bear with me a little today?” This typically makes those around you want to care for you and be both more understanding and loving towards you - and often that’s exactly what you need. And suddenly the symptoms will crumble a little bit because there is love and understanding around you.

Prioritize your sleep

Menstruation… funnily enough… also affects sleep. As part of the “be “kind to yourself” task, you should also jump on the bandwagon and relax. Here you will get a number of tips for better sleep during menstruation and a little more knowledge about why menstruation affects sleep.

Woman, know your cycle

As you become more knowledgeable about menstruation, you can also learn more about your own cycle. Start tracking it, write down your symptoms. When you become really good at knowing your own menstrual cycle and your typical symptoms, you can do yourself a favor by putting a reminder in your calendar that reminds you where you are in your cycle, so you know that you can, for example, plan a cozy evening at home with soft duvets when PMS typically hits.

Much more menstrual knowledge at Flow Journal

Thank you for reading. We are so happy to help educate everyone about the big world of menstruation, now that the vast majority of people are directly or indirectly affected by menstrual cycles. Remember that you can explore our Flow Journal , which we are constantly updating with more useful knowledge.