How to Navigate Your Menopausal Mood Swings

When people think about mood swings caused by hormones, they likely picture teenagers. But as women approach and enter menopause, they learn this issue just as easily applies to them. 

As your estrogen and progesterone levels drop off, you might go through a number of unwelcome alterations in your frame of mind. 

That’s where we come in. Here at Prestige Healthcare OBGYN in Atlanta, Georgia, board-certified OB/GYNs Charis Trench-Simmons, MD, and Lorenza Simmons, MD, specialize in helping women manage menopause — and the unwelcome symptoms that come with it. 

Hormone replacement therapy can often soothe those symptoms, including mood swings.

Why menopause affects your mood

Talk of menopausal symptoms often centers on the physical ones, like hot flashes and vaginal dryness. But the changes in hormone levels that come in this season of life can also wreak havoc on your mental well-being. Many call menopause an emotional roller-coaster. 

Leading up to menopause, you might experience what experts call perimenopausal mood instability. As your hormone levels drop off, it can contribute to PMS-like symptoms, including:

• Irritability
• Low energy
• Teariness
• Difficulty concentrating

To make matters worse, these mood changes often don’t have a pattern. 

As you enter and leave menopause, the situation doesn’t get any better, unfortunately. Decreasing estrogen levels affect neurotransmitters in your brain, including serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). That puts you at a greater risk of anxiety and depression. 

In other words, over time, you might go from mood swings to persistent low mood. Fortunately, we have a way to help with all of this. 

Getting help to stabilize mood swings

Here at Prestige Healthcare OBGYN, Dr. Simmons and Dr. Trench-Simmons have extensive experience helping women manage the mental wellness challenges that come with menopause. 

We’ve seen many women get relief with hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This treatment means replenishing your hormone levels as your body stops making as much of them. 

This approach directly fights menopausal symptoms, including mood swings and symptoms of depression and anxiety. 

Regular exercise and a healthy diet also usually help. We work with you, continually finessing your personalized treatment plan to bring you as much mood stability as possible. 

If you feel like you’ve lost your emotional mooring, Dr. Trench-Simmons and Dr. Simmons are here to help. With HRT and a personalized care plan, we give you tools to lessen menopausal mood changes and feel more like your old self. 

If you’re ready to explore treatment for your mood-related symptoms, call our office or book an appointment online today.