Do you experience premenstrual mood swings or grumpiness each month?
Many women dread the 7-14 days leading up to their period.
Mood swings, irritability, anxiety, feeling teary and grumpiness can really affect quality of life and many women notice that they feel snappy, angry or more easily overwhelmed than usual.
Often this is due to hormonal imbalances which become most obvious in the second half of the cycle.
When oestrogen drops after ovulation, ideally it is buffered by an increase in progesterone which has a calming affect. If oestrogen levels have been very high in the earlier half of the cycle and they then plunge suddenly and there is not enough progesterone present, you can be left feeling pretty irritable and sensitive.
Low progesterone to oestrogen is a common hormone imbalance which I see a lot of amongst the women who I work with.
There are many ways that we can support progesterone production (keep an eye out for a post on this soon) as well as supporting the body to metabolise hormones more efficiently. Looking at diet and lifestyle factors along with stress management can be really helpful to support hormone balance and minimise the swings and other symptoms which commonly appear at this time of the month.
But another thing to consider....
Not everything that you think or feel at this time can be discounted as 'just hormonal' or 'just premenstrual grumpiness'. Whilst an imbalance in hormones will make mood changes more noticable in the lead up to your period it can also be worth noticing whether the same themes or annoyances surface for you each month.
Sometimes PMT (premenstrual tension) could also be seen as PMA (premenstrual awareness) where you start to become aware of things at have been bothering you or are out of balance for you and these become magnified...
Sometimes what we discount or brush off as irrational,hormonal symptoms are actually important clues about areas of imbalance within our inner or outer lives. Things that bothered you a little bit earlier in the month, but you brushed off can resurface with great annoyance. That thing your partner said that upset you a bit but you tried to ignore resurfaces with avengeance. The comments that your sister keeps making that you usually down play start to upset you again. Resentment at not getting the time to do your yoga/meditation/exercise/anything for yourself etc starts to really bother you..
Whilst it's not advisable to react and act immediately when these things begin to surface, if you notice the same themes coming up during this time each month, take note of them and when you're feeling less reactive or emotional, maybe towards the end of your period or just afterwards, consider what you can do differently going forwards so that you're not bottling things up or saying 'yes' when you really need to say 'no' or not letting the busyness of daily life get in the way of doing the things that are important for you that nourish or support you.
Find out about my 6 session hormone balance package here:
https://blossomwellbeing.com.au/my-hormones-are-driving-me-crazy/
