Can reproductive disorders be the reason for poor mental health? The answer is yes because menstrual disorders affect hormones that directly link with mental health. Any effect in them can impact brain functionality and mood. Learn how reproductive disorders affect mental health and tips to manage your mental health in this article. Schedule an appointment at Doral Health and Wellness – Women’s Health Center.

How can menstrual disorders affect mental health?

Reproductive disorders can affect your mental health by causing problems in certain hormonal levels that affect how you think and feel mentally and physically. While this also occurs during the monthly menstrual cycle, having a reproductive disorder can make period problems worse or last longer.

Here are some main reproductive disorders that may affect your mental health:

• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS):

This syndrome causes many physical and emotional changes as a part of the monthly cycle between your period and ovulation. It can occur a week or 2 before the periods and cause symptoms like bloating, headaches, and moodiness—around 90% of women who menstruate experience this syndrome.

If a woman has depression or anxiety disorders, then she might experience worse symptoms of PMS. That’s why many women seek medical help during PMS when they have depression and anxiety.

In some cases, it can make them fragile and may lead to a condition known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which can cause severe symptoms that can even lead to suicidal thoughts in women. So, you need to seek help from your doctor when you have these mental health conditions which get worse before or during your period.

• Infertility:

Infertility can seriously affect mental health and cause feelings of anxiety, depression, and loss. Treatment can be time-consuming, stressful, and can cause a significant financial burden on individuals. Despite its prevalence, it is often ignored due to confusion and denial which is not good for the mental health of women.

• Endometriosis:

Reproductive health conditions like endometriosis are linked with difficulty conceiving and chronic pain, both affecting your life quality and mental health. It not only increases your sick leaves and productivity loss, but women with endometriosis struggle to maintain their career goals which affects them negatively.

• Undiagnosed health issues:

Stigma and shame on having reproductive health problems from society and inadequate support from healthcare despite noticing symptoms for months or years to get a proper diagnosis can lead to anxiety and depression in women.

Besides reproductive health problems, failed fertility treatments can also affect mental health severely, especially in those cases where little things can be done to change the outcome.

Early warning signs of mental health issues

There are many warning signs of mental health issues you can notice in terms of behavior, reaction to stressors, actions, etc. These signs may be different for each person, but they show the inability to cope with those behaviors in response to stress, grief, trauma, or other mental health concerns. These include:

• Staying hungry or doing excessive dieting to avoid weight gain.
• Wear less clean or weather-inappropriate clothes.
• Being fearful of individuals or neighbors.
• Changes in grooming, hygiene, hair care, clothing, and other personal care.
• Sleeping too much or too little.
• Feeling irritable or angry.
• Mood swings
• Competing for attention
• Opposing authority
• Hyperactivity or inability to control impulses.
• Becoming withdrawn or avoiding social activities.
• Expressing feelings of sadness, anxiety, worthlessness, and hopelessness.
• Not able to enjoy the activity that they once enjoyed before.
• Not able to concentrate on work.
• High risk-taking behaviors like drug use, problematic sexualized behavior, or self-harm.
• Having suicidal thoughts.

If you notice any of these behaviors in yourself or your loved ones, then seek medical attention.

Tips to manage mental health

Here are some tips that can help you manage your mental health. It includes:

• Get enough sleep: Good sleep is essential for good mental health. So, if menopause symptoms such as hot flashes keep you awake at night, you should consult with your doctor to get treatment.
• Stay physically active: Exercise not only helps to keep you physically fit but also helps to maintain good mental health and even helps in preventing or treating some mental health conditions. Researchers have found that physical activity or exercise can help many people manage their mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, and substance abuse. Remember that exercise alone won’t treat or cure your mental health condition, but combined with other treatments like therapy or medicine, it can make your symptoms less severe.
• Eat healthy most of the time: Getting the right nutrients including fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and staying hydrated can help you feel better physically and improve your mood.
• Take your medicines on time: If you have a mental health condition, always take medicines on time. Don’t stop or skip the medicine on purpose unless your doctor asks you to do so. Once you go through menopause, medicines may work differently for you. They may not stay as effective as they are or may cause worse side effects. You should talk with your doctor to consult whether you need to change medicines or not.
• Keep a support network: Whether you talk to friends, family, or a therapist, you need to maintain good communication with people who know and understand you well. The ones you can ask for help if you need it.
• Stay involved as you get older: While retirement can be a positive opportunity for some to change, it can also be stressful for some because they may miss their working days. If you have a chronic disease like diabetes or heart disease, you may change how much you see friends and family. So, find opportunities in social activities such as golf or community gardening, or do part-time work to stay connected with others and your community.

Menstrual disorders can affect mental health because they cause severe fluctuations in hormones that affect the ability to think and behave. If you have any mental health condition, it makes its symptoms worse. That’s why during the menstrual cycle if you have a menstrual problem then you should seek help before it severely affects your mental health.

If you need help with mental health problems, visit our mental health clinic in Brooklyn to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment today.

At Doral Health and Wellness – Women’s Health Center, we have the best GYN doctor in Brooklyn, and we provide women with quality health care services. To schedule an appointment, you can visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11212 or call us on 1-347-384-5690. You can also visit our website at http://www.gynecologistbrooklyn.com/.