How does Stress affects menstruation

Is there any relation between Stress and Menstruation?

When you’re feeling low and irritable the last thing you would want to hear is, “is it that time of the month?”  Because it is important for people to understand that it is that time of the month when women deal with multiple changes happening in their bodies.

Dealing with the menstrual cycle’s physical manifestations is tough enough. Your normal life can be severely disrupted by bleeding, breast tenderness, and cramps and bloating. What we often fail to realize is that your menstrual cycle is also intrinsically related to your mental health.

A week or two before they bleed, many women undergo premenstrual syndrome (PMS). This can make you feel irritable, frustrated, anxious ad nervous. Three to eight percent of individuals are reported to suffer more severely from premenstrual dysphonic disorder (PMDD). This can lead to extreme depression, fatigue, attention problems and panic attacks.

Stress is one of the many other factors that affect women during their menstrual cycles. It can seriously take a toll on you and your period. Although some stress can be positive and even help us challenge ourselves, too much can have a negative health effect.

Excessive worrying can disrupt a person’s digestive system triggering stress symptoms such as diarrhea, frequent urination and abdominal pain. Similarly the female reproductive system can also be affect in much the same manner.

What is stress?

Stress is a normal psychological and physiological reaction to changes in a person’s environment, and it can be physical, emotional, social or cultural.

However most of the time when people talk about stress they are referring to the negative form of stress i.e. chronic stress. Factors responsible for stress vary from person to person and also depend on the socioeconomic backgrounds and the genetic makeup.

Sometimes stress can be the normal and appropriate response to a certain situation. But at other times the stress can be excessive and too much to handle. And when a person is exposed to such excessive amount of stress repeatedly or when the stress persists over time, it can result in the wear and tear of the body and can lead to various physical and mental problems.

So it should come as no surprise that experiencing stress can have adverse effects on women when they are menstruating.

Today’s modern lifestyle is filled with stressful situations and triggers which give rise to negative emotions and can disrupt and upset a person’s mood and regular functioning.

Although it is difficult to determine how stress affects menstruation, untreated stress shared with increased levels of hormones can create chaos in daily lives and can cause women to have mental health issues such as insomnia, anxiety, mood swings, loss of appetite etc.

How stress affects menstruation

Stress triggers a hormonal pathway in the body called the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis. The activation of the HPA axis is related to increase in levels of cortisol and corticotropin-releasing j=hormones. The HPA axis and these hormones helps control stress response in our body. But the increase in levels of these hormones can suppress normal reproductive hormones, which can possibly lead to abnormal ovulation, anovulation (no ovulation), or amenorrhea (lack of menstruation).

Ovarian dysfunction can also lead to problems with menstruation. Ovarian dysfunction can result in difficulty with estrogenic production, ovulation or other reproductive functions. Oestrogen is an essential hormone which helps build the uterine lining and adjusts the body for pregnancy. But if the ovaries are malfunctioning it can also affect the menstrual cycle, which includes absence of periods and irregular periods.

Other ways in which stressful situations can affect the menstrual cycle are:

Delay in ovulation – stress makes it difficult for the body to release certain hormones on schedule. This can result in delayed ovulation that is your period will not be on time. This can cause additional stress as you will start worrying that something is not right which will lead to further anxiety and force you into a vicious circle.

Longer period

This is also one of the side effects of stress, as the ovulation is delayed the cycle will also be prolonged and the flow might be heavier than usual.

No period

As mentioned one of the severe effects of stress can be amenorrhea that is your period can stop entirely. This can generally happen if the stress has resulted in lowered appetite, anxiety or if the person is underweight.

PMS worse than usual

Stress and anxiety combined with hormonal fluctuations can wreak havoc on the woman’s mental and physical wellbeing. PMS can get worse because of stress and it can result in heavy menstrual bleeding, extremely painful cramps, anxiety attacks and even bouts of depression.

How to manage stress in an effective manner

Reducing extreme levels of stress and getting rid of it can help you get back on track with your menstrual cycle and restore your hormones to a normal level of functioning. Adopting effective coping strategies is a good way to manage stress and anxiety. However, if these coping strategies are inculcate with the help of a therapist they will be even more effective. Talking to a therapist or a counsellor will definitely help manage stress in a much efficient manner.

Other ways which you can ensure a healthy menstrual cycle are:

• Regular exercise
• A diet rich in fiber and protein
• Limiting fatty food, alcohol , caffeine and sweets
• Sleep patterns should be regulated
• Having a strong and lasting support system
• Willingness to seek professional help be it for emotional and mental wellbeing from a therapist or for physical wellbeing from a gynecologists.

Thus, recognizing this link between menstruation and mental health is of the utmost importance. Efforts should be made to do away with the stigma attached to both mental health and periods, in order to ensure the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of women.

References:

Boutot, M. (2020, April 28). Stress and the menstrual cycle. Retrieved February 06, 2021, from https://helloclue.com/articles/cycle-a-z/stress-your-period

Broster, A. (2020, July 09). How your mental health & menstrual cycle are linked. Retrieved February 06, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicebroster/2020/07/09/how-your-mental-health–menstrual-cycle-are-linked/?sh=1402832b6370

Halim, S. (2019, June 19). Stressful situations and the factors affecting menstrual cycle. Retrieved February 06, 2021, from https://www.healtheuropa.eu/stressful-situations-and-the-factors-affecting-menstrual-cycle/92054/

Goyal, D., Dr. Saumya GoyalDr. Saumya Goyal .Menstruation & mental health – the SECRET CONNECTION. Retrieved February 06, 2021, from https://www.periodhub.com/2020/04/29/menstruation-and-mental-health-2/

Winderlich, M., Robinson, K., Davidson, J., Orenstein, B., Geer, K., & McCoy, K. (n.d.). Stress & menstrual cycle: Missed period due to stress: Everyday health. Retrieved February 06, 2021, from https://www.everydayhealth.com/pms/managing-stress-during-pms.aspx

Stress. (2020, November 02). Retrieved February 06, 2021, from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress#:~:text=Stress%20can%20be%20defined%20as,of%20pressures%20that%20are%20unmanageable.