Mental and Emotional Effects of Hormonal Imbalance

When you are looking at the effects of a hormonal imbalance, you might read a lot 
about the physical changes, such as weight gain or chronic pain, but it doesn’t end 
there. This can also affect your mental and emotional health, particularly with certain 
types of hormones. 

From mood and behavioral changes, to increased depression and anxiety, you might 
feel like a completely different person just because a hormone is too high or too low. 
Here are some things to know about hormonal imbalances and how they can change 
your mental or emotional health.


Mood Changes

The first thing you might notice with a hormonal imbalance is that your mood is 
changing. You might go from the occasional mood swings and irritability to feeling like 
you can barely control what your mood is doing. If you are experiencing a lot of 
irritability, being angry a lot, having loud outbursts, or just a general mood swing that 
never seems to go away, it might be a good idea to consider whether your hormones 
are at fault.

This can happen with regular fluctuations of hormone levels, such as women who are 
going through PMS with their menstrual cycle, but when it happens more often or daily, 
that is when you know it might be something else going on.


Mental Health Issues

Some men and women also experience mental health issues with their hormonal 
imbalance. This is typically if you already have a mental health condition like depression 
of anxiety, which is then increased dramatically due to the hormonal imbalance.

For example, if you have depression, but suddenly your depressive episodes are more 
severe, last longer, or coming on more often, then it could be from your hormone levels.

Similarly, people with anxiety disorders might notice the panic attacks are worsened or 
that your generalized anxiety never seems to go away. That is also a sign that 
something else is going on in your body and you should talk to your doctor about it.


Increased Stress

Everyone experiences some level of stress, and the cortisol hormone is there to help 
you deal with it. However, if your stress is heightened suddenly, and you can’t seem to 
handle the mental or emotional changes it is causing, the cortisol or other hormone 
levels might be too high. This is one of the side effects of hormonal imbalances.


Fatigue and Low Energy

Lastly, you may experience a lot of fatigue during the day and low energy, regardless of 
how much sleep you got. This gets into the field of pure exhaustion, where you can 
barely get through the day, have low productivity at work, and just want to sleep all day 
long, when you know it is a problem.




