Biologically, there may be a reason women cry more than men: Testosterone may inhibit crying, while the hormone prolactin (seen in higher levels in women) may promote it.
But if you begin to feel persistently sad and like just about anything could send you into a crying spell, the hormonal changes of menopause are more than likely to blame.
Serotonin is the brain chemical responsible for modulating mood. If serotonin levels are high, so are our moods. If levels are low, mood drops.
Some of the most common emotional changes that people share about estrogen are crying more, feeling more tender, and even experiencing greater empathy. These changes can be subtle or intense, depending on your body and sensitivity to GAHT.
If you have estrogen or progesterone imbalances, you can have difficult remembering things. You might cry at the drop of a hat and you can experience mood swings from deeply sad one minute to happy the next.
Oestrogen deficiency is thought to be the instigator of tears, cognitive decline, depression and almost everything bad in menopause (or at least it feels that way).
Vaginal lining in low-estrogen state
Dry, fragile vulvovaginal tissues are susceptible to injury, tearing, and bleeding during intercourse.
That's because rising progesterone in your Week 3 (which begins the day after ovulation and lasts 8 days) and plunging estrogen in your Week 4 (your premenstrual week) both affect mood-moderating brain chemicals in a way that can trigger the urge to cry from something sad, high stress or even no reason at all.
An insufficient amount of progesterone results in a decrease in endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are chemicals that reduce pain and increase the presence of happiness. So, the absence of these endorphins is associated with emotional symptoms including irritability, crying easily, anger and depression.
A blood test is one of the most common ways to test hormone levels. This test can detect testosterone, estrogen, cortisol, and thyroid levels. You should order a test that's specific to your gender, as a women's hormone test will look for different levels of sex hormones than a men's test.
Crying more often, or without knowing why, may be a sign of a mental health condition like depression, postnatal depression or bipolar disorder. 'If you're worried your crying is due to a mental health condition, speak to a doctor or therapist,' says Dr Oyefeso.
It's common to feel irritable from time to time, but if you feel unusually irritable or irritable all the time or on edge, it is important that you talk to your doctor as it could be a symptom of a mental health condition, like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, or a physical condition.
Progesterone levels begin to rise after ovulation through the end of the menstrual cycle. Symptoms of high progesterone are similar to premenstrual syndrome and can include anxiety and agitation, bloating, breast swelling and tenderness, depression, fatigue, and weight gain.
Progesterone in MHT and depression. The balance of evidence available suggests that progesterone in MHT may lead to negative mood symptoms.
Fluctuations with progesterone levels can do the same thing to emotions by changing the brain chemistry which can lead to depression. Estrogen becomes the dominant hormone which can cause cortisol levels to rise and increase feelings of anxiety.
Estrogen can reduce menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. If you have a uterus, you'll likely need to take progesterone along with the estrogen. Estrogen without progesterone increases the risk of uterine cancer.
When estrogen is too high or too low you may get menstrual cycle changes, dry skin, hot flashes, trouble sleeping, night sweats, vaginal thinning and dryness, low sex drive, mood swings, weight gain, PMS, breast lumps, fatigue, depression and anxiety.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study involving postmenopausal, overweight, and obese women who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year found that those whose vitamin D blood levels increased the most had the greatest reductions in blood estrogens, which are a known risk factor for breast cancer.
Unfortunately, any change in hormones is likely to cause mood swings. If your mood changes quickly and dramatically for no identifiable reason, it may be because you have too much estrogen.
Low estrogen levels can lead to irritability, anxiety, and depression. Your moods can change quickly and vary greatly, from laughing to crying within minutes.
Your hormones are shifting, even if your cycle Isn't
It's natural to start to feel and function differently than the relative hormonal predictability of your twenties and thirties. By your early forties—if not sooner—progesterone and estrogen levels are shifting, typically in erratic ways.