Is there a link between Hormones and Anxiety?

Hormones control all aspects of our health and wellbeing and are part of every single system in our body. They send chemical messages back and forth and are regulated by other hormones and neurotransmitters. If there is an abnormal hormone balance, it can have a massive impact on our mood, particularly on our anxiety levels.

These hormone fluctuations, are normal, for men and women. For men, these cycles are every 24 hours! For women they are monthly. However, sometimes people experience more extreme changes to their hormones, or their body’s response to the changes are heightened and this can lead to real problems which can often be mistaken for other issues.

In the first two weeks of a menstrual cycle, Oestrogen levels tend to be higher and this allows for increased production of Serotonin, our happy hormone.

In the second two weeks however, our Progesterone levels rise and this stimulates the part of our brain linked to the ‘fight or flight’ response, and this can make us feel anxious and depressed.

Different hormone and menstrual disorders can make us feel anxious and unwell. For example Endometriosis can have an impact on your Cortisol levels and this is our main stress hormone.

Cortisol balance is so important as it forms part of our steroid pathway, meaning that it can go into overdrive if allowed. When our stress levels are high, the cortisol production pathway is preferred by our body, and this leads to a reduced production of other important hormones. For example, it can lower our testosterone levels, and this can make us anxious too.

Symptoms of a high cortisol include:

• Poor digestion
• Poor sleep
• Headaches
• Brain fog
• Fatigue

Even a thyroid imbalance can cause issues with anxiety, and as you can probably see, all these symptoms are interlinked and overlapped with other conditions making it confusing to know what is going on.

So what can be done?

Firstly, it is important to recognise that lifestyle measures, however many times you have heard about them, or tried them, are the baseline to good health. Looking after yourself the best you can is the best start. Good nutrition, good hydration, good sleep, exercise and mindfulness or yoga can really help. At The Bespoke Clinic, we take an integrative approach to our management plans and will consider and offer you these avenues of care as well as more conventional ones.

In addition, once we have a good understanding of your baseline and we agree on the changes we need to make to embrace the holistic approach, we will also be undertaking a full hormone consultation, which will include blood testing and discussion around Bioidentical hormone treatments, other conventional treatments and supplements – all to aid Hormonal Rebalancing. Each person is treated as an individual and will have a different patient journey.

Get in touch to book your initial consultation and let’s see what we can do to get your anxiety and hormones back in check.

Be Calm