The Ultimate Guide to Managing Premenstrual Mood Swings
Calling the menstruation nation — let's chat about something super important but often misunderstood: how our hormones impact our mood. Understanding what's happening in our bodies can make a world of difference in how we navigate mood swings and feel our best throughout the month.
Understanding the Science: How Hormones Impact Your Mood
Phase One of the Menstrual Cycle: Your Period
When your period starts, it's like hitting the reset button on your cycle. But along with that fresh start comes a wave of symptoms that can really mess with your vibe. Mood swings, irritability, anxiety, depression, overwhelm, and tension are all part of the package. Your particular mix of symptoms and their severity is unique to you, but we can all agree that periods can seriously impact your daily life. Knowing this, it’s important to cut yourself some slack during this phase and take extra good care of yourself.
PMS: When Estrogen and Progesterone take a Vacation
We’ve all heard someone’s bad mood blamed on “hormones”, but Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is actually the result of your estrogen and progesterone levels being at their LOWEST. In other parts of our cycle, estrogen or progesterone dominate, but right before our period, they both drop off in preparation for the next cycle, leaving us feeling pretty low. It’s totally normal to feel off during this time, and understanding that your hormones (or lack thereof!) are behind the whirlwind of feelings you may experience can help you navigate the waves more easily.
Symptom Tracking: Predicting the Highs & Lows
Tracking your symptoms can be a total game-changer. By logging how you feel each day, you can start to see patterns and predict when certain symptoms might hit. This way, you can prepare for upcoming changes, instead of being blindsided by them. This can be done with period apps, or if you’re a little more old-school, the paper (or digital) version. We prefer the latter because it gives a better overview of the whole month, and it’s free!
Adjusting Expectations and Goals
Once we understand when and why we find ourselves on a short fuse, or ready to curl up and cry at the sign of frustration, we can plan ahead! Here’s the game plan for your next period:
Set Realistic Expectations
You may not be your best self right before and on your period, and that’s okay! Instead of fighting through the symptoms, this is a great time to focus on yourself. Readjust your expectations around this time, and give yourself extra time and support where you can to get things done. You can kick it back into high gear in the next phase!
Changing Up Your Self-Care
Self-care might look a little different at each stage of your cycle. During your period, slow and gentle is the name of the game. Keeping intense mental or physical activity to a minimum will help you preserve your energy while your body is doing its thing and set you up for success post-period. This might look like gentle movement, quiet nights in, or just comfy activities with your favourite people - whatever helps you feel calm and relaxed.
Flexible Planning
Focus on creating flexible plans that allow you to adjust based on how you feel each day. It’s totally fine to reschedule plans if you’re not feeling up to it. Some days, you’ll feel like you can take on the world, and other days, you might just need a break! Listen to your body and give yourself the grace to adapt.
Communicating Needs
Don’t be afraid to communicate your needs to friends, family, and coworkers. Letting them know what you’re going through can lead to better support and understanding. If you know certain people won’t be understanding, it’s okay to avoid interacting with them when you can, and to bend the truth where you need to to preserve your sanity.
Mood Management Strategies
1) Use Those Coping Skills
During your period, you probably won’t have the emotional bandwidth that you do on your better days, so lean hard on those coping skills. Practice mindfulness and meditation, if that’s your jam. Give yourself a breather when emotions get intense (even if it’s just over who ate the last of the ice cream!). Vent to your trusted people, or through journaling, so you don’t get stuck in those emotions.
2) Move Your Body
Regular exercise boosts endorphins and improves your mood. During your period, you may not feel like hitting the gym, so take it slow and go for some yoga, walking or other low intensity movement. Even a 5-minute stretching session can make a big difference in how you feel.
3) Keeping Up With Eating
If it’s hard to find the energy to keep up with good eating, pre-period is a good time to meal prep or at least plan out some easy meals for when you’re feeling blah. Period-supportive wellness products like our Flow Fibre Powder (which helps with cramps AND digestion, whew!) can make the whole experience a little easier, too.
4) To Treat or Not to Treat?
Those snacking cravings can hit HARD during your period. Having a little treat can also improve your mood, but there’s a trade-off: too many high-salt, high-sugar and/or high-caffeine treats can make your period symptoms worse. This is where a little bit of symptom tracking and pre-planning can save you - having snacks around that satisfy the craving without sending your body into a spiral can make all the difference. And hey, if you need a coffee or a chocolate bar here and there, we won’t judge.
5) Remember It Passes
At this point, you probably have a good sense of how long your period lasts, and if not, tracking your symptoms can give you an idea of what to expect - and when to expect it to be over. If it doesn’t pass, or your periods keep you from enjoying your life, think about consulting with a healthcare practitioner. Your periods shouldn’t be life-altering!
Remember, understanding your cycle and how it impacts your mood is a powerful tool. With the right strategies and a little help, you can navigate your menstrual cycle with more ease and confidence. You've got this!