Is it normal to feel sad on your period

Now's your time to embrace and confront the things you may have been too happy to notice the rest of your cycle, when your estrogen and serotonin levels are higher. This is an opportunity to feel them deeply and then let them out.

Scream into your pillow," Dr. Holland suggests. It also helps to give your feelings a name, whether by journaling or talking with friends. The point is, accept the fact that you're feeling emotional, don't bottle it up. Right before your period, your progesterone levels rise, which can result in an instinct to "nest. Right before and during our periods, we experience a lesser version of this tendency; a desire to perhaps bake, get cozy, and stay in. Holland explains.

It's a fresh chance to create the environment you want for yourself, what you'd [theoretically] want a baby to enter into. Holland likes to call estrogen the "whatever you want honey" hormone.

Around our periods, hormonal fluctuations also cause our serotonin levels to drop. That's part of why you might feel more depressed and anxious, but it also means your natural obsessive tendencies are awakened — and in manageable form, that can actually be a good thing. Holland says. This includes kicking toxic friends out of your life or getting rid of that slacker boyfriend. The National Sleep Foundation says that 30 percent of women report a lack of sleep while they're menstruating — which is a problem, because you actually really need more rest when you're on your period.

At the point before the menstrual cycle enters its "shedding" phase, levels of estrogen and progesterone lower , causing energy levels to drop with it. Low estrogen levels may also be responsible for creating more waste products in the body when we ingest carbs, contributing to increased fatigue.

Dysthymia persistent depressive disorder and depression major depressive disorder are very similar. Learn the differences between the conditions…. Experts say some people can benefit from staying on antidepressants, although not everyone needs to keep using these medications.

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Mental Health. How to Deal with Premenstrual Depression. Why it happens Management Finding support We include products we think are useful for our readers. Is it PMS? This may make you feel: sad irritable anxious tired angry teary forgetful absentminded uninterested in sex like sleeping too much or too little like eating too much or too little Other reasons you might feel depressed before your period include: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder PMDD.

Many people with PMDD report feeling very depressed before their period, some to the point of thinking about suicide. Premenstrual exacerbation. This refers to when symptoms of an existing condition, including depression, become worse in the weeks or days leading up to your period. Depression is one of the most common conditions that coexists with PMS. About half of all women who get treated for PMS also have either depression or anxiety. Read on to learn more about the connection between PMS and depression.

Why does it happen? How can I manage it? Finding support. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. Check out these helpful recommendations from our lady friends. A couple of ladies brought up their respective challenges in dealing with sadness and depression around the time of their period.

Here are some suggestions that emerged from the participants. I hope you find them helpful on your journey as well…. Begin getting to know when your period falls each month and mark it on your period calendar. You have a right to experience your emotions, and maybe there are unmet needs that are trying to be expressed.

Get out and engage in some activities that are simple and silly, like dancing and laughing. Things that allow you to be more carefree to balance the deeper, contemplative or serious side of yourself.

So try to eat well and nourish yourself. Read what to eat before, during and after your period. Try doing simple things like cooking, walking to the park to observe the trees, listening to people talking and children laughing. I don't want to do anything. My period is heavy and I don't go to school because of the cramps. It rules my life and I can't go out at all. Please help.

It's normal to have the blues or feel sick before and during a period. As hormone levels rise and fall during a girl's menstrual cycle, it can affect the way she feels, both physically and emotionally.

This is known as premenstrual syndrome PMS and it can make a girl feel like hiding in bed with the covers over her head.