How hormones affect your mental health

Kevin Nguyen3 said:But see, amenorrhea isn't the actual disease itself, is it? It's merely a symptom—a signal! A signpost telling us that something is fundamentally wrong deep inside.
More often than not, we are talking about a cyst, or perhaps a tumor...
Yes, that second part is absolutely correct; it is indeed a dark chapter of medical science.😢

Well, if someone typically enjoys a regular cycle, then amenorrhea definitely serves as a major red flag! However, for women dealing with PCOS, the underlying cause is often far more complex. Back in high school, my doctors sent me through every test imaginable—they practically drained liters of blood from me—and they still couldn't find a single thing wrong.

My cycle used to be super predictable—long, sure, but steady. Then PCOS really kicked in and my period just... vanished. Honestly, people talking about "natural" ways to beat PCOS make it sound so easy, but it’s incredibly limiting. It demands a complete overhaul of your diet and lifestyle, which isn't exactly easy where I live. There isn't a single health food store in my town, so finding stuff like sprouts is basically impossible. Plus, there isn't even a local gym or anything nearby, so I'm stuck running outside or doing workouts in my living room. If I want actual decent ingredients, I have to drive all the way into Chicago to shop, which definitely isn't cheap.

I’m really glad I found this thread because I’m dealing with so much of the same stuff. I’ve had my hormone levels checked plenty of times, and honestly? They seem to fluctuate wildly on their own without any actual treatment—just shifting based on whatever else is going on with my body. I’ve almost never received proper medical care, let alone adequate treatment. There were a few minor attempts here and there, but nothing systematic or effective. It always ends with some doctor telling me, "Just be patient," or "You have too many risk factors for hormone therapy, so it's better not to risk it," and so on and so forth.
Basically, I haven't been treated, and besides the physical symptoms—which I won't even list—I definitely, *definitely* feel the psychological shifts.

Lately, I’ve started paying much closer attention to it, and I am noticing these incredibly sudden mood swings. In just thirty minutes, I can swing from deep depression and crying to feeling absolutely wonderful. Everything feels fine, so much so that I find myself wondering why I was even sobbing a moment ago when my life is actually quite stable and good.

If anyone is wondering if I have an underlying mental health disorder—no, I don't. I've sat through several consultations, and from a psychiatric standpoint, I am perfectly healthy. Thank God I don't have any tumors that could cause this kind of behavior; it really just comes down to the hormones.

Beyond the crazy mood swings, it hits my appetite hard, too. One minute, a quarter of a meal is enough to make me feel stuffed; the next, two full lunches aren't nearly enough, and during those phases, I gain weight at an insane speed. For the longest time, I thought it had something to do with food, additives, or even addiction! I mean, how can one handful of food fill my stomach one day, but the next, two entire meals leave me hungry? It’s clearly not about volume; it’s the hormonal surges.

Anyway, I’m losing my mind here, and I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. My gynecologist just kept offering variations of "stay natural, lose weight, try this tea, or that root," while everything just kept getting worse and worse for two years straight. I can't do it anymore. Now I see that beyond the numerous physical consequences, it’s reached a point where I feel like I'm becoming psychotic. One minute I'm laughing, the next I'm weeping.

So, I’m starting hormone replacement therapy very soon. Honestly, if it gives me a stroke or a heart attack, I don't even care anymore—I just can't live like this.

I finally understand my mother now. She went absolutely out of her mind during menopause, and it’s finally clear to me that she simply couldn't control it. It was HORRIBLE:

I’ve been scrolling through this thread, and honestly, some of the things people are saying here really bother me—especially all this intense pushback against using birth control to manage PCOS. I just can't get behind that logic. I think it's fundamentally flawed. For many women, hormonal contraceptives are actually an incredibly effective solution for PCOS, provided you find the specific brand and dosage that works for your unique body and doesn't cause debilitating side effects.

And as for these claims about endometrial thickness affecting pregnancy? It’s just nonsense. Pure nonsense. The lining of the uterus starts thickening precisely because you're already pregnant! The points made by casualridge8 were, quite frankly, ridiculous. In fact, having a thick endometrial lining without being pregnant is a major red flag—it often signals something much more serious, like cancer.

It would be such a kindness if people on this forum would refrain from weighing in on medical topics when they clearly don't have the expertise. It would prevent a lot of unnecessary misinformation and harm.

casualridge8 said:I’ve been scrolling through this thread, and honestly, some of the things people are saying here really bother me—especially all this intense pushback against using birth control to manage PCOS. I just can't get behind that logic. I think it's fundamentally flawed. For many women, hormonal contraceptives are actually an incredibly effective solution for PCOS, provided you find the specific brand and dosage that works for your unique body and doesn't cause debilitating side effects.

And as for these claims about endometrial thickness affecting pregnancy? It’s just nonsense. Pure nonsense. The lining of the uterus starts thickening precisely because you're already pregnant! The points made by casualridge8 were, quite frankly, ridiculous. In fact, having a thick endometrial lining without being pregnant is a major red flag—it often signals something much more serious, like cancer.

It would be such a kindness if people on this forum would refrain from weighing in on medical topics when they clearly don't have the expertise. It would prevent a lot of unnecessary misinformation and harm.

And what exactly was so "rubbish" about what I wrote?🤷