Ever wondered whether there is a connection between depression and hormones in our bodies? Here is some helpful information.

About Depression

Depression can happen to anyone of any age and is a common, yet potentially serious, symptom of menopause and female hormones.. Clinical depression is a severe period of sadness characterized by more than two weeks of extremely low moods that affect how a person feels, thinks, and acts.

Symptoms of Depression

There are three categories of depression (physical, emotional, and behavioral) and at least five symptoms must be present for no less than two weeks and one of those five must either be persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest or pleasure.  Female hormones are often the underlying cause in menopausal aged women.

Physical Symptoms: Fatigue, decreased energy, overeating, appetite loss, insomnia, early-morning, wakefulness.

Emotional Symptoms: Persistent sad, anxious, or empty feelings, feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism, feeling of guilt, worthlessness and/or helplessness.  Female hormones can be treated with drugs or natural progesterone creams.  Many health articles are written about the impact of female hormones on depression.

Behavioral Symptoms: Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable including sex, difficulty concentrating, difficulty remembering details, difficulty making decisions, and neglecting responsibilities.

Causes of Depression

The underlying cause of depression in menopausal women has to do with female hormone imbalance, especially decreased levels of estrogen.  As women approach menopause, their estrogen levels begin to drop off.  This female hormone plays a big part in regulating brain functions, especially chemicals that influence mood, such as serotonin and Cortisol.  Decreasing levels of estrogen during menopause can also cause other physical and mental symptoms, such as hot flashes, and anxiety, which lead to depression.  One of the early menopause symptoms is depression and is directly tied to the imbalance of female hormones.

Other causes include biochemical, genetic, personality, environmental factors and disease.
 

Treatments For Depression

As usual, the least invasive option is lifestyle changes, which involves regular exercise, eating healthy, and practicing mind-body techniques such as meditation or yoga.

Simply by including three 30-minute sessions of physical activity, such as walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling into a weekly routine can greatly relieve the milder symptoms of depression.

Similarly, eating healthily will also help to stabilize mood swings and alleviate depression.

The most effective approach to relieve depression in menopausal women is directly at the problem itself—female hormone imbalance.  A variety of natural and alternative supplements exist that may be able to address this depression and hormones imbalance.

One such natural alternative would be a natural balancing cream.  Click here for an excellent, natural, botanically-based balancing cream. For more prolonged or severe cases, it may be necessary to seek the advice of a healthcare professional.

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