Mental Health can affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood or behaviour. These conditions may be occasional or chronic and affect someone’s ability to relate to others and function on a daily basis. Thus, it is crucial to take care of your mental health. One way to do that is to be aware of what can affect your mental health.
Thyriod
Thyroid is a female hormone that directly affects mental health and brain function in our body. The thyroid is a small gland located in your lower neck that plays a powerful role in keeping your brain and body healthy. It regulates your energy usage, and has a strong impact on the brain. It controls the production of many neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, serotonin, and GABA. A wide range of problems occur when thyroid dysfunction causes the gland to produce too little hormone (hypothyroidism) or too much hormone (hyperthyroidism).
Hypothyroidism: Brain spect scans of people with hypothyroidism show results of overall decreased brain activity, which often leads to depression, cognitive impairment, anxiety.
Hyperthyroidism: An overactive thyroid produces too much hormone, making everything in your body work faster than usual. It can feel like you’re in hyper-drive—you feel jittery and edgy, as though you’ve had way too much caffeine.
Progesterone
Progesterone is the other major hormone in a woman’s menstruation cycle. It affects the brain in the following ways:
Supports GABA, which helps the brain relax and stay calm
Protects your nerves
Supports the myelin that “insulates” and protects neurons
When progesterone is balanced with estrogen levels, it calms you and brings feelings of peacefulness, tranquility and even promotes quality of sleep. However, when they are imbalanced or when the relaxation hormone drops too dramatically, calmness gives way to irritability, anxiety, depression, and sleepless nights. When progesterone plummets right before menstruation starts, mood stability is severely affected as a result.
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