Why You’re Cranky & Weepy before your Period
A deep dive into the science behind your premenstrual emotional symptoms.
The second edition of our 8-week Masterclass Series: Less PMS, is all about the connection between hormones & your emotional state during PMS.
Every cycle, your body goes on an adventure in the process of ovulation & menstruation. It doesn’t really matter whether you want kids or not. There’s soooooo much more to this cyclical process than just getting pregnant.
I struggled with mental health for most of my life. For over a decade I sought healing through everything from journaling to therapy to even earning a gosh darn bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology.
Once until I learned about my cycle & how it works, that’s when everything started to shift.
So, towards the end of this “class”, I’ll share a few quick tips to help you integrate this knowledge into your menstrual & mental health healing journey.
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.
Sex ed class. Awkward American Girl puberty book. Your gynecologist. Your Mom.
Over the years, you’ve heard a variety of vocabulary terms & processes about what goes on during your menstrual cycle each month.
Do you actually understand what’s going on when you “ovulate” or “shed the uterine lining”? And what is reallyyyyy happening when we say “estrogen” & “progesterone”?
How does the cycle work?
Emotional stability is achieved through balanced hormones, healed inner wounds & a whole lotta trust in God / Spirit / Universe.
Taking a few minutes to read / listen to this “lesson” about the process of ovulation, will help you clarify the why to making important life changes that support your physical & emotional health.
If you still feel stuck & overwhelmed by this weepiness & crankiness during PMS, there is a way out.
You probably understand the surface level reasons for why you might want to shift & change that. But maybe it’s time for a deeper why & help you strengthen your commitment to this.
Understanding how your cycle works will help you know WHY you’re cranky & weepy right before your period.
I’ve taken the 40 minute lecture I attended for my Fertility Awareness Certification & paired it down to a much quicker & digestible lesson. So let’s try & cover the main points so you get the gist.
What exactly is a period?
Let’s start at the very beginning…… now you have the song stuck in your head 😉
After your period ends, FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) tells your ovary to start producing estrogen. That’s right, you’re cycle begins in the brain.
Estrogen levels increase as an egg starts to grow & is responsible for two major jobs:
Estrogen produces cervical fluid, the stuff you see & feel on your toilet paper & the remnants on your underwear.
HERE’S THE KEY PIECE: Estrogen also creates a new layer of tissue on the walls of your uterus. That’s called the uterine lining.
Once the egg is mature, it’s released into your fallopian tube during the event of ovulation. If the egg is fertilized by sperm, then it will nestle into the layer of tissue that was built by estrogen. In other words, the fertilized egg implants into the uterine lining.
Something needs to hold that uterine lining in place. So estrogen created it, but the hormone progesterone keeps it there. Holds it in place on the off chance that a fertilized egg comes along & needs to implant or nestle in. If progesterone DOESN’T get the signal that a fertilized egg implanted, then progesterone naturally starts to drop.
This steady decline in hormones means that progesterone is no longer holding the uterine lining in place. Thus, it’s eventually shed during menstruation, also known as your period.
The REAL reason you get PMS?
Now here’s where we get to the good stuff.
Your estrogen levels in the first half of the cycle, lays the foundation for your progesterone levels in the second half.
Good stress management during your pre-ovulatory & ovulatory phases is one of the primary ways you can help your cycle to have stronger progesterone levels.
The logic is: the stronger your progesterone, the less PMS you’ll have.
Feeling cranky, weepy, anti-social & low energy during PMS… that is an emotional reaction to your hormones dropping. The more severe your hormone imbalance, the more severe your premenstrual symptoms.
You might also notice some light cervical mucus on your toilet paper, as well as breast tenderness and cramping. Those are the physical reactions to decreasing hormones.
It’s easy to support your hormone levels.
Now that you understand the basics of how your cycle works, let’s cover tangible steps to help you feel less cranky & weepy before your period.
Estrogen is super sensitive to stress during the first half of your cycle. If you’re traveling, you’re sick, taking medication (like antibiotics for being ill), exercising a lot or not enough, super worried & juggling a multitude of external stressors, overeating / under-eating, too much or not enough sleep… these are all stressors to the body.
HEALTHY ESTROGEN = HEALTHY PROGESTERONE.
You could go crazy trying to “fix” everyone one of those stressful elements. I just want to outline a few different ways to focus on supporting your cycle, but just PICK ONE. Don’t go crazy, don’t try to change everything at once.
This Thursday (January 25th, 2024), I’m offering over a dozen different types of journaling prompts to help you better understand your relationship with stress. For $6/month, subscribe to receive weekly in-depth journal prompts, designed to help you reduce premenstrual symptoms from a psycho-spiritual approach (cancel at anytime).
Pace yourself. It can be easy to lean into the high energy that comes from rising energy levels in the ovulatory phase. I’ve had one too many cycles where I burned out because I leaned a little too far into that natural state of motivation. Visit this article for a better explanation.
Don’t underestimate the power of a consistent bed time & wake time. Take it a step further & create a calming routine before bed to support the influx of melatonin. Set up elements of your morning routine that make it easy (& dare I say, fun?) to get up when your alarm goes off.
As a Mom of two girls (ages 5 & 3), I don’t have time to “cycle sync” ALL of my food. I prioritize leafy green veggies, balanced meals & good hydration during the first half of my cycle. Aim for 5-7 veggies a day. Focus on eating three, robust meals each day. Try not to overcomplicate it.
Last but not least, move your body in a way that feels fun & exciting for you. Don’t feel pressured by social media to have a perfectly manicured exercise routine. Again, as a busy Mom & writer, I look forward to my daily walks. I put on upbeat music and make a point to pay attention to the sky, trees & birds around me. It’s a mindful way of pausing my day & selfishly taking time for ME.