Can My Mood Change with My Menstrual Cycle?

It seems commonplace to suggest or joke about mood changes or irritability that can occur during a women’s menstrual cycle. This concept is familiar to most. Hormone changes that occur with menstruation are complex. With this complexity in physiology comes a change in mood. Changes in mood can be mild to non-existent or severe and debilitating. When symptoms affect daily social interactions or work, this is called premenstrual syndrome. Although it is common to have one or two premenstrual symptoms, such as irritability or headache, true premenstrual syndrome is relatively uncommon and affects about 3-8% of women. Let’s find out more about premenstrual syndrome and how to treat it.