Monthly moods - when hormones dictate how you feel

The cyclical mood swings experienced by many women can be due to hormonal imbalances, though GPs may not see the full picture, says Helen O’Callaghan.

EVERY month it’s the same. Your period arrives and you’re wiped out for three days. On day four, you wake up feeling ‘there’s life in me yet’. For the next week or so, your mood is up, your work mode’s efficient, physically you feel good. Around ovulation, things get even better— for about two days, your brain is clicking along at a great rate, you’re bright, chilled and on good terms with everyone.

Then things start to ebb a little, not too much at first— instead of feeling great, you feel just about ok. But by that last week before your period, you’re really on a downward spiral until — in the final days of your cycle – all you want to do is crawl into a corner and be left alone.