Do you find yourself out of No Where quick tempered, short with your family or co-workers, teary at the simplest things? Feeling down with a lack of motivation. This has an effect on those around us and our relationships with them.
When our hormones are not balanced it can create moodiness and cause us to snap at the people we love the most. We then feel bad and guilty that we are acting and responding this way. We are told when we start going through perimenopause and menopause that we just have to accept this moodiness as “Normal”. Too often, the first line approach is to prescribe an anti-depressant. This may help for sure and don’t get me wrong I believe that anti-depressants certainly have their place.
But What if you were told that improving your mood and decreasing your mood swings and “snappiness” could be as simple as balancing your Neurotransmitter metabolism. You say “ Isn’t this what anti-depressants do?” And the answer is yes but in a different way and at a cost of long-term side effects such as weight gain, sexual dysfunction, and sleep disturbance. And weaning off of them can take a long time. Because your brain has to adjust and rebalance while you decrease the dose, you should never just stop taking anti-depressants cold turkey. They must be weaned.
How do we balance our hormone and neurotransmitter metabolism without anti-depressants. First, we need to look at diet and what we are taking in that can disrupt those pathways. Second, we need to look at the gut to make sure proper absorption of the basic nutrients to support those pathways is taking place. If your gut is weak, then all of the processes on a cellular level will be weak as well. We then need to look at your specific amino acid profile, because lack of certain amino acids can have a direct effect on the basic pathways needed for optimal mood health. And your profile will be unique to you. This is why it is important to work with a provider that can customize a personal plan that takes your unique situation into account.
If you would like to begin feeling happier and less cranky, then I invite you to join my Facebook group to learn more or set up a Discovery Call with me. I would love to learn about your specific situation and how I can help you feel better and Feel Like yourself Again. Life is too short to feel bad and moody. We should be able to enjoy each day we have.
