I used to deal with both depression and anxiety as a symptom of hormonal imbalance rooted in my PCOS. Cycle Syncing my diet and my lifestyle and getting in touch with the rhythms of my hormones was groundbreaking when it came to my emotional health and well-being. Not only did paying attention to my hormonal cycle help me to understand why I was experiencing anxiety, it also helped me to learn how to prevent my anxiety from continuing.
Choosing natural remedies like anxiety-fighting foods and supplements was a big part of this process, but Cycle Syncing was the foundation. It’s a practice I come back to again and again to recalibrate my emotions, refine my self-care, and listen to the feedback my body gives me every day.
As I have said in a previous post on anxiety women are 60% more likely to experience anxiety than men. There are obviously many possible real-life reasons for this, however there’s also a biological core – our hormone cycles. This is why women can experience different kinds of anxiety at different times during their menstrual cycle, triggered and perpetuated by hormonal imbalances.
As we’ve already looked at supplements to prevent anxiety and lifestyle hacks for treating anxiety, in this new post I want to focus on how your anxiety fits into your cycle and what that can tell you about what’s going on with your body and what it needs to stop you feeling anxious.
The 2 kinds of hormonal anxiety
Once you begin to Cycle Sync your life you will be able to know where you are in your hormonal cycle week to week. The follicular phase (the week after your period ends will feel different to the ovulation phase or the luteal phase (your premenstrual week) or the menstruation phase. Higher awareness and attention will give you the opportunity to understand your anxiety issues more deeply and from there know how it needs to be treated and prevented.
To discuss anxiety I separate the cycle into 2 parts – the first half and the second half. The first half would include the follicular and ovulatory phases; the second half would include the luteal and menstruation phases. It is uncommon to experience anxiety during ovulation (if and as long as you’re ovulating) or during menstruation (which usually provides relief from negative emotions). Hence, here I refer to the follicular and luteal phases only.
Follicular phase anxiety – if you experience anxiety during your follicular phase, that is the week after your period has come to an end, then you are experiencing low estrogen levels or estrogen deficiency.
Natural remedy – Pomegranate seed extract is a great source of phytoestrogens that will help increase your natural levels of estrogen. I do not like to recommend well-known phytoestrogens like soy, because of the potential harmful effects caused by their processing. However pomegranate seeds are a great alternative to boost overall estrogen levels.
Luteal phase anxiety – if you experience anxiety mostly during your luteal phase, this is the week before your period, then you have low levels of progesterone or a progesterone deficiency. Anxiety may be part of what you see as PMS or premenstrual symptoms, along with other issues like depression or acne.
Natural remedy – B6 will help to increase your progesterone levels. B6 is vital for your body to create the corpus luteum that makes and releases all of your progesterone. There are B6 supplements, and I encourage all women to take a B vitamin complex daily, however you can also increase the amount of B6-rich foods that you eat, like wild-caught tuna fish, bananas, grass-fed beef, chicken, spinach, sweet potato, garlic and salmon.
Throughout your cycle focus on increasing good fats and proteins in your diet – these will help your body to stabilize your hormones and keep your brain chemistry balanced. Gut health can be a root cause of many mental health problems, so it’s important to support the microbiota that manufacture happy hormones like serotonin and dopamine by eating fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut and pickles every day. Without a foundation of Cycle Syncing your eating, sourcing from a protocol of proteins and fats and hormone-balancing ingredients, your anxiety will struggle to respond to any one kind of natural remedy. But adding these super-effective natural remedies into your routine, layered on top of a holistic and hormonally-supportive diet, will do wonders for your well-being.
Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this – the science of your body is on your side!
to your FLO,
Alisa
Good things come in threes:
I want to hear from you!
First, do you have anxiety?
Second, do you get PMS?
Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social 😉
Is Your Period Healthy?
How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign – your period.
The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future.
Thank you so much for this! I actually get REALLY bad mood swings and PMS the week AFTER my period and no one ever talks about this. I was starting to think I was crazy so I’m REALLY excited that you provided some remedies and direction. Next week will be my POST menstrual symptoms week (PMS lol) so I’ll go pick up some extract and actual pomegranate and see if it makes a difference. 🙂
Actually … anxiety during ovulation is extremely common. Many women can pinpoint ovulation by anxiety, just as much as by mittelschmirtz.
How about premenopause….? It seems to be so erratic and imprévisible. … I want to know if the release of hormones is pulsatile…coming in waves …and if there are some things to avoid …. I hope my English is ok ,I speak french. .
Hi Pascale,
Perimenopause is a time time when hormones can fluctuate greatly, which is why it is so important to learn how to create more balance in the body and support all micronutrient needs at this time!
Alisa
Hello! Thank you for this article and the work you are doing. Very few people talk about the menstrual cycle, but I believe it’s terribly important.
Well. I have been suffering from anxiety above all during ovulation time. I feel fine a week before my cycles and during my cycles (which is very regular, 28 days, but light / there is one heavy day and 2 very light days), but I feel loads of anxiety and fatigue when my period is over and it continues until ovulation is passed. I start feeling fine the 18th day of the cycles. From what I have read I guess it’s lack of estrogen, but I am not sure about that. How can I check what hormones I am missing and when is the best time to do that? Thank you.
Did you ever get a answer with this? You totally describe everything that is happening to me
I definitely have massive anxiety starting day 8 before my period and around ovulation but never paid attention to when exactly as I am not always sure when I ovulated but know it is happening or happened. I also get anxiety on day 6 of my cycle. With the B6, do you mean to just take it during these phases?
Hi, I would recommend taking it all month long! If you have a deficiency in B6 you want to build that up.
Alisa
What if you don’t get your period? How can you cycle sync? Thanks! 🙂
Hi,
You can sync up to the moon cycles! The new moon would be the first day of you period, and the full moon would be ovulation. Simply map out your phases with these 2 parameters.
Alisa
I suffer from anxiety during my follicular and luteal phase, should I try both suppements?
Thank you for writing this article. I suffer from endometriosis, which from what I’ve read is due to (or at least made worse by) estrogen dominance. I have bad symptoms from menstruation through ovulation (pain and burning in ovaries, diarrhea etc.), that has gotten worse over the last several months. It used to be that I’d only experience extreme pain, fainting, diarrhea on day 1 of my cycle and maybe some cramping or burning mid-cycle or premenstrually, but now I have extreme symptoms on Day 1 and they abate only slightly after day 1, lasting to just about mid-cycle. The worst part of it all however, is the mental rollarcoaster of symptoms that have come with it. I’m talking severe anxiety/panic attacks with persistent, obsessive thoughts (which are often what drive the anxiety to full blown panic) and deep depression and fatigue. It is not me at all. I’ve always been a well adjusted person, a little high-strung and on edge at times, but never to the point of it significantly impacting my life, and never truly depressed like this. When it’s bad, I’ve got no interest in eating (because it doesn’t appeal to me and also threatens to cause stomach pain), and nothing excites/interests me. I feel like I’m trapped in a chaotic body keen on torturing me that will never experience joy again. I’ve tried to journal a bit to track my symptoms, and (though I don’t remember feeling better) it seems I was feeling much better and more optimistic on about day 16 of my cycle, like things were looking up. That didn’t last long however. Everything I’ve read suggests I have estrogen dominance and should likely supplement with progesterone, and yet, you write that i’m likely estrogen deficient. Any additional info you could give me would be hugely appreciated. I just want my life back and don’t want to further jeopardize my job or my closest relationships any more than this already has.
Hi Lauren,
I am so sorry to hear that you are suffering with this! I would recommend that you get some blood work before anything else: on day 3 of your period is the best time. If you want to check progesterone levels you can do another test on day 21 of your cycle.
There are a variety of hormones that can be supporting these symptoms, it would require more info. I would love to recommend that you speak with one of my counselors one on one to explore your situation in more details. Please reach out to my team: [email protected]
Alisa
Hi lauren you have just described my situation in your post. I wonder if you were able to find a solution.
Hey Lauren,
So I have PCOS & PMDD and I feel that exact same way this week. It has been horrible and I feel like I can’t get out. Before my period, I was super sensitive, then my period came late, then my period ends and now I feel severe anxiety/panic attacks with persistent, obsessive thoughts (which are often what drive the anxiety to full blown panic) and deep depression and fatigue. These thoughts are legit irrational as well, I have never felt this way or even thought of these thoughts before in my life. ITS SUPER SCARY. I hope you found a solution and can share soon!
I’m currently in my luteal phase and my anxiety is out of control. I’ve just started tracking my menstrual phases, so I’m looking forward to tracking if this is normal for me.
I would love if the Flo Living app added an anxiety option to the symptom tracker!
I’m looking into this a bit late it seems, 2 years later 🙂 Paying more attention to my cycles and feelings I have noticed I get the worst anxiety during the follicular phase. I’m interested in trying Pomegranate and Pomegranate seed oil for relief, in addition to my healthy diet. How do you recommend ingesting the seed oil? Can you ingest it? I did find tea with Pomegranate leaves in it, would that work too? Please let me know! Thank you 🙂
Hi I’m following the same has been happening to me! I hate it! I’m willing to try anything
Great article! Thank you for sharing. After incorporating the b6 my anxiety decreased by at least 90%! I didn’t have my usual panic or anxiety attack during my luteal phase for the first time in months. Great recommendations. Thanks❤
Hi,
Thank you so much for breaking this down. I have pmdd and it’s very hard to deal with as you can imagine. I’m currently taking a b complex, however- the b6 information you shared seems pretty beneficial. I’m wondering if I can take b6 in addition. To the b complex?
Thanks!
Hello! I’ve been doing a ton of research but can’t seem to find why I feel like my ovaries and lower pelvis is under extreme pressure and pain to the point that it hurts to walk. There’s a two day window when I go from follicular to luteal phase. I’m going to get an ultrasound but I’ve had it done before with no findings. Can you think of any reason why there’s so much pain during this time of my cycle? I should note that during these days when I go from follicular to luteal I’m on my highest fertility window. I’m 30, never had kids. Thank you SO much in advance to your thoughts and help.
Hi Violet – It could be related to ovulation, the pressure may be occyring as the egg is released from the follicle. Definitely go over this with your doctor so that they can explore. You can also try the castor oil pack with a hot water bottle during this time to see if this will relieve the sensation.
Alisa
I suffer from really bad anxiety low mood, mood swings like total pysco fits and fatigue 5 to 7 days before my period. I start my day with a large glass off kefir, then porridge with blueberries lunch is tuna and egg salad dinner is veg salmon and quinoa. Snacks fruit nuts and oatcakes and peanut butter. I take b complex and magnesium, CBd oil if really bad and I drink 2 litres water daily for years. Nothing seems to help my symptoms I’m 40 and it’s getting worse instead of better. My cycle is 28 days sometimes a little early or late depends on holidays and different things but most of the time I’m regular. Lasts 5 days always not to heavy. Once I get it I’m fine after day 1. I get really anxious again on ovulation. I am not taking contraceptive for 5 years. Any suggestions would be great. I excersise moderately and my job I’m always on my feet for 10 and 12 hours on shift
Hi Imelda, Make sure that you are ok with dairy (kefir) and that it is not causing issues for you. You can try adding L-Theanine for the anxiety. If the issue persists, you will want to look deeper into all areas of your self care: sleep, digestion, clues about your hormones from period quality, and micro nutrient deficiencies.
Alisa
I wondering what supplements are best for Menopausal Anxiety??? I just started taking DIM+Biopene 200mg in the evening with dinner
and I’m taking KSM-66 Ashwagandha in the morning for Adernal health,detox the liver and for anxiety that I have never experienced until Menopause.I have Calcium D-Glucarnate to help with the detox from the DIM but I haven’t started that.
Thank you for this article. Ever since I had my daughter (she just turned 3) I have noticed my anxiety creeping back up on me, I would say it really started about a year after I had her. I had been taking Lexapro for 9 years (which I absolutely loved) and one day I was mowing our yard and had my first panic attack since 2009… BUMMER – after that it just escalated, probably because I focused on the issue. Anyway, after that I switched to Zoloft for several months, and then to Effexor XR, which is what I am currently on (for about 3 months now). I started to use my fitbit app to track my anxiety symptoms and have determined that my anxiety spikes the week before and the week of my period. I can’t wait to try these natural remedies! I really hope they help. I am pretty convinced my anxiety/panic is caused from hormone fluctuations. This also makes me wonder if I could get my hormones figured out, if I could get off this Effexor XR and either go back to Lexapro or maybe nothing? Though I highly doubt nothing is an option, but I don’t feel Effexor XR is working so I guess what would be the difference if I were taking meds or not. So, anyway, just wanted to give you a little background, and wanted to thank you for the article, I took some notes and will be getting these supplements to hopefully help with my crazy.
I love the idea of cycle syncing and try to listen to what my body needs, but ever since my son was born and my body has changed i’ve noticed that anxiety lasts through my entire luteal phase. 😞 it’s very hard to take things a little easier on myself and work with that phase when it lasts so long and life and work still have to go on. what else can i do to help work through this?