Stress And Women Menstrual Cycles

There is no time in a woman's life when she is not subject to the ebb and flow of her hormones. Even in the womb the powerful female hormone, estrogen, begins to affect the growing fetus, directing it towards becoming a woman; even at the other end of reproductive life when the menstrual periods have ceased she will still be affected by the changing levels of hormones.

How Does Stress Affect Woman's Menstrual Cycles

Perhaps this is why women are often so much more adaptable than men; they have to adjust to the changing physical and emotional symptoms of the menstrual cycle that they have plenty of practice. This was not always the case because, in earlier days, women were either pregnant or lactating so the hormone balance was relatively steady.

• The menstrual cycle is initiated by the hypothalamus (which we have seen is responsible for most of the bodily reactions to stress). The two hormones, estrogen and progesterone. which are manufactured by the ovaries, interact with hormones from the pituitary gland in an intricate and complicated monthly preparation for childbearing.
   

• Many women have little or no discomfort associated with menstruation and accept it as part of their femininity, but others have physical and emotional reactions severe enough to disrupt their lives and cause much distress. The woman may not be neurotic at all; there are well recognized physiological reasons for the disorders.

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