Is it normal to get moody during your period?

Let’s get something straight – menstruating is a natural process and so is getting emotional when your period is about to make an appearance.

There’s nothing wrong with suddenly getting tearful or upset during this time. While others have absolutely no idea about it – to some, it comes as a full package with both emotional and physical symptoms.

This is affirmed by Dr Julius Twoli, a doctor based at Bagamoyo District Hospital. He explains a mood swing as an extreme change in temperament and that they are common and normal around the time of a period. These mood swings are caused by hormonal changes in a woman’s body, which is responsible for temper variation.

Dr Twoli further tells Your Health that during menstruation if a large amount of oestrogen hormone is released, a woman can suffer with not only mood swings but also bloating, cravings, tension and cramps.

This situation contributes to the amount of the mood swings during a period.

Ways to cope with a mood swing

Amina Imran, a primary teacher based in Dar es Salaam confesses to Your Health that before, during and after her menstruation period, she goes through depression. It was never easy for her to understand as to why that happened and what really made her get suddenly tearful and angry.

“It was until I was talking to a schoolmate about two years ago who is currently in the medical field that I got to know about my condition. A friend explained more about mood swings during menstruation and I had a chance to learn about my body,” says Amina.

Adding to that she says, after being told on the mood swings during menstruation cycle, she decided to talk more about it with her gynaecologist.

She was advised to do physical exercise to lift her moods and improve depression.

Commenting on this, Dr Twoli says, during physical exercise, stress and pain can easily be removed and this allows a woman to enjoy her life just like any other woman. Walking, swimming, bicycling and running are part of the physical exercise that can help a woman fight mood swings.

For Beatrice Sagana, a businesswoman based in Kariakoo, mood swings during her menstruation comes with too much anger. During this time, she quarrels with her husband, workmates and even her children.

She fails to contain her emotions and ends up into serious verbal exchange with people around her.

She is currently aware with her situation. Instead of paying attention to her hormones, she tries to manage her temper during her menstruation by exercising and reading different articles on the internet on menstruation issues.

Commenting on Beatrice’s status, Dr Twoli says, to overcome such emotions it is important for a woman to get enough sleep of about 8 hours to support her mood. Lack of sleep can boost your hormones to overact.

What to avoid

Caffeine: According to Dr Twoli, excess usage of caffeine during menstruation can stimulate sympathetic nervous system to initiate the release of adrenaline, which results in pressure of woman’s adrenal glands.

This in turn aggravates extreme mood swing. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid caffeine.

Big meals: Eating small meals rather than big meals helps in controlling mood swings. Normal meals with high consumption of carbohydrates can cause blood sugar levels to rise, in return varying mood swings.

Alcohol: Alcohol is known for being depressant so consuming alcohol during menstruation can result in high levels of depression.

Stress: Managing stress levels also helps to ease the mood swings during your period. To some people, it is not easy to manage stress but it can be done in a very simple way by doing small things in a positive way.

One can create a list of small things she managed to do during her periods like going to work, meeting her deadline, even managing to brush your teeth and do your bed can help one feel better about herself. At the end of the day one has to tick a list of the things she manages to do, despite feeling moody.

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