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Hormones and Depression

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Are Hormones Helpful or Harmful in Mood and Anxiety?

Birth Control Pills are hormones and they can be helpful or harmful for mood and anxiety symptoms. Adolescent girls and young women are often prescribed birth control pills (hormones) for irregular or absent menstrual periods, menstrual cramps, acne, premenstrual “syndrome” and endometriosis. An important new study published in the Archives of Psychiatry found that women using hormonal contraception (pills, patches, vaginal rings, etc) had a higher rate of developing depression and using antidepressants than women who did not use birth control pills (hormones). This was a well designed study with over a million women included. Results of studies such as these are markedly more meaningful than studies of a handful of people. Adolescents were more vulnerable to this hormone – depression risk than women 20 to 34 years old.

However, as a clinician, I have to remind people that everyone is different and a good psychiatrist will carefully evaluate the full person. Some people get positive effects on their mood from estrogen supplementation. This is typically women who are perimenopausal and who had depression in the past. Then again, the risks compared to the benefits are carefully weighted with each patient and their biology. The current study reinforces that when someone becomes depressed it is critical to do a full evaluation of all possible causes, including psychological, social and medical circumstances.

If a young women has a new onset of depression in the absence of other causes and she has recently started oral contraceptives, that may be the cause. If so, the risks and benefits of stopping the contraceptive and using alternative treatments may be a good option. If you or someone you know is suffering from depression or bipolar disorder, come see us for a confidential evaluation. We offer a range of treatments, with each treatment based on your unique needs.

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The first thing to know is that depression is not the same thing as being sad. When something bad happens, it is normal to feel sad. Signs that you may need help are if the sadness is present almost all day, everyday for several weeks, or if you are unable to enjoy the things that used to be fun in your life. Often, changes in sleep and appetite are also signs that may be part of the illness we call depression. The Personal Health Questionnaire (PHQ) might help.

Our expertise is in understanding the complexity of depression and anxiety disorders and providing comprehensive patient focused diagnosis and treatment recommendations. We combine decades of experience with state of the art science to get you well. We spend a full hour of physician time on the first visit, which is not possible in primary care. This allows us to really understand what is happening with you and design a personalized plan that fits your life. Therapy is very helpful as a place to learn new coping skills and to discuss stressful life situations or long-standing problems with how you behave that are not working for you. However, therapists cannot prescribe medication or offer TMS or other biological treatments. If you might need a medical perspective, you should consider starting with us. Many of our patients are referred to us by their therapists for our medical perspective, and we likewise include therapy in many of our treatment suggestions.

Anxiety often goes hand in hand with depression, but for some people anxiety is the main problem. Mild anxiety can often be treated by therapy alone, especially therapies that are designed specifically to teach patients how to change their thoughts about anxiety provoking ideas or situations. One example is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). If your anxiety is interfering with your life, you might want to make an appointment with one of our psychiatrists for a full evaluation so we can set you on the right path. We have expertise in generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

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