HRT AND MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOM CONTROL: THEORIES AND HYPOTHESES OF MOOD CHANGES
Little is understood about why these mood swings occur, seemingly without conscious intent or reflection. One theory proposes a direct role for the fluxing ovarian hormones, the brain being one of the organs influenced by oestrogen. Others link menopausal mood swings with the relationship stresses that often occur during this life stage; the expectations, attitudes and personality of the woman; and influences like culture, social class and employment. Then again, maybe there is a biological explanation for mood swings.
Germaine Greer suggests that menopause may put ‘women back in touch with their anger after thirty-five years of censorship by oestrogen’. She adds that the middle-aged female employer (one could add executive, wife or mother), dealing with people who ignore what she says on the basis that she is menopausal, is quite likely to have to think of a number of strategies to get their attention. ‘A good deal of the anxiety of the middle-aged woman is caused by her awareness that she is turning into some kind of a harridan, a scold, a fishwife, but if you can’t get attention any other way, what are you to do?’
Other unproven hypotheses for mood changes have shifted the focus to environmental factors. These include allergies to foods and petrochemical products, and the accumulation in bones during adolescence and early adulthood of lead, which is then released into tissues and blood with the onset of menopausal bone loss.
Studies of the effects of hormone therapy on personality suggest that use of oestrogen may moderate mood swings and cause women to become more agreeable. A recent Oxford University study found that oestrogen in the form of implants reduced shifts in mood, possibly because of changes in neurotransmitter function in the brain.
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