Thursday 9 January 2014

Are Hormones and Anxiety Related?

Anxiety is defined as a psychological health disorder. Scientists have already found a connection between hormones and anxiety. They discovered that a woman's physical health and genetics played a vital role in the occurrence of anxiety and how it exhibits in a woman. As an example, if a woman is undergoing a low level of serotonin, she is more prone to suffer from anxiety or a bout of depression. Hormones are found to be directly responsible in decreasing or aggravating the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Even though women are equipped with more coping skills for anxiety and other psychological disorders than men, a hormonal imbalance can be the trigger of her anxiety or depression most of the time. It could be the other way around too. That is, her anxiety can cause the hormonal imbalance either. Scientists are still experimenting to be 100% sure whether the reason for anxiety is a hormonal imbalance in the woman's body.

Anxiety is often caused when the woman's body is under stress. This is the reason for women who don't exercise on a regular basis or don't eat a healthy meal being more prone to anxiety than women who eat a balanced meal and exercise regularly. The main job of a hormone is to transport messages to the brain. If the hormones are unbalanced in the body, the body will not produce the right amount of neurotransmitters, which can result in anxiety and depression. This is how hormones and anxiety are closely related to each other.

Hormones that contribute to anxiety include: stress hormones a.k.a. cortisol. Cortisol and anxiety are related very closely. Anxiety is related to mental stress, and when a woman is under stress, she releases cortisol. Increase in the stress hormones can cause anxiety and depression in a person. Anything that could increase or decrease cortisol can help to cause anxiety in a person.

Anxiety is also possible during periods of hormonal changes such as pregnancy and menopause. These changes affects the sex hormones which are Estrogen and Testosterone. Fluctuations in these hormones can cause anxiety. An over active thyroid also can cause anxiety. A person suffering from hyperthyroidism will have an increased metabolic rate, which would increase the person's heart rate. Hyperthyroidism patients are also prone to get an anxiety attack more easily than a healthy person.

The above information confirms the connection between a person's hormones and anxiety disorders.

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