Erratic Periods and Anxiety

Causes

1. Anxiety-Activated Stress Response

Anxious behavior, such as worry, activates the stress response, which secretes stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, into the bloodstream, where they travel to specific locations to immediately prepare the body for emergency action – to fight or flee. This instinctual survival reaction is often referred to as the Fight Or Flight Response.[1][2]

Some of the stress response changes include:

• Quickly converts the body’s energy reserves into “fuel” (blood sugar) to provide an instant boost of energy.
• Increases heart rate, respiration, and metabolism due to the boost in energy.
• Stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, increasing nervous system activity to be more sensitive and reactive to danger.
• Heightens most of the body’s senses to be more aware of danger.

To name a few.

Visit the “Stress Response” article for more information about the many ways it can affect the body.

Since stress responses push the body beyond its internal balance (equilibrium), stress responses stress the body. As such, anxiety stresses the body.

Therefore, anxiety symptoms are symptoms of stress. They are called anxiety symptoms because anxious behavior is the main source of the stress that stresses the body, causing symptoms.

Stress is a common cause of erratic periods. Stress can affect periods in many ways. For example:

Hormonal Disruption

Stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is closely linked to the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis that regulates reproductive functions [3]. This activation leads to:

• Increased production of cortisol and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)
• Disruption of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) production
• Altered levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH)

These hormonal changes can interfere with normal ovulation and menstrual regularity [4].

Ovulation Delays or Suppression

Stress-caused elevated cortisol levels can delay or even prevent ovulation by blocking the release of LH [4]. Without the LH surge, ovulation may not occur, leading to longer cycles or anovulation (lack of ovulation).

Menstrual Cycle Changes

Stress-induced hormonal fluctuations can cause all the symptoms mentioned above.

Energy Diversion

The stress response prioritizes energy for vital functions over reproductive processes [3], impacting menstruation and contributing to cycle irregularities.

Progesterone Imbalance

Stress reduces progesterone levels, as the body "steals" progesterone to produce more cortisol [5]. Reducing progesterone can lead to a lengthened luteal phase and changes in menstrual flow patterns.

Gut Microbiome Disruption

Stress can disrupt the balance of gut bacteria, which plays a role in hormone processing and elimination [5]. This disruption can further contribute to hormonal imbalances affecting the menstrual cycle.

Any combination of these factors can cause erratic periods.

While stress can cause erratic periods for some women, other women’s menstrual cycles might not be affected.

2. Stress-Response Hyperstimulation

When stress responses occur infrequently, the body recovers relatively quickly from its changes. However, frequently activated stress responses, such as from overly anxious behavior, can prevent the body from completely recovering. Incomplete recovery can leave the body in a state of semi-stress-response-readiness, which we call “stress-response hyperstimulation” since stress hormones are powerful stimulants.

Hyperstimulation is also often referred to as “hyperarousal,” “HPA axis dysfunction,” or “nervous system dysregulation.”[6][7]

Visit our “Hyperstimulation” article for more information about the many ways hyperstimulation can affect the body and how we feel.

Hyperstimulation can cause the changes of an active stress response even though a stress response hasn’t been activated.

Just as an active stress response stresses the body and can cause acute erratic periods, hyperstimulation chronically stresses the body and can cause chronic erratic periods.

Chronic erratic periods are a common symptom of hyperstimulation (chronic stress).

But that’s not all. Hyperstimulation can cause erratic periods in other ways, too. For instance, hyperstimulation can cause:

• Nervous System Excitation and Dysregulation: A chronically stimulated nervous system can act erratically and cause all kinds of nervous system and homeostasis problems, leading to erratic periods.

• Homeostatic Dysregulation: Homeostasis is the body’s ability to automatically maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in the external environment. Hyperstimulation can cause homeostatic dysregulation, leading to internal regulation problems, which can affect the nervous system and hormone regulation, which can lead to erratic periods.

• Hormone changes: Hormones play a crucial role in homeostasis and many bodily functions, including menstruation. Since stress hormones affect other hormones, hyperstimulation can affect hormonal balance and menstruation regularity, leading to erratic periods.

• Sleep disruption: Hyperstimulation often causes problems with sleep. Sleep disruption can affect the nervous system, homeostasis, and hormone regulation, leading to menstruation regulation problems, such as erratic periods.

As long as the body is hyperstimulated, even slightly, it can cause symptoms of any type, number, severity, frequency, duration, and at any time, including erratic periods.

Other Factors

Other factors can create stress and cause anxiety-like symptoms, as well as aggravate existing anxiety symptoms, including:

• Medication
• Recreational drugs
• Stimulants
• Fatigue
• Hyper and hypoventilation
• Low blood sugar
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Dehydration
• Hormone changes
• Pain

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