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Hormones: legit or excuse?

windblown

windblown

Seasoned Member
Real Person
Female
A pre-teen flies into a rage at her siblings. A 40ish housewife vehemently accuses her husband of affairs and threatens suicide. And the culprit who's to blame? Hormones. You hear it time and again from both women and men.

I've been the raging lunatic many, many times. Some during times of "hormonal imbalance," but more often times not. "Crazy" follows no calculated cycle for me.

I honestly never experienced pms-induced mood swings until I started dating my husband. Then suddenly it was a thing. He would point it out. And I would get angrier! I knew I was mad because <insert whatever selfish reason here> not because some silly chemical imbalance. I want to prove my husband wrong when he says I am hormonal. I know. I am probably being rebellious.

I never was a fan of "oh, it's just your time of the month."

A women's psych class in college first turned me on to the idea that hormonal symptoms may all be psychosomatic. They used an example of menopausal women having common symptoms depending on region. I don't remember specifics, but for instance, American women report hot flashes whereas Japanese women do not. Since then, I am overly skeptical about the hormone "problem", if you will.

Could there be correlation? Yes! I don't doubt that because we are physically feeling awful that our mood will probably be a little off. But causation? I don't know. I don't want to believe that we are slaves to these invisible masters. That somehow everything we believe and live for can be tossed aside for a few days in a month. That can't be right. Right? How can our bodies, created by our loving Father, completely fail us?

Secular psychology doesn't recognize the spiritual realm. They posit a chemical reason for everything. I don't buy into it. Schizophrenia sure sounds like demons to me. Of course I don't want to completely disregard chemicals. I don't have any degrees in science. It just seems like if we named the emotional rollercoaster something other than our natural bodies' cycles, then we could better learn to "resist and flee" them.

Does that make sense? Or am I just crazy? ;)
 
I can tell you I have had PMS, without knowing I had PMS. My cycle had not begun again after the birth of my daughter, yet I had a day where I was in a terrible mood. I even told Samuel, and said I needed some time alone or I may just blow up at everyone in the house. He graciously provided this. The next day my cycle began.

Most of the hormonal problems can be explained by diet. I do believe it is an issue with the hormones being at an incorrect level, but it is diet induced, which would explain the differences in different countries and different areas.
As an example of this, when pregnant I normally get Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction. It is normal to have the hormone relaxin running through your body during pregnancy, this helps the pelvis ligaments to relax and open so there is more room for the baby to come out. Unfortunately I have too much of that hormone and very early in my pregnancy. This means that I have problems with my pelvis making it difficult to walk and get up and down etc, also giving me a lot of pain. With my first pregnancy I had it from 10 weeks pregnant and ended up on crutches.
With my last pregnancy I didn't have it at all. I felt some relaxing and pain during the last month, which is normal as the body prepares for birth, but that was it. The only difference was that I was on a new type of supplement called Youngevity. It was balancing my hormones out, and also helped my morning sickness to be much less.

So, I do believe that hormones have a part to play, but they cannot be used to explain everything. They cannot be the excuse for continued bad behaviour. If they are affecting your mood more than just being in a grump for a day or so, then it's worth looking into changes of diet or added supplements. But if it's outside of your cycle time, then it's not hormones is it?
 
Diet makes sense. I don't remember the text book making that claim. I wonder if all women throughout history experienced PMS and other hormonal symptoms to varying degrees. I still believe the spiritual must come into play in psychology. I just can't accept that we have no control over our bodies and emotions.
 
Todd would say every time I have been pregnant I get a little crazy....... hormonal if you will. When I was pregnant with Z.... Todd asked me to get off the treadmill. I got so mad(before I knew I was pregnant). I slammed the doors and cried. Then took the test and that was that. So I don't know if they happen or what but I do get moody
 
I get the same from my husband. And I remain in denial. 2 of the 3 pregnancies began during the holidays which are stressful enough without the mental strain of "oh, I'm pregnant again" and nausea 24/7. I stand behind correlation.;)
 
You're spot-on in my experience. It seems that I could tolerate almost anything but then when that time of the month came, I had the guts to speak up, but sometimes the pent-up anger just boiled over and gets out of control, and I look like a raving lunatic (can you imagine?!!!?!). (That was in my past--I'm in a new relationship and am only having to deal with a few ghosts of the past and a difficult teenage son.) It isn't fair. Touchy subject!
 
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I am so with you windblown about hating that feeling that I am not in control of my emotions at all times. I would always get angry at any implied PMS being the cause of my raised emotions! Yet, inevitably I would start my cycle within a day or two from the "bad" day and life would seem right again. I do agree that diet has an impact and that supplements can level things off for some. I feel that I have at least become more aware of the heightened emotional place I am in and can try not letting it get out of control. I don't think I make up issues just on those days but I think that I am less able to have grace for things that bother me on those things. So, it isn't that I am making things up to be frustrated about which I feel some men think that is what happens in PMS, it is that I have a harder time keeping things in perspective. Now, on the flip side I get the "happy pill" day right after the "bad" day. On those days, I find myself to be unusually happy with ALL things. I love those days! I use to think that the "happy pill" days were how I REALLY felt but in reality I am a bit of both where I deal with frustrations and also see the blessing in each day. The ironic thing to me is that PMS causes both kinds of days for me. I think there is a lesson in there somewhere....:-)
 
The flip side of this too is ovulation. Then women's moods are up. Not only are they happier, but they're also more inclined to head off to bed with their man. This is something that is important to explain to young girls when their cycle starts. Everyone's always about the PMS and cramps and what a hard time they'll have. But the fact is that a girl may look at a guy when she's ovulating and think he's the best thing since sliced bread, then want to head off to bed with him, when she'd normally say no. Two weeks later she will look at him in a completely different way. This is what contributes to the teenage pregnancy rate, and one night stands etc. If girls were taught more about how their bodies actually work than about how to put a condom on when they're in the mood, they would be far less likely to sleep with a man outside of marriage.
These hormones were designed specifically by YHWH for creating children. It works really well inside of marriage and was always the plan. If the good hormones were the plan, then were the bad hormones as well?
Edited to add, that this can also be linked to adultery, so it's not just teenagers. It's good for all females no matter their age to understand their cycle and take a step back at times to see if it's affecting their behaviour.
 
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After a miscarriage years ago, my hormones got out of balance. I didn't realize at first what I was dealing with. After I recovered from the miscariage, my 'aunt flo' came back and stayed for a month! I was also a complete emotional wreck, and this was very NOT normal for me. I have never really been aware of pms, or had any difficulty with my cycles (cramps, bloating, etc.).
Thankfully I read a book about hormone balance, and recognised a ton of symptoms of estrogen dominance. One jar of progesterone cream later (actually less) and I was back to my old self.
I agree that our attitudes and spiritual condition can affect our physical and specifically hormonal condition, but I think physical problems, once identified can be treated physically.
I wouldn't have wanted my hubby to have to suffer along with me, while I attempted to correct the problem without that jar of progesterone cream. I am actually sorry he had to live with me then. It was a dark joyless place, and everything seemed completely overwhelming.

So, to sum up my take on it all. I try not to make excuses for bad attitudes or behavior, but do think you can get real relief from physical problems with physical treatment.
 
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