Birth control
and your mood
By Ben Jonas Goedeke · 3 min read · checked against its sources
Hormonal contraception affects mood differently from person to person. Some people feel steadier on it, and some feel worse.
Why some feel better
Many hormonal methods can stop ovulation. Without ovulation there is no monthly rise and fall to react to, which is why certain combined pills are one of the options doctors use for PMDD.
Why some feel worse
The progestogens in some methods can bring mood symptoms of their own. That is a real effect, and it is different from PMDD.
What it means for your record
PMDD should not be diagnosed while you use a hormonal method that stops ovulation, because the cycle it depends on is not there. If you use the pill, the patch, the ring, the implant, the injection or a hormonal coil, tell your doctor when you share your record.
Before you change anything
Talk to your doctor before starting, stopping or switching. Plan how you will stay protected in the meantime, and keep tracking for a few months after any change so you can see what it did.
Keep the record your doctor needs. Tideline is a period and mood tracker for iPhone: write one sentence a day, and after two cycles it puts the week before your period next to the week after it starts. Free to track, no account.
Get Tideline on the App Store
Keep reading
Sources
- IAPMD: Steps to diagnosis
- IAPMD: Treatments with strong evidence
- Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists: Managing premenstrual syndrome (PMS)