The National Mental Health Information Center reports that mood swings
are a form of mental disorder that affects millions of Americans each year. Although
mood disorders can be a serious mental illness, they are treatable.
Environmental factors and/or chemical imbalances in the brain may contribute to
a person's mood swings. If left untreated, chronic mood swings can become
debilitating.
Mood Swings at Andropause
There is a common
knowledge that women
get severe mood swings while at menopause, and the family members, friends
and coworkers usually are able to accept these changes with understanding and
patience. Until recently, men’s mood swings were not considered as character traits,
which have any excuse to be tolerated. Now mood swings, commonly associated
with female menopause, are now
also being more accepted as a common side effect of male menopause as well. These
symptoms that keep coming up time and time again are a natural part of the
aging process, with men reporting a loss of drive at work and at play, feeling
nothing is of use anymore and losing interest in hobbies and previous favorite
past times.
The burn out, which can be physical and emotional, is backed by lack of motivation, enthusiasm and vitality experienced by andropausal men due to reduced hormone production during Andropause. Depression too, is a common complaint.
Many men feel emotional highs and lows during Andropause and these mood swings or ‘feeling down’ in certain cases can go beyond the occasional bouts of irritability and frustration to more severe problems like clinical depression, if not checked in time.
Doctors suggest that the loss of assertiveness and confidence due to bodily changes like increased body fat and decreased muscle tone, sleep problems and memory loss/difficulty in concentration that men go through during Andropause are symptoms that combine to cause mood swings.
The change in self image and perceived social image can cause andropausal men to feel uncertain about themselves and actual physical dysfunction may precipitate the mood swings as a loss of libido creeps up on patients- a touchy topic for all men needing to feel and be virile.
The burn out, which can be physical and emotional, is backed by lack of motivation, enthusiasm and vitality experienced by andropausal men due to reduced hormone production during Andropause. Depression too, is a common complaint.
Many men feel emotional highs and lows during Andropause and these mood swings or ‘feeling down’ in certain cases can go beyond the occasional bouts of irritability and frustration to more severe problems like clinical depression, if not checked in time.
Doctors suggest that the loss of assertiveness and confidence due to bodily changes like increased body fat and decreased muscle tone, sleep problems and memory loss/difficulty in concentration that men go through during Andropause are symptoms that combine to cause mood swings.
The change in self image and perceived social image can cause andropausal men to feel uncertain about themselves and actual physical dysfunction may precipitate the mood swings as a loss of libido creeps up on patients- a touchy topic for all men needing to feel and be virile.
Mood Swings Symptoms
When men suffer from
mood swings, they’re likely to display one or more of the symptoms listed
below.
Unreasonable Censure
Unreasonable Censure
Men could consider their mood swings inexplicable but because of their nature, they will do their best to find a reason for it. Unless they’ve been properly diagnosed, they’re liable to blame others for their mood swings. Now, if there’s absolutely no other person to blame for their condition then men would usually resort to blaming themselves.
Anger and Irritability
Mood swings also make people more irritable and quicker to anger than usual. Mood swings are exhausting because it requires you to feel more than usual. One moment you’re happy, the next moment you’re down, and feeling like this several times a day certainly won’t make anyone feel good.
Creating and Avoiding Conflict
Mood swings make men feel unbalanced and unable to control their emotions. Because of this, they are more prone to create or avoid conflict, depending on the situation. If they feel they’re unable to cope with a problem then they’re likely to sweep it under the rug rather than face it head on. Then again, they can choose to alleviate their frustrations by creating conflicts instead.
Poor Sleeping Habits
Last but not the least, sleep is also affected by mood swings. Men could seek sleep excessively in order to avoid mood swings. On the other hand, men could also suffer from sleep deprivation because of mood swings.
Causes of Mood Swings
The most significant concern, or even crisis stage, for andropausal men is when they have to deal with unanticipated physical and psychological changes as knowledge about Andropause is very limited for the average male.
Mood swings in men
are generally related to the hormonal misbalance during male menopause.
Actually, it is caused by high levels of cortisol and low levels of testosterone
in their organisms. Cortisol is a stress
hormone and normal cortisol levels ensure that you are able to handle
stress without letting stress affect our health. Medical experts explain that
men are relatively poor in handling stress in daily life, comparing with women,
and so high levels of cortisol hormone secretion in men causes harm to muscles
and bones and increases fat content in the body. Excess cortisol also affects
the functioning of testosterone in the body and this eventually results in
increased body fat and difficulty in handling stress. Due to the lack of bio-available testosterone
during Andropause, men have lowered amounts in their blood. Therefore, tissues
in the body that are stimulated by testosterone receive lower than normal doses
and various physical and possibly mental changes occur - primary ones being
mood swings or fatigue.
Testosterone
is produced naturally and it is a very good mood stabilizer. However, the
absence of it can cause several damages and also cause depression and anxiety. Even
slightly low levels can actually trigger the mood swings and unpredictable
behavior in affected men.
Mood Swings not related to Andropause
While this post primary deals with medical conditions, associated with
male menopause, we would like to mention other possible causes of the mood
swings, which require careful medical attention, as they may be just the
symptoms of the severe medical illnesses.
Bipolar Disorder
The primary symptoms of the mania and depression associated with bipolar
disorder include both behavioral and mood changes. People with bipolar
disorder can experience long periods of manic and depressive episodes.
Sometimes the episodes are so severe that they interfere with the individual's
activities of daily living. According to the National Institute of Mental
Health, although most individuals who have a family history of bipolar disorder
do not develop the mental illness, they are four to six times more likely to
suffer the disorder if they have a parent or sibling who has it. Men with
bipolar disorder may also abuse alcohol or drugs and have relationship
problems.
Diabetes
Maria Collazo-Clavell, M.D., an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic, points
out that extreme fluctuation in blood sugar levels can contribute to changes in
mood, which people with diabetes may experience. Check your blood sugar level
on a routine basis, but especially when you notice a mood change. Talk to your
doctor if mood swings persist or occur often. Your medication may need to be
adjusted.
Other causes
Mood swings can occur as a symptom of psychiatric disorders, besides bipolar
disorder, we mentioned above, like borderline personality disorder, or they may
result from a medical condition that directly affects the central nervous
system, such as dementia, brain tumors, meningitis, and stroke. Mood swings can
also result from conditions that deprive the brain of nutrients and oxygen,
such as lung and cardiovascular diseases. Substance abuse and medication side
effects are other potential causes of mood swings.
Treatment of Andropausal Mood Swings
If you feel that you
have severe mood swings, that it is not like you, get alarmed to talk to your
doctor. You may suspect that the reason is related to your andropause, but you
need to be absolutely sure that your mood swings do not point to other than
hormones fluctuation, medical condition. It may be easily treatable if you
catch it early, and it may be deadly, if you catch it too late.
As far as you are
confident that the mood swings are related to male menopause, follow the
general recommendations on how to deal with this condition. However, most
health experts agree that the mood swings andropausal men go through can also
be largely affected by other symptoms like loss of fertility and decreased
libido, sleep problems, hot flashes, increase in body weight and muscle loss.
Diagnosing the causes and underlying conditions that are controllable can help
treat mood swings and keep them at a minimum during Andropause - and stop you
from turning the grumpy old man syndrome into a horrible reality for yourself
and your loved ones.
Remember, if you got it, you are not along. Mood swings have been reported by many Andropause patients and in some cases they were reported in package with mild depression, say medical health experts working to raise awareness about male menopause at the national level. Unfortunately, there are no known studies to compare rates of depression in the pre-Andropause and post-Andropause stages in men, though the mood swings associated with changes in testosterone levels can be treated with testosterone implants readily available now.
Patients feeling low in spirits have been helped to alleviate mood swings through antidepressants but the best remedy still remains as open discussions and psychological counseling to bring back feelings of self- worth.
Remember, if you got it, you are not along. Mood swings have been reported by many Andropause patients and in some cases they were reported in package with mild depression, say medical health experts working to raise awareness about male menopause at the national level. Unfortunately, there are no known studies to compare rates of depression in the pre-Andropause and post-Andropause stages in men, though the mood swings associated with changes in testosterone levels can be treated with testosterone implants readily available now.
Patients feeling low in spirits have been helped to alleviate mood swings through antidepressants but the best remedy still remains as open discussions and psychological counseling to bring back feelings of self- worth.
Good nutrition,
health active lifestyle, comforting atmosphere at home, stress relieving
techniques, and proper awareness of the causes and effects are the best ways to
deal with the enemy. In many cases, you can win without medicines and hormone
replacement therapy. However, if the conditions are severe, talk to your doctor
on possibilities of applying the heavy medical artillery.
Sources and Additional Reading:
