PCOS and depression : yes it is real!

When I was a teen, I suffered from depression. I had parents who were frustrated at me for crying for no reason. The school I went to had me on a suicide watch, and I use to cut myself (I still have my scars and can just make out the words I wrote to myself. They were not very nice). I am not proud of my scars, but they remind me of where I came from. My depression was real, and although I had counselling - I found it very hard to cope. Everything got to me. And I didn't understand it.

What I know now is those teen years are hell, they are then compounded by a hormonal condition that exasperates the condition. My depression was real but I could have coped with it better if I had dealt with the hormonal side better than just the contraceptive pill.

I was reminded of how horrible that depression felt a few days before my d&c. I was actually terrified of where I was going and if it was going to stay with me. I didn't want to get out of bed, I didn't want to play with my son, I just wanted the world to swallow me up. The day of my surgery I woke up feeling better and knowing it was going to be a day of goodbyes. Thankfully that feeling has not returned.

Unfortunately along side the other horrid PCOS symptoms, depression is something we need to understand. The worst part for me is around AF/period time. The drop in hormones sends me into a tither - and this is where we PCOS women need to be careful. If we allow ourselves this mood can last the entire month and turn into a reality for us. And this is when we are in danger of leading a life of depression.

But there is help.

• See your doctor and try and get on metformin - it will help regulate those hormones and may help those crazy moods.
• Understand this is a short term thing - just push through it and understand you have flat days (and get your partner/kids to understand this too!!)
• Get your diet under control. That chocolate bar or muffin will not help the situation - get healthy foods into you, it can do wonders!
• If all fails and you feel your depression is real, get some support. It may be that you need this support to understand and recognise you don't have to be feeling this way all the time (and then you start to recognise it and cope with it better).
• Meditation - can work wonders.
• Exercise releases happy hormones, go for a walk or run if you can.
• Raw cacao - yup throw that chocolate bar away and make some of these. The raw cacao releases happy hormones, and the whole thing is low GI super yum and guilt free!

For me the biggest thing I do is point 2. I understand it, ride through it and watch myself. If I think it is lingering for too long I try to do other things to get me out of the mood.

Do you have any tricks to help out? Let us all know!