Mental Health Awareness Month: Does Substance Abuse Affect Your Menstrual Cycle? Expert Explains

Mental Health Awareness Month: Does Substance Abuse Affect Your Menstrual Cycle? Expert Explains

Mental health issues and the use of recreational drugs, more often than not, go hand-in-hand. Many people who are struggling with depression, anxiety, stress, etc. use recreational drugs as an escape – a way to feel better. Forgetting that in reality, that substance abuse can not only make your mental health symptoms worse but also adversely affects your physical body. In fact, for women, substance abuse is far worse as it affects not only their mental state but also negatively impacts their menstrual cycle. 

Many gynaecologists, including Dr Rita Bakshi, believe that substance abuse – like drinking alcohol, smoking, marijuana, opioids, etc. – can not only make pre-existing problems with your menstrual cycle worse but also more pronounced. 

Also Read: Does Mental Health Affect Your Reproductive Health? An Expert Gives Insight

To help you understand the harmful impact of substance abuse better, here’s how alcohol, smoking, marijuana, etc. affect your menstrual cycle:

1. It can  mess with your menstrual cycle and cause irregular periods and sometimes no periods at all for months on end

2. It can cause extremely painful periods

3. It can impact your flow – lead to heavier or lighter periods

4. It causes low estrogen levels that lead to fatigue, mood swings, and even vaginal dryness

5. It can also cause changes in sex hormone levels

6. It can cause early menopause in young women

7. Make the symptoms of menopause extremely severe in young women

8. It can even have adverse effects on reproductive health making it difficult to conceive.

Also Read: Mental Health Awareness Month: Expert Explains The Link Between Mental Health And Menstrual Cycle

Substance abuse can severely affect your menstrual cycle. And if mental health issues are one of the reasons why you’re using recreational drugs, then seeking professional help is of utmost importance. So please don’t shy away and ask for help if and when you need it. 

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Ritu Sanghvi

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