The role of estrogen in depression and anxiety

Valentina, 56, suffered from anxiety and panic attacks and was prescribed Valium™, Effexor™ and Wellbutrin™. This cocktail of psychoactive drugs caused Valentina adverse side effects and they didn’t even help, so she stopped taking them. A A few years ago, after going through menopause, she began to have hot flashes, and that’s when she first noticed the anxiety attacks that precede the hot flashes.
Estrogen Deficiency Causes Concern
We sent Valentina to the lab for a hormonal commission, and sure enough, her estrogen levels were low. The patient’s symptoms were caused by a menopausal estrogen deficiency commonly seen in the postmenopausal age group. The symptoms are quickly relieved by the use of bioidentical estradiol in the form of pellets. In addition, Valentina’s tests revealed a deficiency of vitamins and minerals, which, no doubt, aggravated the anxiety attacks. She began taking the bioidentical hormone estradiol. She also started taking vitamin B12 and magnesium supplements. Six weeks later, Valentina reported that her anxiety and panic attacks had improved and almost disappeared. She also noticed improvement in sleep and more: mental clarity as well as her night sweats and hot flashes also disappeared.
Anxiety associated with hot flashes
A study published in 2015 in the journal Menopause reported that anxiety is strongly associated with menopausal hot flashes, and usually precedes a hot flash episode. Hot flashes are caused by estrogen deficiency and are treated with the bioidentical drug estradiol, which virtually eliminates them completely.

Benefits of Bioidentical Estrogen
Numerous articles summarizing the medical literature show that low estrogen causes anxiety and depression in humans. Estrogen treatment relieves anxiety and depression, and virtually eliminates hot flashes.
Important:
Hot flushes, anxiety and panic attacks are symptoms of estrogen deficiency alleviated with bioidentical estrogen. Antidepressants do not contain estrogens, and their use does not make up for the missing estrodiol!
What is the mechanism of action of estrogen in eliminating anxiety and depression?
There are estrogen receptors in the brain, and estrogen increases the expression of an enzyme in the brain called tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH2). The job of this enzyme is to convert tryptophan into serotonin, an important neurotransmitter. It is responsible for the calming effect on the brain. These estrogen receptors have been isolated to specific areas of the brain called the DRN or dorsal raph nuclei.
Estrogen is effective in perimenopausal depression
A study published in 2021 in General Psychiatry evaluated bioidentical estrogen as a treatment for perimenopausal depression. They evaluated fifty women, aged 40-55, suffering from a depressive disorder and irregular menstruation. These women were treated with bioidentical estrogen or placebo for 12 weeks. Remission of depression was observed in 17 (68%) women treated with bioidentical estradiol compared with only 5 (20%) in the placebo group.The authors concluded, “Bioidentical estradiol is an effective treatment for depression in perimenopausal women.”
Estrogen is effective in postpartum depression (postpartum)
Postpartum depression occurs in about 13% of women who have recently given birth and often go untreated. Various therapies have been tried, including antidepressant drug therapy, bioidentical estrogen, individual psychotherapy, and group psychotherapy.
A 2021 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that bioidentical estrogen is effective in postpartum depression. Twenty-three women suffering from postpartum depression were taken from the psychiatric emergency department. The women were treated with bioidentical estradiol for 8 weeks. Estradiol levels were very low, indicating ovarian failure. During the first week of treatment with estradiol, depressive symptoms quickly disappeared and estradiol levels increased significantly. By the second week of treatment, 83% of patients had clinical recovery.

A second earlier study published in 2016 in the Lancet showed that bioidentical estrogen is an effective treatment for postpartum depression. Sixty-one women suffering from postpartum depression were prescribed bioidentical estradiol, and rapid improvement was recorded within the first month of treatment.
Many women with postpartum depression are treated with antidepressants that do not address the underlying estrogen deficiency and ovarian failure. Bioidentical hormonal treatments are more effective and safer than antidepressants or other psychoactive drugs, and should be the preferred choice. Bioidentical estrogen does not have the side effects associated with antidepressants, which can eventually pass into the mother’s milk and adversely affect the infant’s breastfeeding.
Estradiol for postpartum psychosis
While postpartum estrogen deficiency causes depression in 13% of patients, a smaller subset develop full-blown postpartum psychosis. Bioidentical estrogen is also effective for this more severely affected group. A study conducted in Finland and published in 2021 by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry evaluated 10 women suffering from postpartum psychosis. All had low serum estradiol levels (mean 50 pg/mL), indicating gonadal failure. All were treated with bioidentical estradiol, with serum estradiol. The level has risen to normal. Treatment with estradiol reversed psychiatric symptoms in all patients.

Estradiol improves cognition in Alzheimer’s dementia
In a study published in 2021 in the journal Neurology, twenty postmenopausal women with Alzheimer’s dementia were treated with bioidentical estradiol drugs and compared with placebo. Sophisticated neuropsychological tests showed: improvement in attention, as well as verbal, visual and semantic memory compared with subjects who received placebo.

Estradiol, a bioidentical estrogen, reduces anxiety and depression. The results were published in the journal Neuroscience Research in February 2020. Matthew N. Hill investigated the mechanism of action of estradiol as an anxiolytic and how it is involved in the enzyme, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which degrades the endocannabinoid anandamide. The enzyme, FAAH, is regulated by estrogen. This reveals the biochemical mechanism of how estrogen relieves anxiety.