Menstrual Periods Can Intensify Thoughts of Suicide for People Who Struggle With Mental Health

A study has found that people who struggle with their mental health are more likely to experience suicidal ideation immediately before, during and after their menstrual periods.

In a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Thursday, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago studied the menstrual and psychiatric patterns of 119 people. The subjects were surveyed daily to assess indicators of possible suicidality, including feelings of worthlessness, perceived burdensomeness, depression and hopelessness, over their menstrual cycles. 

The subjects of the study already had mental health concerns. More than 70% met the diagnostic criteria for depression, almost two-thirds met the criteria for anxiety, and almost a third for post-traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, half of the participants were already taking antidepressants. Almost two-thirds of the participants were caucasian, and about 6% were nonbinary, genderfluid, or genderqueer.

According to the authors, this study design is unique because other research into this association has only looked at a patient’s symptoms after a suicide attempt, not taking a holistic view of their mental health over the course of their menstrual cycle. 

The researchers found that patients tended to experience heightened levels of suicidal ideation during the perimenstrual period, which means the time immediately before, during and immediately after one’s actual period starts.

Most of the patients said they had higher levels of depression, anxiety and hopelessness during this time. However, there was a notable amount of variation between which specific feelings, like feeling overwhelmed or worthlessness, were associated with suicidality within the group.

“People differed in which emotional symptoms were most correlated with suicidality for them,” said Tory Eisenlohr-Moul, Ph.D., senior author of the study, in a press release. “Just because the cycle makes somebody irritable or have mood swings or feel anxious, it doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s going to have the same effect on creating suicidality for each person.” 

One application of the study’s findings could be that providers ask their patients to track their mental health over the course of their menstrual cycle so they can create care plans specific to each patient.

“As clinicians, we feel responsible for keeping our patients safe from a suicide attempt, but we often don’t have much information about when we need to be most concerned about their safety,” said Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul. “This study establishes that the menstrual cycle can affect many people who have suicidal thoughts, which makes it one of the only predictable recurring risk factors that has been identified for detecting when a suicide attempt might occur.” 

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. You are not alone.