Birth control pill and depression/anxiety

I started on the pill in January. I've been on a few pills since due to side effects. I read that the pill can contribute to depression and anxiety and am wondering if I should stop it because I'm already prone to those things. How have your experiences been with the pill and mental health? Is there a way to be on it and manage mental health or is it I'll advised?

Before the pill I would have extremely painful periods and while I'm generally slightly depressed, around my period I would experience a deeper struggle. I'd consider jumping out of windows, I walked through school hallways like a zombie. In high school I began to realize that my self harm peaked the week before my period. I was my most depressed in 2012. I feel generally better now.

Since being on my current pill, I'll start crying over everything. My emotional outbursts feel more frequent but it's hard to tell because I'm in a different environment for summer (home vs being at school) and because I've been prone to temper issues, I can't tell when I'm doing worse. By far, I'm emotionally my worst on the placebo week. Could the pill impact my emotions on placebo week? Should I switch my pill? Or maybe the pill actually keeps my emotions in check but I go back to unstable on my placebo week?

It is possible you are feeling this way because the pill changes your hormones, maybe you are still adjusting. In my case I have been on the pill nonstop for six years and I have been happy with it. I am anxious and depressed, but always have been! You can definitely manage your mental health, I have been on different anti-depressants and benzos while on the pill.

Diagnosed: Generalized Anxiety Disorder & Obsessive Compulsive Disoder. Previous: Borderline Personality Disorder.

I've been working passionately as a therapist since December 2016

I'm not sure on how all the pills work (i'm allergic to them, lol). But I can say that when I was on the Nuva Ring I did find that my emotions became a bit much usually right at the beginning or a day or two before it started. I always thought it was "mind games" but when I think back to the dumb things I cried over (one time I boo-hoo couldn't breathe snot dripping cried because my shared college bathroom was a little dirty ). I noticed that most of the symptoms passed when I took myself off of b/c and when mentioning it to my new gyno in a "it was all in my head" way, he did tell me that some people handle the hormones better than others. So it could very well be the pill. I suggest talking to your gyno about other low dose options.

I don't have a gyno, but was prescribed my pill by my pediatrician. I called for a referral to a gyno but they told me I'm running out of options for my pill and didn't give me a referral. My mother had called them first, and mentioned my worsening acne. I was in a fine mood at first, so my emotions were in the back of my mind. I hung up and I've been crying for the past two hours. Every time I stop, I start crying again. I'm trying to rethink the past couple years, and it's killing me that I can't tell if this is normal or caused by the pill because I go through periods of time where I'll be way more emotional. But I feel like my more recent sadness and irritability is so frilly. I hate myself. Maybe I should just stop the pill altogether?? What should I do because my doctor won't change it and won't give me a gyno. I'm so sad.

The pill made me incredibly unstable. I tried a few different types over a 6-7 year period and none really worked for me. I got a copper IUD (no hormones) a few years ago and that has worked really well for me.

If the pill you are on works for you except during the placebo week, perhaps you could ask your doctor if the kind of pill you have is the one that is okay to keep taking? That used to be an option with some of them, for people who wanted to suppress their periods.

The pill I'm on has been reported to cause severe anxiety in some people, especially the higher dosage. It depends on a lot of things, but if you're concerned you need to speak with your doc about it.

I've been on microgynon for about a year and haven't noticed any relation between the pill and my depression. I was also prescribed anti-depressants whilst on the pill and the doctor didn't seem to think this was a problem at all (and it wasn't). I think you should go back to your doctor and really emphasis how you feel, like you did in your orignal message. You could also try to stop the pill for a period of time to see if your mood levels out and then you'd have your answer.

From: Birth Control Pills | WomensHealthSpecialists.org