“It would have to be like hundreds or maybe thousands of women over at least six months to a year,” he said. The study he’d like to see has yet to be done. Worly admits, however, that his advice is based only on the best evidence that’s available right now. Before, he cautioned prospective birth control users that the drugs might cause depression - because some reports indicated this might be the case - but now he tells them that’s unlikely. But in 2018, when researchers from Ohio State University looked at 26 studies examining the link between some of the most common types of birth control and depression, they wrote, “the preponderance of evidence does not support an association.”īrett Worly, an OB-GYN based in Columbus, and one of the authors of the meta-analysis, said that performing the study changed how he talks to his patients. When birth control first came on the market, it didn’t take scientists long to begin studying whether these new drugs could also influence their users’ psychology. Conditions such as anxiety and depression often manifest during puberty and menopause, when hormones are undergoing natural fluctuations. ![]() There’s ample reason to believe that tinkering with sex hormones might affect a person’s mood. Birth control keeps hormone levels high, as they are during pregnancy, with one consequence being that eggs stay locked away where they can’t be fertilized. At the end of each monthly cycle, people who menstruate have natural hormonal lows that tell their bodies they’re not pregnant. H ormone-based birth control works primarily by mimicking key aspects of pregnancy. For now, while the connection between birth control and mental health may seem obvious to many of the drugs’ users, a true link remains elusive to researchers. But despite the stories like Skoog’s that circulate on social media, in sisterly social groups, and in doctors’ offices, these studies have not consistently supported a link. Researchers have looked for a connection between hormonal birth control and mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Still, concerns about possible side effects linger. Oral contraceptives were approved in the 1960s, and since then, studies suggest, the medications have benefitted large segments of society. But it wasn’t until she followed the advice of a friend, who suggested she try going off the birth control, that the depression truly lifted, she said: “I swear to you, the day I stopped taking it, I literally felt completely normal.” Skoog says her doctor diagnosed her with depression and prescribed antidepressants that helped her get off the couch and back to her life. When she walked to the lab where she worked, she added, “I didn’t even care to look both ways across the street.” But that first month taking the pills, she recalled, a fog of exhaustion and apathy replaced her usual cheerful mood. ![]() “I’m a very upbeat, happy person,” Skoog said. ![]() Related In South Texas, a Birth Control Gambit
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