FROM PLAYGROUND SWINGS TO MOOD SWINGS

By Shanoya Cheverria

The parents of teens look on, worried, as their children break down over the slightest of inconveniences. On other days, they can’t watch as their kids impulsively drive to hang out with friends or their partner after dark, as they had fallen asleep hours ago. Adolescence can be one of the most tortuous times in one’s life and it always feels like you’re drowning, in your own tears, trepidation and unforeseen consequences. Many wonder why moodiness and impulsivity are the hallmarks of teenagehood and this article perfectly sums it up.

The moodiness of teenagers has long been blamed entirely on an increase in hormones, as well as an imbalance of such. However, more recent scientific studies have unveiled another culprit: changes in the brain (we’re sorry, hormones!!). Of course, parts of the teenage brain are still developing but they do so at incongruous rates, and this is where the problem lies.

Neuroscientists have found there is a decrease in grey matter and drastic increase in white matter at the onset of adolescence. This means that areas of the brain that are responsible for emotions and emotional responses develop faster than the parts that deal with cognition, control and self-regulation.

The prefrontal cortex of the brain is the part of the brain that is responsible for:

● decision making

● good judgement

● weighing future consequences of actions

● paying attention

● regulating intense emotions

● avoiding insane gratification

● impulse control

Another region of the brain called the limbic system develops significantly faster than the prefrontal cortex. The limbic region plays a major role in emotions, memory and arousal. Additionally, during adolescence, the limbic system undergoes changes in levels of serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin, compelling teens to be more receptive to rewards, stress and punishments, and thus more self-focused, which may come off as being selfish. However, it is important for teens to become more self-focused as they discover their own identities separate from their parents and others.

Sounds like a recipe for an unpredictable, hermetic vault of emotions!

In addition to these brain changes, gonadal hormones add to the tempestuous seas of teenagehood. Firstly, let’s understand what hormones actually are: hormones are chemical messengers secreted into the bloodstream that regulate bodily functions. Hormones target specific organs, tissues and glands, causing very distinct reactions. During puberty, the surge in gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) leads to a high level of gonadal hormones/sex hormones. Testosterone, estrogen and progesterone are the sex hormones that almost magically result in boys sounding a lot like a double bass overnight and girls developing breasts, and so forth. But these sex hormones not only affect teens’ physical development, but

also cause them to become more emotional, impulsive and, well, sexual. Specifically, estrogen causes persons assigned female at birth to have higher risks of depression. Gonadal hormones also target a particular structure of the brain called the amygdala, which plays a huge role in the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism, making teens more impulsive and anxious than ever.

Hormonal imbalances are also common in teenagers, meaning, there is an excess or lack of certain hormones being secreted or a fluctuating amount. This can cause additional behavioural changes, as well as physical. Girls may experience heavy and painful periods, unexplainable weight gain, chin hair and extreme fatigue. Boys may experience muscle loss, erectile dysfunction and hair loss. Emotionally speaking, teens suffering from hormonal imbalance may also experience depression and intense mood swings. Since hormone levels typically influence others in mechanisms called negative and positive feedback, a surge or drop in the gonadal hormones can cause this. For example, estrogen influences serotonin, the happy hormone. When one’s level of estrogen drops, so does the serotonin level. This explains why persons with ovaries feel unprecedented sadness during the days leading up to menses. Consistently low levels of serotonin may even result in depression. On the other hand, persons with low levels of testosterone may be markedly moody, irritable, stressed and/or depressed. (Side note: these mental issues that result from hormonal imbalances may be experienced by everyone, regardless of sex! This is because everyone produces certain levels of the sex hormones. Girls do produce testosterone and boys do produce estrogen and progesterone, although in small amounts.) Fluctuating hormone levels may also result in social withdrawal/self isolation, anxiety, confusion and brain fog.

It’s no coincidence that symptoms of mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression and eating disorders, unravel during adolescence, as well as other mental issues, such as substance abuse. It has been found that teenagers become addicted to drugs quicker and with much lower doses than adults do due to their underdeveloped brains. Additionally, teenagers may seek out thrilling, albeit dangerous and even fatal, experiences due to the increased dopamine levels in their limbic system.

Despite teenagehood biologically being this much of a vicissitude, it also brings about additional stresses on teenagers. teenagers are forced to thrive academically, balance relationships of all kinds, and feel pressured to live up to beauty standards and plan their perfect future. Navigating this tough time, especially without a good support system, can cause a teen’s mental health to decline.

So yes, teenagers may be loose, emotional cannons who think long after sending risky texts and saying, “Sure, why not?” to unprotected sex but it is all a part of their body’s plan to become healthy, functional adults!

References

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/the-adolescent-brain-beyond-raging-hormon es

https://www.empoweringparents.com/article/are-teenagers-selfish-or-just-cocooning/#:~:text =Recent%20research%20on%20this%20topic,to%20produce%20more%20oxytocin%20rece ptors.

https://www.parentingforbrain.com/moody-teenager/