Young Women Report Mental Health Struggles Linked to Birth Control Pills

Concerns are mounting over the mental health impacts of hormonal contraceptive pills, with young women reporting significant mood disturbances, depression, and irritability. Georgia, now 19, began taking the combined pill at 15 to manage severe period pain. While she anticipated physical side effects, she instead experienced profound emotional changes.

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I was experiencing really bad cramps, constant period pain and wasn't able to stand most of the time.

"I would wake up in the morning, didn't want to go to school most of the time … just [because] I felt like I would put everyone down with my mood," Georgia shared. She described rapid shifts between happiness and sadness, or anger and sadness, finding it difficult to regulate her emotions and feeling disconnected from herself.

Jess, also 15 when she started the pill for heavy and painful periods, echoed these experiences. She found no pill that effectively managed her menstrual cycle without negatively affecting her mood. "I was moody, I was depressed I was irritable … I was not myself at all," Jess stated, highlighting the difficulty of navigating teenage life while experiencing such emotional turmoil.

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When I saw the big paper of the side effects [inside the pill box], I got a bit overwhelmed and I was like, 'I don't really want to read that.'

Both women tried various types of pills, including combined and progestogen-only options, in search of relief. Jess described a difficult trade-off: "The worse the bleeding was, the better my mental health, and the better my bleeding was, the worse my mental health was." This "lose-lose situation" led her to discontinue the medication.

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I would wake up in the morning, didn't want to go to school most of the time … just [because] I felt like I would put everyone down with my mood.

Historically, the contraceptive pill, introduced in the 1960s, revolutionized women's reproductive health and workforce participation. Today, it remains a popular contraceptive method in Australia and is prescribed for conditions like acne and hormonal imbalances. The pill works by suppressing the natural production of estrogen and progesterone, thereby preventing pregnancy and regulating the menstrual cycle. While physical side effects are documented, the connection between these hormonal contraceptives and mental well-being is increasingly a focus of concern.

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I would go from happy to sad very fast, or I could go [from] angry to sad. It was very hard to regulate my emotions, very overwhelming.