1 A woman will not necessarily experience the same symptoms in the same way in subsequent pregnancies as with her first pregnancy. 2  Certain symptoms, like absence of menstruation and weight gain, are common to all pregnancies. 3  Other possible symptoms of early pregnancy include.  mood changes,
Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels also increase risk for depression, mental illness, and lower life expectancy. This week, two separate studies were published in Science linking elevated cortisol levels as a potential trigger for mental illness and decreased resilienceâespecially in adolescence.
Many other hormones, amino acids, and nutrients also affect our moods, which makes it difficult to try to diagnose your own personal biochemistry. For example, either too little or too much of the hormone melatonin can lead to depression, and people with depression also often have elevated cortisol levels.