Malaise in the mid to second half of the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle is associated with depletion in estrogen levels.

“there are actually stronger data to support the fact that some, again, some, not all women experience a kind of malaise sometimes associated with anxiety, sometimes not, that's associated with the mid to second half of the luteal phase of the ovulatory/menstrual cycle. And that, despite what people commonly think, is not associated with elevated levels of estrogen. It's actually associated with the depletion in estrogen levels that can occur during certain portions of that second half of the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.”