Menopause and mental health
If you’re a woman and over 40, chances are you and your friends are already talking about perimenopause and menopause. While it can feel helpful to vent about brain fog and ‘the rage’ over a bottomless brunch or coffee catch up, the fact is that many of us feel lost in the mess of this particular life transition.
Coping with possible side effects alongside work, kids, family and relationships can start to feel overwhelming. The toll on mental health and wellbeing is significant, and it can be debilitating.
Understanding what’s happening in your body can help, both by justifying and recognising the symptoms that are driving you crazy, but also by understanding ways to cope.
What happens during menopause?
Menopause refers to the day you have gone 12 months without a period. Anything up to that as your periods, body and health start to change, is perimenopause. Anything after is post-menopause.
Perimenopause is different for every person and can last up to 10 years. It can include as many as 34 symptoms, but the most common are irregular periods, night sweats, disturbed sleep, vaginal dryness and changes in mood.
Many of these symptoms are due to hormonal changes. Fluctuations in hormone levels, significantly estrogen and progesterone can affect how our bodies work, how we feel and how well we can regulate stress.
How to ease perimenopause symptoms
Past generations of women were left to suffer with peri symptoms, gaslit by a medical system that assumed women’s problems were theirs alone and normal, natural and to be expected. Thankfully the conversation has changed. While many GPs still don’t have adequate medical training in menopause and its accompanying health challenges, most will at least listen and try to provide support for symptoms. If yours doesn’t – find a new GP.
Medication
There is medication that may help to ease some symptoms of perimenopause if they are due to a lack of oestrogen. Menopause hormone therapy (MHT) (previously called hormone replacement therapy or HRT) works to replace lost estrogen and can help with symptoms including vaginal dryness and hot flashes. MHT comes in oral form as well as skin patches, vaginal rings, creams and sprays.
Lifestyle medicines
Studies show that we can help to ease some symptoms of menopause by engaging in specific behaviours. These include regular exercise, specifically weight or strength bearing activity, eating anti-inflammatory foods such as the Mediterranean diet, and maintaining a healthy sleep hygiene routine. While none of these lifestyle habits can erase all symptoms of perimenopause, research shows they can ease the severity of symptoms and their impact on daily life. Learn more about lifestyle medicine here.
Can counselling help me with menopause?
Yes, counselling may be able to help with symptoms of peri and menopause. One of the key parts of peri and menopause symptoms that women talk about, is feeling like they might actually be going mad. From forgetting our train of thought and not knowing why we walked into a room to questioning if we are even feeling what we are feeling in a moment or simply imagining it, peri can trigger emotional dysregulation and destabilisation that can range from annoying to incredibly frightening.
One common symptom of perimenopause women report is a sudden and overwhelming feeling of rage or extreme anger. Starting as irritability, triggered by something or someone that usually would not get under the skin in a real way, peri rage can cause physical symptoms such as tingling in the hands, digestive problems, headaches and feelings of being out of control or powerless to control our feelings, thoughts and actions.
If any of this feels familiar, counselling may be able to help. Counselling provides a safe, non-judgmental space where clients can voice any thought or feeling without fear of criticism or dismissal. Peri rage can make some women feel irrational, and yet the feelings and thoughts are real and often overwhelming. Examining triggers and ways to anticipate and lessen their impact is something counselling can assist with.
Don’t struggle with perimenopause symptoms. Talk to your GP about what medical approach might work for you or book an appointment with one of our counsellors today.