Even though most menopause signs and symptoms mainly have to do with hot flashes, vaginal dryness, night sweats or insomnia, some of them are also linked to the nervous system and the brain. As a result, the mental and emotional problems they can cause may be extensive. According to WebMD, many women report irritability, feelings of sadness and depression, a lack of motivation, increased anxiety and many other issues that can be extremely difficult to cope with.
What’s Happening During Midlife?
Midlife can lead to a flooding of menopause symptoms that completely overwhelms you. Womenshealth.gov provides extensive information on this topic, with specific focus on the mental and emotional symptoms related to peri-menopause.
The problem isn’t just that you go through hot flashes, low sex drive and a loss in bone structure, but also that some of these symptoms – and most especially the hormonal changes that have caused them – can have a profound effect on your mood.
Thoughts that may have caused sadness, depression and irritability even before you went through your midlife changes may be heightened. Small details and events that would normally not bother you too much will become a cause for concern, while challenges can appear to be more like catastrophes.
In order to counteract these issues, it’s important to talk openly to your doctor and present him/her with information on any emotional problems and patterns you may have experienced before the menopause-induced transition.
Helpful Measures You Can Take
You have to open up about your problems and try to get assistance. The best way to deal with severe emotional stress and problems that seem overwhelming is to step back and seek to relax. Distract yourself when things seem to become too hard to deal with, and don’t try to get to the bottom of what you should do to solve them – at least not until you start feeling better.
Yoga, exercise and Tai Chi, as well as other lifestyle changes that can bring you relief are highly recommended. Meditation, relaxing walks and taking a few days off from work may also help you out. But most of all, it’s important to remember that the problems you are experiencing are temporary, and they’re actually caused by the changes in your own body – nothing else.