Exploring the Emotional and Psychological  Effects of Menopause

Although menopause is a very natural process that all women will eventually experience, no woman really wants to talk about their experience dealing with it.

Menopause can’t be prevented, stopped or reversed and the rate, intensity and length of symptoms varies from woman to woman.

Due to the fluctuation in hormones, peri menopause symptoms can start as early as 45 years old and last until about 51 years old.  Except for cases where menopause was caused by a medical condition, treatment or surgery the symptoms leading up to the last day of your final period will occur gradually and can continue for a few more years.

You can begin to feel its effects starting with longer, heavier periods, intense PMS, a change in libido along with hot flashes and night sweats. There’s no real way to stop it, only to manage it and this can have a serious emotional and psychological impact that many women keep tight-lipped about.

The emotional effects of menopause vary from woman to woman and include the mood swings that are the butt of every menopause joke. These can have a big impact on your  daily life and stop being funny at that point.

In this article, we’ll explore the emotional side effects that menopause can have on your life. After that, we’ll take a look at some ways yuou can lessen these effects.

But let’s answer the question on everybody’s mind first, “Why is this happening to me?”

What causes the emotional side effects of menopause?

The typical culprit for most symptoms of menopause is low estrogen or fluctuating estrogen levels.

Estrogen plays a vital role in the body and is responsible for developing and maintaining the female reproductive system. It also plays a role in preventing heart disease and aiding in the absorption of calcium.

In the brain , estrogen helps to control communication between brain structures and regulates serotonin levels. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that controls mood and determines if someone feels happy or sad. When estrogen levels are low, serotonin levels fall and that can have an impact on your mental stability and optimism.

Estrogen also affects endorphins. Endorphins controls happiness and positive mood.

The symptoms of menopause can help to worsen the impact of decreased serotonin levels as well. These include:

• Weight gain- Many persons obsess about the way they look and gaining a few extra pounds may feel like the worst thing in the world. Weight gain during menopause is not uncommon and it has to do with the reduction in metabolism experienced during this time. The extra weight can make a woman feel less attractive which can cause feelings of insecurity and even depression.

• Hot flashes and night sweats- Hot flashes are sudden feelings of warmth all over the body experienced during menopause caused by fluctuating hormone levels. This causes discomfort and perspiration that can make a woman feel gross and irritated, especially if she isn’t in a position to remove clothing or take a shower.

• Vaginal dryness and irritation- Since estrogen is responsible for keeping the vaginal tissues moist, less estrogen means less moisture. This can make having sex uncomfortable and can turn a woman off from the idea of sex completely. Not only that but it increases the risk of contracting/developing infections such as urinary tract infections (UTIs) and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

• Insomnia- Many women experience sleep issues during menopause which can make her cranky and depressed. These sleep issues are mainly caused by other symptoms and worsen the emotional effects they cause. Night sweats can be very uncomfortable and keep you up at night.

• Irregular periods- During perimenopause where a woman still has periods, they can become longer and heavier. This can become annoying especially if it comes by surprise and can cause insecurity and anxiety about going certain places (e.g the beach ) or wearing certain things (e.g light-colored clothing)

What emotional and psychological effects should be expected?

Experiencing emotional and psychological side effects during menopause is quite normal. You can expect to have mood swings, feel sad, lack motivation, get irritable, have difficulty concentrating and even anxiety. While they can be expected, you won’t necessarily experience all of them since every woman is different.

Depression

Depression can start during the perimenopause stage because of the many changes happening inside and outside of your body.

If you were once in shape, you might start to experience fatigue and gain a couple of pounds. Some of your clothes might become tight and may not even fit at all. Your friends and family members might even start to make comments about your weight. This can cause feelings of sadness and turn you into a recluse.

Sex might not be the same for you since it takes longer for you to have an orgasm especially if your vagina is dry and irritated. Not having a good sex life can make you feel like a disappointment to your partner and can make you feel worthless.

Hopelessness is not uncommon nor is becoming disinterested in things that would normally excite you. You may even start to have new or intensified thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

Anxiety

Going through perimenopause can feel like starting your period all over again when your hormones were going crazy.

At this stage, your children might be looking to leave your nest, your parents are becoming older and your partner might be going through a midlife crisis. You are also going through changes yourself, with hot flashes knocking at your door one minute and the next you start to feel irritated. You might start to wonder how you come off to other people and your world might seem to be in a state of disarray.

All this can create feelings of anxiety and in some rare cases, some women experience panic and anxiety attacks.

Irritability

Menopause can cause you to become angry and irritable at things that would not be a big deal to many people.

The mere fact that you are becoming older and will not be able to enjoy the things as you did as a youth in a decade or two might cause you to expect resentment and even jealousy. Your body’s reaction to your hormone fluctuations such as hot flashes, headaches, and nausea might turn you into a ticking time bomb waiting to explode on the final straw that breaks the camel’s back.

This does not mean that you are a bad person and that you will be angry at everyone. This is a natural response but it can be managed.

Difficulty concentrating

While studies conducted on the relationship between menopause and cognitive function have proven to be inconsistent, there is no denying that many women experience difficulty concentrating when going through menopause.

Some women have even complained about experiencing memory loss and difficulties in processing their thoughts.

Mood swings

Going through menopause can feel like an emotional rollercoaster that can have you laughing at one minute and crying in the next.

It can make you feel like you are crazy and have other people convinced you are but it’s quite normal and should be expected during perimenopause when your hormones are at their most volatile.

How can they be managed?

If you don’t experience these symptoms of menopause then lucky for you because they aren’t fun.

But if you do, fret not. Here are some ways you can keep your “raging emotions” under control:

Eating healthy

What we eat has a bigger impact on mood than most of us realize.

For one, eating healthy can help you to lose weight or maintain a healthy body weight that can help to reduce the insecurity and depression surrounding weight gain during menopause.

Foods rich in estrogen such as soy, tofu, flaxseed, peaches, edamame, and certain berries can help to reduce the symptoms of menopause that cause emotional effects in the first place.

Removing certain foods that can trigger hot flashes from your diet such as spicy food, sugars, and caffeine can also provide relief. Reducing alcohol consumption and smoking may also be helpful.

Exercise

Exercise can help to improve confidence, body positivity and help you lose weight.  It can also stimulate “feel good” (endorphins) hormones which help to improve your mood and help you look at bright side of things instead of the dark side.

Swimming and yoga are low impact exercises that can have a calming effect while helping to keep you in shape. Breathing exercises also help to keep you calm and focused.

You can also try brain exercises such as sudoku, crossword puzzles and reading to help stimulate your brain. You can even try to learn a new language, sport or how to play an instrument to keep your brain active which can help to improve your memory and focus.

Find a hobby

Channeling negative thoughts and emotions into a hobby, especially once that is creative such as art, can help you to express your emotions in a positive way.

Taking up a project such as home improvement or gardening can help to reduce feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness and can give you the satisfaction and pride found in getting something done.

Talk about it

Talking about your emotional symptoms, especially with friends and family members who are going through or have gone through menopause can help to improve your mood.

Hearing their experiences can help to give give you a feeling of normalcy since you will realize that you aren’t alone, this isn’t uncommon and more importantly that you aren’t going crazy.

Seeing your doctor

If none of the above works and the symptoms are getting worse then you may want to give your doctor a visit. There you can discuss your symptoms and find the best treatment option for you.

Final Thoughts

Going through emotional changes during menopause does not make you weak or weird. It makes you normal.

You can expect to feel irritated, sad, distracted or anxious but you can manage these feelings through exercise and diet, taking on a new hobby, talking about it or with professional help.

Some of the symptoms are co contributor to you mental state and you might find out that once you control the physiological symptoms such as vaginal dryness, hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and weight gain them most of the psychological symptoms such as depression, irritability and mood swings might also improve.