Menopause and mental health

Hormones have a massive impact on our brain and our emotions. You might have been used to dealing with this throughout your life as your hormone levels change throughout the menstrual cycle.

But during the perimenopause or menopause, you may start to experience different or more intense emotional and cognitive symptoms. You might find that you:

• Feel more tearful
• Lack confidence and self-esteem or doubt yourself
• Are more irritable or quicker to anger
• Feel anxious
• Feel low or down
• Are more stressed
• Find it harder to concentrate and think clearly
• Experience anxiety or depression

These symptoms are caused by the changing hormone levels during the perimenopause.

Other factors that can affect your mental and emotional health

• Lack of sleep: If you find you’re not sleeping well, this can make your mental health symptoms worse.
• Changing relationships: Hormones can change your relationships with others and you may see yourself prioritising yourself more. These changes in your relationship with others can cause more stress and anxiety if there’s a lack of understanding or communication with those around you.
• Work pressure: The symptoms you’re experiencing might make work feel more challenging than before, which can affect your confidence and stress levels.
• Physical symptoms: Things like overactive bladder, a lower sex drive, hot flushes and brain fog can also affect how you see yourself and your self-esteem.

If you’re struggling with your emotional or mental health, don’t suffer in silence. You are not alone. Talking to others will help, whether that’s friends and relatives or in the workplace. there are lots of ways other people can support you.

There are also organisations that can help:

Queermenopause

Blogs and resources about menopause from an LGBT+ perspective.

Menopause Cafe

Events at cafes available for anyone to attend and talk about menopause 

Menopause Matters

Menopause information, and guidance and a forum to talk about menopause 

Self-care isn’t selfish – it’s necessary. Whether it’s taking time for yourself, seeking professional help, or simply resting when you need to, your well-being matters.

There are lots of treatment options that can help balance your hormone levels which can reduce both physical and mental/emotional symptoms. Take a look at our page on treatments to find out more.