Mental Health Matters: Prioritizing Wellbeing During Menopause

If you are around 40 or even in your early 40s, you must have faced issues like irritability, anger, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, poor concentration, forgetfulness, and all other mental health issues and emotions that you probably can’t keep count of. 

It happens, though; it’s natural, and all of us go through the same symptoms during this time. Yes, the fact that some of us have mild symptoms while others are injured (mentally) with the harshness of these symptoms is worth bawling your eyes. 

But fear not, Dames, this too shall pass. And you’ll come out strong and beautiful just the way you did in the past. In this article, we will discuss the one and many mental health issues that women go through and how we can deal with them. 

Understanding Menopause and its symptoms

It’s when you are freed of the deadly menstrual cycles that you realize that you have to go through a new series of changes within you. 

Menopause is a phase when you have stopped getting your menstrual cycles for a period of 12 months. During this phase, you’ll encounter a series of emotions and changes that may be alien to you but not to people out there. Menopause is a natural phase, and you can seek help from Simply Menopause for the best advice regarding the same. 

The common symptoms of Menopause include hot flashes, chills, mood changes, sleeping problems, vaginal dryness, night sweats, tiredness and fatigue, etc. It also has adverse effects on your mental health. For instance, you will feel irritable most of the time, you will be stressed and depressed, and will feel tired and fatigued.

Psychological impacts of mental health and learning to deal with them

While the physical symptoms, like hot flashes, mood changes, night sweats, etc., are well documented, the emotional or psychological aspects are often neglected. 

Menopause can have drastic effects on a woman’s mental health. The hormonal fluctuations and other changes in the body can trigger various mental health issues. 

Below are the common mental health challenges that you might have to deal with during Menopause: 

Mood Swings 

We are all aware of this, and the people around us have been our victims at least once in their lifetime. Mood swings are not only a common symptom during Menopause but also during our monthly menstrual cycles. More than 90% of women have reported experiencing these symptoms before their menstrual period. 

It happens because of hormonal fluctuations, which is why you may find yourself agitated on the slightest things and may even cry for no reason. 

Anxiety

Another common symptom of Menopause is anxiety. You might come across situations where you’ll experience sudden panic attacks, it may happen during Menopause or even after Menopause. 

Now, hot flashes and panic attacks are kind of similar yet quite different from one another. The similarity between hot flashes and panic attacks is that both these will leave you sweating and trembling. However, panic attacks leave you panting for breath, i.e., you will have difficulty breathing if you’ve had a panic attack, whereas hot flashes don’t make you feel short of breath. 

Depression 

Feeling low and constant mood swings are symptoms of Menopause. However, if you find yourself in a low mood for longer periods of time and lose interest in things that you were once interested in, you might be suffering from depression. 

Depression is a severe condition and has adverse effects on overall health. However, do not be too quick to decide that it is depression; analyze yourself and your activities or talk to someone who understands you. 

Insomnia 

Insomnia is another word for sleep disorder and is characterized by difficulty falling asleep or getting restful sleep. 

Even on our regular days, when we are not able to get sound sleep, we tend to stay irritated and tired for the whole day. During Menopause, Insomnia is very common and happens because of hot flashes mostly. 

Anger and Irritability

At times, you might feel angry or frustrated for no reason at all, these are common during your 40s and are symptoms of Menopause. 

It can even happen because of everyday stress like work pressures, financial concerns, etc.

Reduced Self Esteem

While reproducing is the essence of womanhood, the fact that you’re losing this might concern you and, in turn, make you question your worth. 

There might also be physical changes that might make you feel this way. All you can do is learn to embrace yourself. 

Although Menopause is a natural phase and does not need to be cured, there are women out there who might feel the symptoms way more than other women. 

It is just like us; each one of us is different and has different body requirements, which is why each one of us deals with menopause symptoms differently. Some women have mild symptoms, while others may have severe.

Below are some ways that can help you to lessen the impact of menopause symptoms on your mental health:

Open Communication

Communicating about how you’re feeling is way more effective than you thought. It’s a natural phase, and talking about anything that is bothering you or anything that you don’t understand or have difficulty dealing with will help you deal with these symptoms. 

You can talk to a friend, or you can seek professional help. 

Stress Management

Stress reduction techniques such as meditation, relaxation, or yoga can help release stress. 

Engage in activities that you enjoy or keep yourself busy, and at the same time, try not to burden yourself with a lot of work pressure, these can help relieve unwanted thoughts. 

Lifestyle Changes

Since there are so many hormonal and physical changes, why not change the way you look? 

Getting a haircut, trying some new outfits, adapting to a healthy lifestyle, and exercising on a regular basis can have massive impacts on your overall health. 

Exercising regularly not only keeps you fit but also keeps your mind fresh and free from stress. 

Educate yourself

The most basic and the best thing that you can do for yourself is educate yourself about all the changes that are happening inside of you. 

Talking to other women of the same age might help to a lot of extent, but seeking professional help is the best possible option for you. 

If you are aware of what you’re dealing with, it gets easier to react to the changes and deal with them. 

Stay Connected

Adopting the strategy of being lonesome and dealing with everything in closed spaces of your house is not the way to deal with Menopause. 

Menopause is vast and needs not only your attention but also the people living with you. 

Staying connected to your social circles and going out often will keep you fresh and updated. 

Conclusion

Calling Menopause a natural phase does not make dealing with it easier. However, taking precautions, being aware, and following the guidelines above can help you to a lot of extent. 

It might even happen that these strategies might not help you, in that case, visit your doctor and seek professional help. Talking about Menopause is no big deal, and all of us go through this, if not today, perhaps tomorrow. 

I hope this article helps you in relieving the symptoms of Menopause.