Menopause and Anxiety: Support for Women Going Through Menopause

Menopause, and the years leading up to “the change” known as perimenopause, is a time of extreme shifting in a woman’s life. Not only are hormones like estrogen declining, but by the time a woman reaches the age of menopause, she often carries a greater number of responsibilities.

A woman approaching menopause may:

• Decide to switch jobs or start a business.
• Go back to school.
• Care for aging parents.
• Raise teens or younger children.
• Navigate marriage or divorce.
• Deal with mental conditions like anxiety and depression.
• Struggle with weight gain from the decline in hormones.
• Struggle with self-esteem and confidence.

Unfortunately, disorders such as panic disorder and anxiety can develop during menopause. But there are things you can do to help ease the effects of menopause and anxiety.

Symptoms of Menopause

The symptoms of menopause vary, and not every woman experiences the same symptoms. One woman may have irregular periods without any of the other symptoms, while another woman seems to cycle through the list. Each woman’s body is unique, but the process ends the same: the end of the reproductive years and the beginning of a new era.

• Irregular periods leading to the absence of the menstruation cycle.
• Mood swings.
• Hot flashes.
• Anxiety.
• Depression.
• Achy joints and headaches.
• Insomnia.
• Dry skin and hair.
• Weight gain.

Many of the menopausal symptoms are like other conditions. You will want to discuss your symptoms with your primary physician or gynecologist. They can determine if you are moving toward perimenopause or close to the end of the transition into menopause.

Factors that Contribute to Menopause and Anxiety

Besides the timing of when you begin perimenopause until you reach menopause, other factors can contribute to anxiety.

The hormones estrogen and progesterone decline gradually as you approach menopause. These hormones are responsible for the release of fertile eggs from the ovaries. As the hormones decrease, the ovaries stop releasing eggs, and eventually, menstruation stops. This process seems quicker for some women as their period never resumes. In other women, they may experience irregular periods for several months or years until menstruation ceases.

Like premenstrual syndrome, mood swings can intensify as the hormones continue to decline. The symptoms of menopause and anxiety combined during this time may escalate.

This is also the season in a woman’s life that signals the end of the childbearing years. Even if a woman chooses never to have children, the awareness that she is on the other side of a biological clock can make her focus on her mortality. If aging is a concern or a fear, this can cause anxiety and depression to worsen.

Tips for Fighting Anxiety

With menopause and anxiety, you must learn to create a balance in your life. You may have family, work, friends, household, organizations, and other responsibilities, but if you do not take time to care for yourself, you can experience burnout and physical illness.

The following is a list of tips for alleviating the symptoms of menopause and anxiety.

Fight for your self-care

It isn’t easy to separate your needs from those of your family. You want what is best for them, and if you are a parent or the caregiver to aging parents, you may place your needs on the back burner. This may not be by choice, as time constraints from fulfilling responsibilities can smother what little time you have to yourself.

Here is the truth: you are no help to anyone if you are not healthy. This means that taking time to attend to your needs is not selfish; it is necessary. You must protect the time to keep up with annual doctor appointments and screenings. Schedule time on your calendar to do things that are important to you and bring you joy.

For example, take a monthly calendar and schedule your annual appointments and screenings during your birthday month, so they will be easy to remember. Do you need to get your hair done? At the start of each new month, schedule important “dates” you want to keep with yourself. It could be something as simple as a solo lunch date to a café and a bookstore on a Thursday.

You make the rules for your self-care. The overflow of self-acceptance and love will spill out to your family.

Puzzle it out

As your hormones continue to decrease, you may experience memory lapses. Are you suddenly forgetting important details, like where you placed your keys or that you needed to fill the gas tank before you started on a long journey? Some people call these memory lapses “brain fog” because it can feel as if you are walking through a cognitive haze.

The best way to keep your mind sharp is to work puzzles. Word search, crossword, Sudoku, and jigsaw puzzles are excellent for working the mind. You can also find adult memory games online.

Make it a goal to learn something new. When we concentrate on learning a new subject or language, we force our brains to create new pathways. Is there a language you have always wanted to learn? What about a particular topic? Some women find that the menopausal years are an excellent time to take certification classes or work on a degree program. Find what works for you.

Practice relaxation techniques

You may have heard more about relaxation techniques since the pandemic’s beginning. As people were isolated for long periods, their anxiety and depression grew from the uncertainty. Since reopening and ending lockdowns, relaxation activities like deep breathing and meditation have continued.

Starting and ending your day with a brief pause to breathe deeply can help you relax and process emotions. Try lying in bed and inhaling a deep breath through your nose to fill your lungs with life-giving oxygen. We do not realize it, but often our breathing is shallow. Focusing on your breath will help you to feel your lungs expand.

Hold this breath for a few beats, then exhale slowly through your mouth. As you exhale, relax your muscles, concentrating on each body part from your head to your feet. Repeat a few times before getting up for the day or going to sleep.

Move every day

As part of your self-care, you must move more every day. Our bodies were not created to remain stationary. Physical exercise keeps the body healthy, improves the cardiorespiratory system, boosts the immune system, lessens aches and pains, keeps you flexible, and improves balance. Exercise forces oxygen into the cells, making it easier to think. Physical activity also lowers blood pressure, regulates heart rate, relieves stress and anxiety, and reduces your risk of diseases.

If you feel you do not have time to work out, look at your schedule. Do you have 15 minutes to spare? Your time on social media could be used for a quick brisk walk.

What about setting your alarm for 30 minutes earlier? Getting up earlier is hard initially, but you are a woman dealing with menopause and anxiety. You can do hard things. Once you start exercising earlier in the morning and notice a difference in your energy level and self-esteem, it will become easier. It also sets the tone for your day.

Seek help for anxiety

You have enough responsibilities to carry in this season of your life without adding menopause and anxiety to the list. Yet, menopause is a natural change necessary to signal the end of menstruation.

If you are experiencing anxiety symptoms, contact our office today to schedule an appointment with a counselor specializing in women’s issues. The perimenopause years preceding menopause can seem long and contribute to anxiety. The good news is that once hormones stabilize and you adapt to the new “normal,” you will begin to feel better.

Call us today. We would love to help you learn how to create balance, manage stress and anxiety, and work through this time.