Menopause and the mind
Hormonal imbalances cause a whole host of unwelcome changes throughout the menopause. While the physical changes can have dramatic and often unexpected consequences, it is the cognitive effects of hormonal imbalance that can often prove the most disconcerting for women of a menopausal age.
This can take the form of anything from forgetfulness to fatigue – but there is an answer that naturally restores balance to your mind and body, without the concerning health risks of HRT, and that’s restorative medicine.
So what are the potential psychological effects of the menopause if left untreated?
1. Anxiety
Reduced levels of oestrogens circulating in the bloodstream can cause intense anxiety during the menopause. A lack of these hormones causes irregular production of serotonin and dopamine – the neurotransmitters that control your emotions. This might cause you to experience an anxiety attack, or a series of attacks in succession that can then lead to depression if left unchecked.
2. Mood swings
Mood swings are a fact of life for many, but can be greatly exacerbated by the hormonal imbalance that affects you during perimenopause and menopause. Even if triggered by something innocuous, the feeling is very real and can be debilitating. Again, this is caused by reduced oestrogens levels affecting neurotransmitters, but can also be worsened by other menopausal symptoms.
3. Fatigue
The debilitating feeling of fatigue is a sure sign of hormonal imbalance. During perimenopause and menopause, your energy levels may drop, making you feel weak and listless – like a light has been switched off. A whole range of hormones are associated with fatigue: progesterone and oestrogens control mood and sexual desire, while the relation of cortisol levels to Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) can cause increased stress.
4. Foggy memory
You’ve probably heard of a ‘menopausal moment’, and while this falls some way short of a compassionate and supportive outlook, foggy memory is the reason this saying gained popularity. The signs can be subtle: you might start misplacing items, forgetting people’s birthdays or losing your train of thought. Whatever the signs, memory lapses are caused by a decline in oestrogens and the de-stabilisation of stress hormones.
5. Insomnia
Insomnia during the perimenopause and menopause is a vicious circle. Affecting women up to seven years before the menopause truly commences, insomnia is caused by hormonal imbalances – but sleep is the only process by which the hormones you need can be regenerated. Insomnia can have dramatic effects on daytime functionality, as well as raising the risk, in the long-term, of secondary health conditions such as heart disease.
Restorative medicine
How can it help?
Bioidentical Hormone Restorative Therapy not only helps you to regain your optimal hormonal composition, it also enables you to avoid the health risks associated with synthetic treatments.
Achieving this chemical balance helps to address all of the hormonal symptoms of the menopause, not just physical conditions like weight gain, hot flushes and a reduced immune system, but also cognitive faculties.
What are the benefits over conventional treatment?
Bioidentical hormones are an exact match for compounds found within the body and so can be fully metabolised, but synthetic hormones are an alien chemical make-up that cannot be read, fully understood, used and excreted by the body. A whole series of studies have found that synthetic HRT compounds create an unacceptable risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease, as well as failing to work as effectively as restorative medicine.
While the maximum length of treatment for conventional HRT is just five years as a result of these risks, bioidentical hormones can be used for life with no secondary side effects. Synthetic hormones are designed by drug companies as a one-size-fits-all solution, but in contrast, restorative medicine is tailored by specialists to each individual’s hormonal composition, helping to restore the real you.
Find out how you can use restorative medicine to re-discover your balance and avoid any loss of control over your head space.
I’ve heard magnesium is good for fatigue. Are supplements a good idea during the perimenopause?
Hi there, thank you for commenting. Yes Magnesium supplements can help, but please make sure you get the right supplement and right amounts. See my post on supplements here.
https://menopausewoman.com/blog/2015/should-we-take-vitamin-supplements/
I have already almost gone through the menopause. Still have the occasional hot flush but what annoys me most is the dryness of my skin and also in intimate parts. The funny thing is that since I started using a supplement to try and get rid of my fibro pains I also have better skin now plus am less dry in the regions I mentioned earlier 😉
Hi Ria, I understand the dryness. So many women don’t want to discuss this, but it is so very important to bring it out into the open – it is part of who and what we are. It is important to both our physical and mental health and wellbeing.. I wrote about how “I lost my Vagina” here. https://menopausewoman.com/blog/2015/have-you-lost-your-vagina-or-has-it-lost-you/ Are you taking any kind of supplements that help with the dry skin. I’d be interested to know if you found anything that helped. I think you mentioned a name on another post.
Yes indeed, it’s an embarrassing subject but I agree with you that it should be brought out in the open. When I posted about it on my Facebook page a while ago I got some weird replies but I know many women are suffering from this condition. I am very happy to say I found a product which not only has helped the drynes go away but it also helps my skin, my hair is getting thicker and healthier and my nails are growing strong again and are shiny. I am almost 64 years young I can happily say now 😉 It is beneficial for people with all kinds of ailments and I recommend it to everybody. I could post my link to the product here but don’t know if that is allowed?