Navigating mood changes in the peri menopause
It’s Mental health awareness month and perimenopause is an important part of the discussion.
I am 44 now and I’ve noticed various changes in my body and mood in the last few years, but I feel lucky that I now have the knowledge I need to navigate this new life stage. I’m going in to it with my eyes wide open! I know many of my friends are already facing challenges - irritability, changes in their cycle, trouble sleeping, feeling irrational, anxiety, angry, vaginal dryness, hot flushes.
Perimenopause is the period of time leading up to the menopause (when periods cease) and can last many years, so we need to lay the foundations now.
Why does our mood become so impacted in perimenopause?
Your brain contains oestrogen receptors (in other words, lots of little locks to put your oestrogen keys to go into). In the perimenopause, our sex hormones will fluctuate a lot in either direction with both highs and lows of oestrogen. Also, progesterone starts to decline more steadily. When we have the lows in these sex hormones, our mood can suffer because there are less keys to put in your locks. Oestrogen is important for the neurotransmitter, serotonin and progesterone has a ‘zen’ like effect in the body.
So, effectively, oestrogen is protective for our brain.
Serotonin converts to melatonin which helps us to sleep so poor sleep can be a knock on effect of this life stage. You might find counting sheep doesn’t work for you anymore. Incidentally, melatonin is also a potent antioxidant so we also have to work a bit harder on calming our inflammation too. Tall order isn’t it!
What are the key take aways here?
Mood changes in perimenopause are more to do with the big fluctuations in hormones rather than the lower absolute levels so in most cases, your body and mind will adjust.
If I was only allowed to give you one bit of advice, it would be to do the foundational work right now. The more you enter this stage with hormonal balance, the better you will fare generally. That IBS you’ve always had, the constipation, the sinus pain, the heavy periods, they are all warning whispers from your body that it wants some attention.
Stress management is key because your adrenals glands will take on some of the role of producing oestrogen when your ovaries make less.
We become more catabolic than anabolic meaning we lose overall muscle mass, so helping to maintain muscle mass becomes much more important. Time to dust off those weights. I just do 15 minutes each morning while the kettle boils – I believe in baby steps.
We naturally become a bit more ‘insulin resistant’ so good nutrition (particularly looking at alcohol and sugar intake), exercise, good quality sleep and stress management are really important. Insulin resistance means, your body finds it a bit harder to make energy (we have to work harder at helping glucose get into our cells in other words). If the glucose cannot be used in the cells as energy, it can be stored as fat so this is why we might put some weight on during this time.
Whilst its not necessary welcome, or easy to accept, putting a little bit of weight on around our middle is a protective measure because we can make a bit of oestrogen this way through a process called ‘aromatisation’
There are many different natural interventions we can take to manage the various symptoms when perimenopause comes but what can we do in the meantime?
Phytoestrogens are plant based compounds that mimic oestrogen in the body so phytoestrogenic foods are helpful. Tofu, tempeh, nato, miso, soy sauce, edamame beans, flax seeds
Your vagus nerve is the huge motorway between your gut health and your brain so poor gut health will impact your hormonal balance so ensuring you have tip top gut health will really help. I use comprehensive stool tests with a fantastic laboratory to check for any kind of bacterial overgrowths, pathogens, yeast (and indeed if there are not enough of the good guys).
Self care is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. A great excuse to live a bit differently if you need one. There’s a ‘PAUSE’ in the word peri-menopause for a reason. Self care varies for everyone - it’s not all hot baths and chocolate, it might be about boundaries and re evaluating friendships.
Dark green leafy veg are rich in vitamin K which will help protect your bone density as will vitamin D and magnesium. Calcium is important but it’s not the only nutrient healthy bones need.
Omega 3 – its important to nourish our mucous membranes that tend to get more dry (vaginal dryness is a common symptom). Good sources of omega 3 like small oily fish are important (sardines, mackerel, anchovies, salmon, herring) as well as staying well hydrated. Omega 3 is also hugely protective when it comes to mood. Use the code Katherine10 for 10% of my preferred product from Bare Biology.
I love supporting women through this transition for various reasons - I am also in my perimenopause years and my clients appreciate being supported by someone who can relate. Also, I believe menopause has a rather bad reputation in our society. It’s not easy and it’s important every woman gets the right kind of support. Whilst some sort of hormonal support may be necessary for some women, I believe in exploring all the natural options first (remember we are all unique and no one size fits all).
If you want support navigating this new life stage with more ease, book a free introductory call with me below. I can work with you on my 1, 3, 6 month package, or indeed beyond. I can help with nutrition, lifestyle, supplements and testing.
In the meantime, if you want some bedtime reading, I really recommend the ‘Hormone repair manual, healthy hormones after 40’ by Dr Lara Briden.
Book a free introductory call to discuss working together to support you on your peri menopause journey