Menopause, a natural stage in every woman's life, is a crucial time when we must learn to accompany the significant changes it brings. During this process, which can last several years, women experience a series of physiological and emotional changes due to hormonal fluctuations.

More and more women are approaching or experiencing menopause, and with our increasing life expectancy, we spend a significant part of our lives in postmenopause. This makes understanding the important changes brought by this process even more crucial.

What happens to emotions during menopause?

Mood swings are among the most common symptoms of menopause, including variations in emotions such as sadness, anxiety, and stress. These emotional changes can significantly affect our quality of life, making this phase especially challenging for many women.

Often, many of us wonder, "How can I get rid of sadness during menopause?" or "How can I stop the bad mood during menopause?"
To mitigate these highs and lows and stop feeling like a roller coaster, Days of Confidence helps you understand the mechanisms behind these mood swings, so you can learn to control them and make a big difference for women going through menopause.

Join us in analyzing the most common symptoms, their causes, and the most effective strategies to reduce and manage these emotional changes. Additionally, we will discuss when it is important to seek professional help and the importance of being well-informed to understand this stage and its changes.

Mood Swings and Hormones During Menopause

What are the mood swings like during menopause?

Hormonal changes, especially the decrease in estrogen and progesterone, play a fundamental role in the occurrence of these emotional changes. Sadness, anxiety, and stress can arise due to the complex interaction between hormones and neurotransmitters in our brain.
 

How and why do mood swings occur during menopause?

Menopause represents not only a physical change but also an emotional transformation of great importance. Why is this? The changes in our hormone levels during this stage are the main cause of the emotional alterations associated with menopause.

What are the most common mood swings during menopause and why do they occur?

Are you still unsure why you are feeling this way? The main culprits are the levels of estrogen and progesterone, two female sex hormones that decrease significantly during menopause.

This hormonal variation affects the production and functioning of neurotransmitters in our brain, such as serotonin and dopamine. But what do these neurotransmitters do? They regulate important functions like sleep, hunger, and mood, processes that, if disrupted, can upset the functioning of our entire body.

For example, estrogen has a significant effect on serotonin, the neurotransmitter associated with happiness. Therefore, the reduction of estrogen levels can decrease serotonin production, leading to feelings of sadness and depression during menopause.

Sadness and Depression

Did you know that women are 40% more likely to experience depression during perimenopause? This is stated in the study "The Risk of Depression in the Stages of Menopause: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis" published in Elsevier.

The increase in feelings of sadness is very common for many women during menopause. As we have explained, the reduction of estrogen affects the regulation of neurotransmitters in the brain, which can decrease our ability to experience happiness and increase feelings of sadness.

What should I do to know if I have depression during menopause?

We will explain later when to worry and seek experts to help us. The mission of Days of Confidence is to accompany every woman throughout this process so that we can all experience menopause with confidence and fullness.

Anxiety

In addition to depression, there is also a higher risk of anxiety during menopause. 

Do you know what menopause anxiety feels like?

“It is important to differentiate when anxiety is a normal symptom in response to certain everyday stressful situations and when it begins to present irrationally... or when the duration is prolonged or causes severe dysfunction in the patient,” explains the study "Anxiety Disorders During the Transition to Menopause" published in Elsevier.

Why does this happen? 

Why does this happen? Hormonal fluctuations can increase the activity of the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in the stress response, leading to greater feelings of anxiety. Additionally, the decrease in progesterone, a hormone with a relaxing effect, can contribute to increased anxiety levels.

Stress

Stress can also be increased by the physical and emotional changes during menopause.

Why? In this case, the reduction of estrogen and progesterone levels affects the body's ability to manage stress, making women more sensitive to stressful situations. Additionally, the physical symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes and night sweats, can disrupt sleep, further increasing stress in our bodies.

Why do mood swings occur, and how can I treat them?

If you want to end this emotional roller coaster, you should know that the causes of these mood swings are varied. In addition to the hormonal imbalances of menopause, there are factors such as daily stress, health and aging concerns, and changes in mood, along with the multiple factors that affect our emotions daily. All of this can contribute to making our emotions more unstable.

How to overcome sadness during menopause?

To cope with this stage of greater emotional instability, we can incorporate changes in our daily activity and diet that will help keep sadness and anxiety at bay.

• Get moving!
  

Did you know that exercise helps release endorphins, the famous "happiness hormones"? Exercise is our greatest ally to feel good and counteract hormonal fluctuations.

Moreover, the outdoors, sunlight, and nature improve our mood and reduce stress. Try it all in one! A study published in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation states that endorphins released during exercise can improve mood in people with mild or moderate depression.

Sex also plays a special role here, as during sexual activity, we release oxytocin and dopamine, neurotransmitters that make us feel good. Although it is common to feel a decrease in libido or increased vaginal dryness during menopause, we can find remedies to continue our sexual life and help us feel good.

• Don't forget the diet:

We know that a balanced diet rich in essential nutrients is the engine of brain health, so imagine what focusing on our eating habits during this stage can do for you.

What is most important for our brain function at this time? Foods rich in tryptophan, for example, help synthesize serotonin. This amino acid is present in whole grains, legumes, lean meats, salmon, pineapple, banana, artichoke, dairy, tuna, nuts, or dark chocolate.

• Take care of your loved ones and let yourself be cared for:

Maintaining our social relationships is very important for our mental health throughout life, but it becomes even more important during more hormonally unstable stages to help keep our emotions balanced.

• Hormone Therapy:
  

Did you know that hormone therapy can help relieve menopause symptoms, including mood swings? This therapy usually includes estrogen and sometimes progesterone, which help stabilize hormone levels and improve mood.

When should I seek professional help?

Although mood swings are common during menopause, it is important to know when to seek professional help. You should consider talking to a doctor or therapist when the symptoms make it difficult to live your daily life as usual. This means when sadness, anxiety, or stress become so intense or variable that they hinder your daily functioning.

At that moment, it is important to be informed and seek professional help that can accompany us and, if necessary, tell us which is the best antidepressant for menopause in our case.

Also, when emotional symptoms persist over time or worsen, it is important for a health professional to help identify and treat the causes.

On the other hand, when difficulty sleeping or changes in appetite become a problem in our daily life, we should also seek support before the situation can worsen due to a combination of factors.

Of course, if symptoms of depression worsen or self-harm or suicidal thoughts appear, do not hesitate to urgently seek a professional to help control and regulate these emotions.

In conclusion, sadness, anxiety, and stress are common mood swings during menopause, mainly driven by hormonal fluctuations. Understanding these changes and knowing how to manage them can significantly improve the quality of life during this stage.

At Days of Confidence, we remind you that it is essential to know that you are not alone in this experience and that there are many strategies and treatments available to help you navigate and overcome the emotional challenges that accompany this stage of our lives.

References

• Anxiety disorders during the menopausal transition, Elsevier.

• The risk of depression in the menopausal stages: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Elsevier.

• Physical Activity and Health During the Menopausal Transition, National Library of Medicine.

• Estrogen replacement therapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder in perimenopausal women, National Library of Medicine.

• Tai Chi helps prevent osteoporosis during menopause, El Mundo Salud.

• Hormones and menopausal status as predictors of depression in women in transition to menopause, Archives of General Psychiatry.

• Duration of menopausal vasomotor symptoms over the menopause transition, JAMA Internal Medicine.

• Menopausal symptoms and their management. Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America