Menopause and anxiety
Feeling tense, jittery, on edge, irritable, or finding you’re worrying all the time? Maybe you’ve started to avoid social situations. Sound familiar? If it does, you may be dealing with menopause and anxiety. It can be difficult to manage and yet it’s a really common menopausal symptom with many treatment options available.
DEFINITION OF ANXIETY
Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion except when it impacts your day-to-day life, which can often happen with menopause and anxiety. Mild anxiety can feel vague and unsettling, while severe anxiety could seriously affect day-to-day living. It can alter how you process emotions and behaviour, while causing some more physical symptoms.
Anxiety can appear as feelings of tension, fear or worried thoughts. Physical symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, chills, heart palpitations, chronic sweating, nausea and vomiting, muscle tension, trembling, increased blood pressure or a rapid heartbeat.
People with anxiety disorders, such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or panic disorders, tend to have more intrusive recurring thoughts or concerns, and may avoid certain situations out of worry.
Start your free online menopause assessment to see if HRT is right for you
HOW LIKELY IS ANXIETY?
- 1 in 4 experience menopause anxiety symptoms
- Anxiety or feelings of anxiousness can co-occur with depressive symptoms too. Read more about menopause and depression
- If you had postnatal depression or a history of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), it’s more likely that you’ll experience anxiety-type symptoms during menopause
- Those who had high anxiety premenopause may still be anxious during menopause but are not at increased risk of higher anxiety during the stages of menopause
- Those who had low anxiety premenopausally may be more susceptible to high anxiety during and after menopause
Read more about the stages of menopause.
What are the signs of anxiety?
Panic attacks, uncontrollable feelings of worry, feeling of impending doom, restlessness or feeling on edge
Physical symptoms, such as nausea, heart palpitations
Increased irritability
Sleep difficulties or difficulty concentrating
Read more about panic attacks and sleep issues.
HOW CAN YOU REDUCE MENOPAUSE ANXIETY?
1. Talking therapy. Talk to your doctor about cognitive behaviour therapy, which can help low mood and anxiety
2. Increase exercise. Ensure that you are getting enough exercise – studies show that moderate to vigorous physical activity is related to an uplift in mood
3. Manage stress. Yoga, Tai Chi and meditation may help
4. Good sleep hygiene. Keep a regular bedtime and wake time to get good quality sleep
5. Wind down before bed. Avoid using any screens before bed (including phones, computers and televisions)
WOULD HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (HRT) HELP?
Yes. HRT is known to improve sleep, mood and hot flushes during menopause. However, HRT comes with risks and is not suitable for everyone. Speak to your doctor about your personal treatment options.
ANXIETY AND MENOPAUSE
It’s straight back to your fluctuating hormone levels, specifically oestrogen and progesterone, that can cause changes in mood, but it’s not the only factor that can cause menopause anxiety.
Menopause is a big life change that can rattle your self-image. For some, no longer being able to have children can trigger feelings of anxiety and loss – especially if you have experienced infertility or pregnancy loss previously.
Hot flushes and anxiety symptoms have a “chicken-and-egg” type of relationship, if you have more physical symptoms of anxiety then you’re more likely to experience hot flushes and vice versa.
Read more about how to manage menopause and the mental chaos of anxiety.
Menopause anxiety can trigger your flight-or-fight response and release a flood of hormones and chemicals, like adrenaline, into your system.
This can contribute to an increased pulse and breathing rate. Also, if you have IBS, anxiety may trigger symptoms. You may also experience a shortness of breath. You can also feel very angry or tearful, or a range of other emotions.
Getting repeatedly anxious can increase your risks of:
- High blood pressure
- Sleep issues
- Long-term depression
- Social isolation
Recent research has revealed a link between hot flushes and heart health – adjusting lifestyle factors can minimise your risk. Read how walking helped Ida beat low mood.
Recent research (although indirect) has revealed a link between a lack of sleep and dementia. With more than two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients being women, managing hot flushes and night sweats is important for long-term brain health.
It might be a good time to talk to your doctor or someone you trust about menopause and anxiety if you feel that you might be anxious or have severe symptoms that make day-to-day living feel tough.
Stella has helped me gain control of my thoughts.”
- Anxiety, APA
- What to know about anxiety, Medical News
- Anxiety, Gen M
- Siegel AM, Mathews SB. Diagnosis and treatment of anxiety in the aging woman. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015 Dec;17(12):93.
- Is Menopause making me anxious, Healthline
- Menopause and depression, Menopause doctor
- Bromberger JT, Kravitz HM, Chang Y, et al. Does risk for anxiety increase during the menopausal transition? Study of women’s health across the nation. Menopause. 2013;20(5):488-495. doi:10.1097/GME.0b013e3182730599
- Menopause anxiety, Center for Anxiety Disorders
- Understanding Hot Flashes, Healthline
- Freeman EW, Sammel MD. Anxiety as a risk factor for menopausal hot flashes: evidence from the Penn Ovarian Aging cohort. Menopause. 2016;23(9):942-949. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000000662
