WOMEN: EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO THE MENOPAUSE
Posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 8:28 amThere seems no doubt that mood сchanges around the menopause are influenced by a lack of oestrogen, but your feelings about
getting older and reaching the end of your fertile years also play a part in your emotional response. Physical symptoms can also affect your mood. If your sleep is disturbed by frequent sweats, it’s not surprising that you feel tired, lethargic and irritable during the day, and have trouble concentrating and making decisions.
Physical symptoms may make difficulties for you at home, at work or socially because your family, colleagues and friends don’t understand what’s happening to you. Some women may be embarrassed or unwilling to complain of menopausal symptoms because of the old attitudes (which still prevail in some quarters) that it’s bad form to speak of such things that women should ‘put up with it grow old gracefully’. There’s no graceful about drenching hot flushes,
splitting headaches or depression!
Other women have told me that; are afraid to admit to menopausal toms for fear of being assumed to be ‘over the hill’ or ‘past it’ and thus less competent, rather than being judged fairly on their performance. In a society that values promise and smooth face of youth maturity, older women are often caricatured as unattractive, ill-tempered or doddery figures of derision. Such attitudes don’t do anything for the self-esteem and confidence of middle-aged women. Other things may be causing emotional stress. Middle age can be hectic! You may lie worried about the health of your partner, elderly parents or others. Middle-aged women take on the biggest load of caring for the older generation. This can take a big toll on their physical and emotional energy.
Your own or your partner’s retrenchment may bring financial problems you didn’t expect. Retirement can be hard to adjust to.
Loneliness may follow marriage breakup or death of your partner. Your children maybe growing up and moving away from home, leaving a gap in your life that’s hard to fill, though I think the ‘empty nest’ has been overemphasized as a cause of depression in middle-aged women. Many women are relieved when the children become independent, leaving them extra time (and funds!) to devote to themselves and their partners and friends, careers and other interests. Nevertheless, when the children leave home, it certainly changes the marriage dynamics. It’s a time of life when everything that happens points unswervingly to the fact that we are no longer young: grey hairs! wrinkles! spectacles needed for reading! grandchildren! And then there’s the menopause, a clear signpost that we have arrived at middle age.
Reaching middle age means taking a new look at yourself and your place in your family and community. Be proud of your maturity: don’t deny it! It’s time to review what you want from the rest of your life; time to make some plans so that you can enjoy the years ahead to the full. Let one of these plans be to take steps to ensure the best possible health for the rest of your life.
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