How Menopause Can Impact Mental Health

CLEVELAND - When it comes to menopause, we often hear about how it can impact a woman’s physical health, but it can affect mental health too. 

“Menopause technically, it starts when you have your last final menstrual period. But for a lot of women, they start to experience mood changes well before that, in that period that we call either the late reproductive stage or perimenopause, as is more commonly known. And that can start almost a full 5 to 10 years before your final menstrual period,” said Lulu Zhao, MD, a physician who specializes in mood disorders at Cleveland Clinic. 

Dr. Zhao said during perimenopause, a woman’s hormone patterns can become erratic, which can in turn impact mental health. 

For example, they may start to feel more irritable, lack patience or even experience symptoms of anxiety and depression. 

She said these changes can worsen mood symptoms we might already be prone to because of life stressors or other changes that tend to occur during this time of life. 

The good news, however, is that there are many treatment options available.

“We have a lot more tools in our box than we used to have. Truthfully, treatment has to be individualized for every woman because it depends on what her symptoms are, how severe they are, what phase of the menopausal transition she's in, and what are her medical histories that might make certain treatments safer than others,” she said.

Dr. Zhao said there are also lifestyle changes a woman can make to help improve mental health, including improving sleep, diet and regularly exercising.