Why do we get anxiety in perimenopause /menopause?
It's caused by hormone fluctuation which in turn affects the andrenaline glands and increases the the flight or fight feeling which leaves us feeling anxious. Not that this knowledge helps one little bit when we are up there in the anxiety levels. What have you tried to calm yourself?
I’m mew to this crappy perimeter journey but I’m learning along with everyone on here..and yes it’s the crazy fluctuations of hormones that cause anxiety and sometimes depression. All the hormones that normally regulate emotions, adrenaline, even sleep patterns go crazy and cause anxiety. I had no idea how awful it would be until I turned 46 and it all hit me. The only things that slightly work are staying hydrated, walking for 20-30 minutes a few times a week and just generally trying to rest and take care of myself ..which is hard with life’s normal demands..but now at the holidays I’m an absolute wreck to be honest. Just taking it day by day is all we can do..it’s something you hear all the time but truly this is all we can do.
As already mentioned its cause by adrenaline and cortisol. Without the female hormones the body releases these stress hormones to help regulate the basic running of your body. Yes it helps with that but it also has the knock on effect of anxiety and stress symptoms for no reason, you also feel a marked increase of agitation , not been able to sit still etc, hard to concentrate focus eyes, its all part of the same thing.
Also without the female hormones your brain struggles to regulate serotonin in the brain, so you get a double wammy , this causes both anxiety and depression and general feelings of being low and struggling to cope with normal things . This is why they often prescribe anti depressants to help while going through menopause. Also why people who have been treated for depression and anxiety issues in the past suddenly find that their meds seem to stop working, this actually isnt so, its just that everything has ramped up 4 or 5 times so there current does is now of little to no use to help the issue. It does settle in time as your body adjust to all these changes.
Another point.. weight gain! women suddenly start gaining weight even though their diet is the same. This is caused by the body turning pretty much everything you eat into fat. This is a reason why we suddenly feel so drained and have no energy. Your body does this as it knows that fat cells are a goof producer of female hormones (estrogen) so by piling on the weight it is in fact trying to fix itself in some small way while everything adjusts and settles down.