Menopause happens at a time in your life when you may be under stress due to aging parents, empty nests, and your own process of getting older. Add to it the hormonal shifts caused by decreasing levels of estrogen and progesterone, and your mental health may suffer.

Hot flashes, night sweats, unwanted weight gain, and changes in your sex life can make you anxious, self-conscious, or depressed. You may find it hard to cope with day-to-day life due to your symptoms and feelings of frustration. That’s OK – Abundant Life Healthcare is here to help.

Understand that it’s completely normal to experience mental health changes as you transition through menopause. As your hormones shift, you’re more vulnerable to developing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Abundant Life Healthcare offers strategies and treatments to help you through any mental health shifts you’re experiencing.

Depression is real during menopause

You may feel a little sad now and then or have a bad day. This is completely normal. But, persistent tearfulness, hopelessness, and emptiness could be a sign of depression. If you are easily irritated, have angry outbursts, feel guilty or agitated, have trouble concentrating, don’t have interest in your favorite activities, or experience a lack of energy or motivation, talk to us about these symptoms. We at Abundant Life Healthcare are available to help.

Lifestyle changes

A first step toward overcoming depression and mental health changes that happen with depression may be simple, but effective, changes to your lifestyle. Get out and exercise more, quit smoking, eat a balanced diet, limit alcohol consumption, ensure a good night’s sleep, and seek support from friends and family.

Sometimes, just a shift in your habits and perspective can help you through this difficult time.

Hormone therapy

Lifestyle changes aren’t always enough, however, to overcome serious symptoms of depression. At Abundant Life Healthcare, Dr. Marc Jean-Gilles may suggest hormone replacement therapy to bring your estrogen and progesterone levels back into balance. Research shows that hormone therapy can effectively improve symptoms of depression and anxiety in menopausal women without any negative effects on cognition.

Estrogen therapy may be offered orally, as a patch, or as pellets inserted just under your skin for a consistent release of hormones. A bonus of hormone therapy is that it also helps curb the physical effects of menopause, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness, so you physically feel better every day, too.

Other mental health treatment strategies

Hormone therapy may be offered in conjunction with other strategies, such as antidepressant medications and talk therapy. Some women with specific health conditions, such as a history of breast cancer, aren’t eligible for hormone therapy, and may choose these alternative treatments, too.

Know that you don’t just have to accept feeling bad or hopeless as you transition through menopause. Effective, safe treatments are available. The team at Abundant Life Healthcare helps give you the strategies and care necessary to cope with mental and physical changes. Call the office, or schedule an appointment using the online tool to learn more about the most effective menopause support for you.