Hot flashes and mood swings get all the attention when it comes to perimenopause, but for a lot of women, the biggest symptom they experience is one you might not expect - extreme anxiety. But this isn’t just an occasional worry or feeling a little nervous, it’s an overwhelming sense of dread that can hit at any moment.
This anxiety can leave some women feeling isolated or confused, and while they may not want to talk about it, they’re opening up about the issue in threads on Reddit’s r/menopause. They’re sharing their experiences, struggles and advice on how they deal with anxiety in perimenopause.
- “I’m perimenopausal and holy what the ever-loving f—, my anxiety has gone through the roof,” one shares. “And I don’t mean typical everyday anxiety. I mean all of a sudden I’m worrying about things that make no sense. I feel insane. Someone please commiserate.”
- A yoga teacher reveals that her go-to relaxation techniques stopped working. “All the coping skills I had were useless, which proved to me that my body was changing in a significant way,” she writes.
- “I never had anxiety until menopause hit hard,” one woman comments. “Extreme hot flashes and then severe anxiety and panic attacks out of nowhere!”
- Another Redditor reveals “I had severe anxiety when anyone else was driving, an impending sense of doom all the time and still sometimes wake up in the night anxious for no reason.”
- “Mine has become much more physical,” one woman writes. “I have so many symptoms - rapid heart rate, auditory changes, over-the-top worrying over absolute nonsense.”
While many women have found relief managing their perimenopause symptoms with hormone replacement therapy, other strategies that help include:
- Medication - a combination of hormone replacement and anxiety medication.
- Lifestyle adjustments - Limiting or avoiding caffeine, alcohol and sugar.
- Self-care - Regular exercise, journaling or meditation
- Professional help - From a menopause-informed doctor.
Source: First For Women