Menopause can lead to a sharp decline in mental health – ask Leslie Powell

Leslie Powell had little warning of the devastating mental health crisis that was about to hit her at age 48.

Life has been busy. She was passionately in love and was planning to marry her recently cohabiting partner.

She had five children, three of whom were still in school, earned a PhD in brain function, and had a successful career in academic research.

“Life was great,” she said.

Suddenly that wasn't the case.

“I was going crazy,” she says simply.

“I couldn’t protect myself at all.”

This change was as shocking as it was disconcerting to a woman who had never suffered from mental illness before, leaving her completely helpless.

“I couldn't get up in the morning. I didn't know how to take a shower, I didn't know how to get dressed,” she said.

“There was no warning that this was going to happen.

“And within two days, I couldn't do anything for myself at all.”

Leslie began to have suicidal thoughts.

With the help of her concerned fiancé and mother, she was admitted to the Joondalup Health Campus and eventually admitted to a mental health unit.

Leslie was suffering from a mental breakdown due to menopause.

anxiety, fatigue, brain fog

Jayashri Kulkarni, a psychiatrist and menopause expert who has studied the condition and its impact on mental health for decades, says Leslie's experience is not unique.

She said up to 50% of menopausal and perimenopausal women will notice a deterioration in their mental health.

“This refers not just to a state of complete moribund depression, but to all the more subtle, variable, but still disabling changes,” Professor Kulkarni said.

“Occasional increased anxiety, even full-blown panic attacks, and brain fog, a phenomenon in which she feels confused, has memory problems, and is unable to multitask eight things at once, are normal for her. It was about.

Dr. Powell's breakdown occurred more than 20 years ago, and she considers herself lucky to have been treated by a psychiatrist who recognized what was happening right away.

She was prescribed a tailored combination of hormonal therapy and antidepressants, and over the next 18 months her symptoms began to gradually improve, although her treatment continues.

“If I forget my[antidepressant]pill, by 4 p.m. the world has receded and I'm in a bubble again,” she says.

“Art was my savior”

Dr Powell said that although drugs changed her life, her recovery was due to a love of drawing that she rediscovered while in a mental health unit, which led her to leave her husband five years ago. I also think it was helpful when I lost my son.

“I started painting,” she said.

“And I think that takes your mind off everything and you can’t think about anything else.

“And when the grief set in, I painted very intensely because I didn't want to go back to another stage of menopause. It was my salvation.”

risk of suicide

Professor Kulkarni said women's menopausal symptoms, especially those related to mental health, tend to be downplayed or women want to minimize them for fear of being ignored for promotions at work. Ta.

“So it sent a message to women in general that this is what it is, so don't make a big deal out of it,” she said.

However, the reality is that people with menopausal mental health issues are at greater risk of suicide.

“So please don't simply ignore this as a normal and natural process,” she says.

“Yes, that's true. But for a significant proportion of women, they experience really serious mental illness.”

Professor Kulkarni said the decline in mental health associated with menopause often affects women in their early to mid-40s, and in some cases, long before menstruation stops, or when they experience typical menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. He said that sometimes.

She said this can be one of the first signs of perimenopause and usually occurs during a particularly difficult time in a woman's life.

“Women face tremendous pressures at work, in raising adolescent children, in dealing with relationship challenges, in being the primary caregivers for elderly parents and in-laws, and with a variety of duties and obligations. “It's at stake. It's a responsibility,” she said.

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She said hormonal fluctuations usually affect women's resilience during this time, and some people are particularly vulnerable, such as women who have previously experienced trauma.

However, hormone-based treatments can quickly lead to “drastic” changes.

“The hormone is fast-acting, so it works faster than standard antidepressants and mood stabilizers… [and] “We can actually see this turnaround in brain chemistry,” she said.

A holistic approach to menopause

Professor Kulkarni said a new understanding of the condition is emerging that integrates biological, psychological and environmental aspects and drives innovative treatments.

“This is not just the domain of gynecologists or endocrinologists,” she says.

“We have psychiatry, we have a lot of psychologists, and social factors are taken into account in the workplace.

“We have exercise physiologists, we have nutritionists, we have all kinds of primary health care workers involved.

She said men are also starting to take an interest in the issue. A Senate committee had been established to investigate menopause and perimenopause.

“These are really exciting times and we hope that this momentum will lead to significant improvements for midlife women,” she said.

Professor Kulkarni and Dr. Powell will share their experiences at this lecture. Menopause Alliance Women's Lifecycle Summit In Perth on March 16th.

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