Feeling Low? Anxious? - Could it be Perimenopause?

As well as many physical symptoms, such as hot sweats, fatigue, low libido, muscle and joint aches and pains, and sleep disturbances, perimenopause can also greatly effect women's mental health and wellbeing. Many women describe feeling anxious, sad and generally 'flat' around this time. Self-esteem and confidence can plummet and life just seems harder somehow.

During perimenopause women's estrogen levels decrease and progesterone can fluctuate, which can see many women experiencing low mood, fatigue, aches and pains and night sweats. Add in to the mix poor sleep and the usual physical and emotional upheavals that can take a toll on mid-life women - that have nothing to do with hormones - such as tending to children or teens, ageing parents and busy careers, and well, it's little wonder many women feel like they're at rock bottom.

If you are perimenopausal and suffering from one or many of the symptoms described above, it may advisable to see your doctor to discuss possible options. HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) is one route that many women, whose lives are being negatively impacted, opt for, to help restore and level out those diminishing hormones. There are also herbal supplements or complementary therapies to try, if HRT is not for you. Making sure your diet is as clean as possible with lots of colourful fruits and veggies, wholegrains and proteins can be helpful, as well as being as active as you can. Moving your body is vital for health and wellbeing, helping to reduce stress and aid better sleep.

You may be struggling in this phase of your life and be experiencing some anxiety, low mood, or depression. Counselling may be helpful if you are perimenopausal and finding life hard at the moment. Here are some ways you may find it useful:

• Counsellors can hold space for you, with empathy and without judgement, to talk openly about how you are feeling.

• Counselling can help you realise you're not alone. Your feelings and experiences are valid. During perimenopause, many women report feeling like they don't recognise themselves anymore; they've lost their way. Counselling can offer space to explore this.

• Counselling allows you time. It gives you an hour just for you, to focus on yourself, your thoughts, needs, wants, and feelings. It can be a space to explore your relationships, work, and life in general, as you get clear on how you might want your second half of life to look.

• Counselling can help you work on areas of stress and tension in your life - career concerns, ageing parents, conflict with partner or kids, finances, ageing.

• Counsellors can also support you if you want to work on any lifestyle changes, such as sleep hygiene, diet, exercise, and ways to carve out time for yourself.

Basically, counselling can give you the time you may need for yourself. Being a mid-life woman is no small feat. There is so much to do, and so many people to take care of, and whilst many women sail through perimenopause without a care, for others it is a time of struggle and sadness. Perimenopause and menopause see women transition into a new phase of their lives, and leaving behind younger selves, and fertile years, can leave many women grieving for their past selves. Change, however, whilst scary can bring new and exciting things, and once you ride the waves of those perimenopausal and menopausal years, life on the other side can be truly amazing.