7 Emotional Symptoms to Drive You Crazy: You Are Not Alone

 

7 Emotional Symptoms to Drive You Crazy

1. Menopause & Brain Fog

Brain issues during menopause are one of the more common symptoms and most women will experience this to some degree.

Symptoms of brain fog include:

• Forgetfulness
• Short term memory loss
• Difficulty in concentration
• Difficulty in thinking
• Confusion
• Mood swings
• Feeling of losing one’s mind

Why are our brains impacted by menopause?

Our brains and ovaries are part of the neuroendocrine system, which involves the brain communicating with the ovaries and vice versa.
The health of the ovaries and brain are therefore closely linked.
Estrogen is not only involved in reproduction but also in brain function and is key for energy production in the brain.

At a cellular level, estrogen pushes neurons to burn glucose to make energy.
If your estrogen is high, your brain energy is high and when your estrogen declines, your neurons start slowing down and age faster.

Studies have shown that this process can also lead to the formation of amyloid plaques or Alzheimer’s plaques which are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
These effects are more acute in specific brain regions, starting with the hypothalamus, which is in charge of regulating body temperature.

Estrogen is important in communicating with the hypothalamus, which in turn regulates body temperature correctly.
Hot flashes are due to the hypothalamus not regulating body temperature correctly.
Also, the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain, is controlled by estrogen
As estrogen levels ebb in these areas it can affect your mood and memory.
Added to all of this is age, which impacts the circulation of blood and oxygen to the brain causing it to slow down and preventing you to think clearly.

What can make brain fog worse?

Dehydration
Low blood sugars and dehydration can have an effect on brain function.
Dehydration can also affect your motor coordination as well as problem-solving and your ability to pay attention.
Even mild dehydration can have a big impact on brain function.

Stress and anxiety
Studies have shown that stress and anxiety can impair cognitive function causing:

• Mental slowness
• Confusion
• Forgetfulness
• Difficulty in concentrating

If you are stressed and anxious, that will impair the ability for new information to be stored in your brain.

What can help combat brain fog?

Get a good night’s sleep
Getting poor sleep can interfere with brain function and your short-term memory.

Supplements

• Take herbal supplements such as passion flower or valerian
• Supplement with Omega3 or fish oil as these help with focus and concentration
  If you’re vegetarian or vegan, try flaxseed oils.

Eat well
Your brain uses up a lot of energy and nutrients during menopause.
Make sure that you’re eating well and regularly.
Exercise
When you exercise regularly, your breathing improves, and that in turn oxygenates your brain.

When should you see a doctor?

If you find that your memory is getting really bad and if it is starting to concern you, then it’s best to seek professional advice.
For most women, however, this tends to be just a phase, something that comes and goes and it is not something that will last all the way through menopause.

Sources
healthline.com – menopause and brain fog         
webmd.com – menopause brain fog is real
healthywomen.org – brain fog might be to blame

Why am I so %@!?@% angry all the time?

2. Perimenopause Rage

As your reproductive hormone levels change, your body reacts, and changes in mood can be unpredictable.
At times, these mood changes can cause extreme and sudden feelings of anxiety, patience, irritability, or anger.
Since perimenopause affects all women differently, it is hard to say how rare or common perimenopause rage is.

Feeling anger can be due to certain factors connected to perimenopause.
Serotonin helps control mood and impulse control and since estrogen plays a part in the production of serotonin, as estrogen levels decline serotonin levels are also affected.
Increased stress levels brought on by a loss of sleep and hot flashes can also contribute to moods that are already unstable.
Accept that your body is changing and that you are not to blame for these emotions, as hormonal changes and chemical reactions are at play.

Symptoms you might be feeling

• You often feel edgy and anxious
• You have absolutely no patience for putting up with other’s problems and issues
• You can have a general feeling of frustration about anything and everything
• You can become very irritable
• You can become easily stressed

 

Tips to help alleviate Menopause rage

Deep breathing exercises
Incorporate deep breathing exercises into your daily routine
8 Deep Breathing Exercises for Anxiety Relief (verywellmind.com)

Exercise
Is a great way of helping to deal with impatience and irritability.
Even just some brisk walking around the block at lunchtime can make quite a difference to how you feel.

Look at your diet
If you are not eating well or regularly enough, it will cause your blood sugar levels to go up and down like a yo-yo, triggering your impatience and your irritability and monitor caffeine intake.

Stay hydrated
Dehydration can also make you more susceptible to mood changes.

Take your magnesium supplement
Make sure you are getting enough magnesium in your diet and if not then top up with a magnesium supplement.

Look at taking herbs such as valerian or passion flower
These can very often take the edge off anger and irritability.

Low blood sugar levels
You tend to be more irritable and angrier when you are hungry, so eat little and often to maintain sugar levels.

Add in a vitamin B complex
If you find that you are easily angered, it could be that your nervous system needs additional support.
Sources
gennev.com – menopause and anger
ncbi.nlm.gov – female irritability scale

3. Mood Swings & Menopause

As your ovaries start to produce less estrogen, your body and brain experience numerous changes and some of these changes are mood-related.
Estrogen helps to regulate several hormones, which may have mood-boosting properties, including:

• Serotonin
• Norepinephrine
• Dopamine

Irritability, low mood, and mood swings are some of the most common emotional menopause symptoms.
They can hit at any time, you might get up in the morning feeling absolutely fine and twenty minutes later you can feel your mood spiraling out of control.

5 Things that can affect your mood

Lack of regular exercise
Exercise releases endorphins which are your feel-good hormones.
Exercising also improves your circulation and the better your circulation, the more your hormones can circulate in a more balanced way.
Low-impact cardiovascular exercise such as Pilates, yoga, and fast walking can help to improve the way you feel about your body.

Poor diet
Your nutritional needs go sky high during menopause, much more energy is used in trying to keep your body in balance.
Because of the loss of hormones, you need more of everything to keep you stable.
Adding foods that are rich in vitamin D, calcium, and iron will help stabilize your mood.

Skipping meals
Make sure that you eat three times a day to keep your blood sugar levels stable.
If your blood sugars dip, it can affect your mood.

Poor sleep
A good night’s sleep is really important
If you are not sleeping due to hot flashes or night sweats, it can negatively affect your mood the next day.

Dehydration
If you are dehydrated it will affect your nervous system causing you to go into panic mode.
It will trigger adrenalin, causing your mood to go up and down.

What you can do to help yourself

Talk about how you feel
It can be very difficult to communicate how you feel because you don’t understand it yourself
However, sometimes it helps to connect with your girlfriends who are also going through menopause
Remember, you are not alone in this. Supplement with the following:

• Vitamin D plays a vital role in mood control as well as brain and nerve health.
• Vitamin B complex is great for feeding your nervous system and it’s beneficial for brain function as well.
• Zinc supports brain function and may reduce the risk of depression
• Omega-3 fatty acids are important for brain health and can help to treat anxiety.
• Valerian root can be used for short periods to lower levels of anxiety and depression.
• Magnesium is an important mineral that can help with depression and research shows that supplementing with magnesium may reduce depressive symptoms
• Take a good female multivitamin
  Sourceswebmd.com – emotional roller coaster of menopause
• medicalnewstoday.com – supplements for anxiety

4. Loss of confidence and feeling insecure?

During menopause falling estrogen affects the nervous system and your adrenal glands which basically help to control your nervous system.
As your estrogen falls, you can start to feel panicky and fearful about day-to-day situations.
Over time this will lead to a loss of confidence.

What you can do to help yourself

Drink enough water
Dehydration will make your adrenals even jumpier and as a result, cause you to be more nervous than usual.
If you are also getting hot flushes and night sweats, it’s even more important to drink sufficient water.

Look at your diet
Make sure that your diet is varied, containing wholesome and fresh foods.
Your adrenals need just about every single vitamin and mineral that is available, in order to stabilize them during menopause.
Anything you can do diet-wise to help them will be beneficial.
Exercise
This can help stabilize your nervous system, release stress and keep your circulation working well.

Intimacy booster
Menopause can leave you feeling less than feminine, due to the many changes that are happening.
Being intimate with your partner on a regular basis can give you the boost you need.
If you suffer from vaginal dryness, an estrogen supplement can help replenish moisture.

Breathing
Deep breathing can help to calm you down.
Practice deep breathing exercises two or three times a day.

Treat yourself
Spoiling and pampering yourself is important during this time and helps to make you feel special, always a great confidence booster.

Don’t skip meals
Keep your blood sugars level.
If you go through long periods without eating, your blood sugar levels can start to dip or fluctuate, affecting your nervous system, putting you on edge.

Sources
everydayhealth.com – ways to boost your confidence
mymenopausecentre.com – menopause and loss of confidence

 

5. Not Motivated During Menopause?

Like so many other menopause symptoms a loss of motivation may result from the decline in estrogen which is the cause of many psychological and physical symptoms.
You can go through many changes during menopause, such as having mood swings, poor sleep, and fatigue.
Do you find that you just don’t have the energy to rouse yourself and start doing things that you previously loved doing?

Self-help tips to get you motivated again

• It’s really important to make some time for yourself and remember to put yourself first at least some of the time
• Stop multitasking
  When you are going through menopause especially if your energy and mood are low, it can all be very overwhelming, so try to just focus on one thing at a time
• Stop worrying about things that are a day or two away and just focus on what you have to do today
• Eat regularly to help keep your blood sugar levels stable
• Stay hydrated, as dehydration can really deplete your energy levels
• Make sure that you’re getting plenty of magnesium
• Vitamin B complex helps to give your nervous system an energy boost
• Exercise is a great way to boost your mood, increasing wellbeing, reducing weight and improving your body image and self-esteem
• Start a daily gratitude list, either first thing in the morning or last thing at night
  Source
  mymenopausecentre.com – menopause and lack of motivation

6. Are Headaches a Symptom of Menopause?

Menopause can affect headaches in several ways and symptoms may be felt differently for every woman.

Headaches due to hormonal changes

If you suffer headaches due to hormonal changes, you may find relief after menopause.
This may mean that you have fewer headaches or less severe headaches.
This can be due to your lower levels of estrogen, with little fluctuation, after your period stops for good.
On the other hand, you may have more frequent or worse headaches during perimenopause.
It is even possible for women who have never had problems with hormonal headaches to start having headaches during this time.

Triggers that can cause headaches

Hot flashes
These can trigger headaches and are caused by your blood vessels opening up too suddenly due to the heat and that in turn triggers the spasming, leading to headaches.
Often this is accompanied by dizziness and palpitations as well as nausea.

Dehydration
This is a really common cause of headaches.
If you are dehydrated, you can end up with a thumping headache.
Dehydration shrinks your brain, causing it to pull away from the skull, resulting in a headache.

Combination of dehydration and blood pressure
Some women find that they get headaches first thing in the morning as they wake up.
This can be due to the fact that you have become dehydrated during the night and the minute you wake up your blood pressure starts to rise.
Having night sweats as well can make matters worse.
A good idea is to keep a glass of water by the bedside and drink this as soon as you wake up.

Stress and anxiety
You can easily get tension headaches when you are stressed.
When you are stressed, your muscles tighten and you can feel tension especially across the shoulders.
An important thing to note, if you suffer from a lot of stress and anxiety, it is very likely that you are also low in magnesium.

Tips to prevent or alleviate headache pain

Exercise and Posture
Regular physical activity can go a long way in helping to prevent headaches.
Aim for 30 minutes of exercise 3 to 4 times each week.
Remember to warm up before jumping into a high-intensity workout or it can trigger a headache.
Pay attention to your posture while sitting at your desk and support your spine if necessary.
Take a break every now and then and do a couple of stretches and exercises to support your posture.

Invest in a good pillow
Sleeping on a too soft pillow can cause tension across the shoulders.

Watch your diet
Don’t skip meals and do not reduce your calorie count too drastically.

Beware of your food intake
High salt and sugary foods as well as processed foods, fizzy drinks, and alcohol, can all be headache triggers.
If you are not sure what’s triggering the headaches, then keep a food and drink diary.
You may find that you tend to get headaches at roughly the same time every day and very often there will be some kind of trigger causing them.

Avoid the following:

• Caffeine
• High sugar foods
• High salt foods
• Alcohol, especially red wine
• Chocolate
• Certain cheeses
• Dairy products

Keep your blood sugar stable
If you are not eating enough, your blood sugars will dip and that can trigger headaches as well.

Taking supplements
Certain nutritional supplements have shown to be successful in limiting headache frequency.

• Vitamin B complex
• Magnesium
• Vitamin D
• Coenzyme Q10

Dehydration
If you become dehydrated, it affects the blood vessels which can then trigger headaches and migraines.

Biofeedback therapy
You can try biofeedback and relaxation therapy to help deal with severe headaches.
These use a variety of techniques to control how your body physically responds to stress, muscle tension, and even pain.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy
CBT involves stress relief techniques, as well as teaching you how to better deal with pain stressors.
If you are experiencing headaches every single day and if you find that these tips are not helping, then you need to get medical advice.

 

What about Migraine Headaches?

Fluctuations in estrogen are linked to migraine headaches.
You may be experiencing migraines for the first time or see an increase in severity or frequency during menopause.
Some women have the reverse reaction and experience a reduction in migraine occurrence during menopause.
One of the reasons that you get headaches during menopause is due to your estrogen falling.
There are specific estrogen receptor sites in the blood vessels and if your estrogen is low or falls quite suddenly, it will trigger the blood vessels to go into a spasm, especially around the back of the neck or the shoulders.

Sources
mayoclinic.org – headaches and hormones
southsidepainspecialists.com – dehydration and headaches
americanmigrainefoundation.org – top 10 migraine triggers
clevelandclinic.org – headaches and food
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – cbt for treatment of headaches
medicalnewstoday.com – sugar headache
nhs.uk – 10 headache triggers

7. Dizziness during menopause

So far it has been found that dizziness occurs more frequently with age and is more common in women than in men.
However, it seems to be just as common in women with menopause as those without.
Although researchers don’t know the exact cause of why women aged 40 to 59 are more prone to dizziness, they have explored some possible causes.

Causes of dizziness

Dehydration
You might find that you get dizzy when you are having a hot flush.
This can be a good indication that you need extra water.

Low blood sugar
Dizziness can be caused by a drop in blood sugar levels.
Check that you are eating properly and that you are not having too many gaps in between meals.

Middle ear changes
A change in hormones can affect your inner ears, which are critical to balance.

Low blood pressure
During menopause, your blood pressure can fluctuate quite a lot.
Very often a sign of low blood pressure can be, that you get dizzy from bending down and then standing up too quickly.

Low iron or anemia
If you are in the perimenopause stage leading up to menopause and are still having heavy periods, this can cause low iron which in turn can cause dizziness.

Sources
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – dizziness/vertigo in perimenopausal women
healthline.com – is dizziness a symptom of menopause