Treating Mood Swings During Periomenopause

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When you first start having perimenopausal symptoms, you may not put two and two together; after all, you’re too young to be going through menopause. The changes in your body can confuse you and drive you to distraction. It is not uncommon to be confused and for mood swings to occur. If you are experiencing episodes that you don’t understand such as extreme mood swings, there are treatment options.

Mood swings can have many causes. Sleep patterns may be interrupted by night sweats or hot flashes. Studies show that when a person doesn’t get enough sleep each night, episodes of irritability, lack of focus, and extreme stress may occur. Along with these symptoms, your immune system weakens because the body is not getting the downtime it needs to repair and restore from the day’s activities.

Mood swings can be brought on by difficult or changing situation in your life. A normal interaction with a child who asks for something repeatedly can pluck that last nerve and send you screaming out of the room. A cross word can send you into tears. An extra project at work combined with sleep deprivation can lead to poor work performance and/or missed deadlines.

It can seem like everything has gone to hell in a hand basket in no time at all. This slow descent into the abyss we call stress can lead to depression in many perimenopausal women. Not being able to get a handle on the symptoms leaves you in a vulnerable state without your normal coping mechanisms you’ve relied on during all those “normal” years.

Treatment Options

You are not alone in your despair. There are many options for treating this very common part of perimenopause:

• Support – This can be a group sponsored by your doctor, church, hospital, online group, or simply a group of friends who are also going through the same situation. Talking with others about your symptom can ease the burden. Women experiencing the same things may also be able to suggest ways that may help you cope better.
• Meditation – Taking time out in a quiet place to listen to your inner self can help you prepare for the day with a full suit of armor. Yoga is a type of meditation that also involves body stretches which prove to increase your fitness level and that mind-body connection.
• Exercise – There’s a reason exercise keeps coming up. Exercise is great for a variety of ailments. Physical activity increases oxygen levels in the brain and also releases the body’s natural antidepressants; endorphins. You think more clearly, experience greater mobility, and relieve tension and stress with exercise. That is why exercise is mentioned so often.
• Antidepressants – There are many reasons why antidepressants are prescribed; some reasons are obvious, while others, not so much. There are antidepressants which actually have helpful side effects which benefit perimenopausal symptoms; such as sleeplessness. Your doctor or nurse practitioner may prescribe antidepressants for many different reasons, for instance, to help you cope with mental and physical changes that are causing quality of life problems. You don’t have to stay on antidepressants forever. Your provider will help you wean off the antidepressants when you and your doctor feel you are ready.

Mood swings can be managed during perimenopause even though you might not think so right this minute. You do not have to suffer alone. Ask your doctor or nurse practitioner for information regarding the current research on ways to fight mood swings during this stage in your life.

Author

Satu H. Woodland, PMHCNS-BC, APRN Satu Woodland is owner and clinician of Hope Mental Health, an integrative mental health practice located at Bown Crossing in Boise, Idaho. She sees children, adolescents, and adults.  Ms. Woodland with her background in nursing, prefers a holistic and integrative approach to mental health care that addresses the mind and body together. While Ms. Woodland provides medication management services in all her patients, she believes in long-lasting solutions that include a number of psychotherapies, namely cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy, attention to lifestyle, evidenced based alternative psychiatric care and spirituality. If you’d like to gain control over your mental health issues, call Hope Mental Health at 208-918-0958, or use the online scheduling tool to set up an initial consultation.