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Women's
Health > Menopause and Depression
Many women may find themselves feeling quite
depressed during menopause. It can be very common
for women to feel frustrated with their bodies and
sad at the loss of their ability to carry children.
Unfortunately on top of this, menopause comes with a
host of symptoms that can nag at a woman’s patience.
However, sometimes menopause can make you feel more
than a little sad; often it can make you downright
depressed.
Depression, medically speaking, is a disease that is
caused by biological factors. Hormones located in
your brain (specifically serotonin) regulate your
mood and sometimes serotonin levels can drop,
causing fluctuations in mood and severe episodes of
depression. Those suffering from depression will
experience intense feelings of sadness,
hopelessness, and melancholy for prolonged periods
of time (often weeks).
Menopause is notorious for triggering feelings of
sadness and episodes of depression in a number of
women. It is thought that anywhere from 8% to 15% of
menopausal women will experience some form of
depression in their lifetime. Menopause depression
is most likely to hit during perimenopause, the
phase leading up to menopause. Causes of menopausal
depression are under debate, but a variety of
theories have been suggested as to why so many
menopausal women experience mood disorders.
One major theory asserts that the stress of
menopause symptoms is what leads to depression.
Women may find that their symptoms of menopause are
simply too difficult to manage on their own. Even
the mere thought of dealing with friends, work,
family and finances let alone this huge physical
change can be enough to drive any women nuts.
Menopause may just be that straw that breaks the
camel’s back, causing the onset of depression.
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