I don't know if you'd noticed, but I'm big on research. At least when it comes to things medical. The newest link is from the British Columbia Medical Journal, an article called "Depression and Emotional Aspects of the Menopause". It's very good.
See, I was hoping to understand the whole mood swing thing (makes you think of a jungle gym for women of a certain age, doesn't it). How does it happen? What's the reason? I'm no closer to understanding, really. I mean, it's linked to hormones, but everything I find just confuses me more. And I'm still really tired. Stress, you know. My sweetie says I talked a blue streak while I was asleep last night. Apparently, I even spoke French in the voice of a very young girl. I've always talked in my sleep, by the way. Since I learned to talk, practically.
I've been feeling extremely anxious the last few days. It's understandable, what with the deadline my sweetie and I are facing at the end of the month. Thing is, anxiety and perimenopause/menopause apparently go hand-in-hand. It might be caused by the increasing signs of perimenopause (not to mention the stressors in a woman's life at the age of perimenopause), which are unfamiliar and difficult to live with at times. It could also be, again, hormonal in nature. See, estrogen and progesterone act with GABA-receptors in your brain to help control or limit anxiety. GABA stands for gamma-aminobutyric acid, and it's involved in vision and anxiety (loosely put anyway). As your hormones fluctuate and gradually lessen, there's less for the GABA-receptors to interact with, so less resistance to anxiety. That's a completely lay-person description, by the way.
So, they say that HRT can help this, but one article wondered if the health risks involved with the use of HRT is worth it. This article, Anxiety and Panic, an Early Sign of Menopause, was quite interesting and easy to understand.
There are many things you can do to relieve anxiety. Deep, relaxation breathing is one of them. I've been doing that all day today. Meditation, Yoga, Tai Chi, Exercise, herbal teas, and if it's bad enough, anti-anxiety/anti-depressant medication can all help. Herbs like Kava and St. John's Wort are reported to be helpful with anxiety, and psychotherapy can be extremely beneficial. At least, I'm finding my psychologist to be very beneficial. Thank goodness, every two weeks I can go in to her office and just go "BLAH!!!"
Or, take the puppy for a walk. We both find that therapeutic.
It's a short one today. Sorry 'bout that. I wasn't able to start until a short while ago and now I'm running out of time.
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