8 Ways to Cope with Menopausal Mood Swings
Do you find that one minute you’re feeling fine, getting on with your day, then the next minute you’re raging at some driver who pulled out in front of you, or about a terse email a colleague sent you, or at the pile of dishes going mouldy in your teenager’s bedroom? And then you’re consumed by sadness, or weighed down by guilt? Do your days feel like a constant rollercoaster of emotions?
If so, you’re not alone. Mood swings are a common symptom experienced by women in the perimenopause and menopause.
Fluctuating hormone levels are thought to be one of the causes. But lack of sleep, anxiety, and the challenges of coping with other menopause symptoms can also have a big impact.
Many women find it a struggle to cope with constant mood swings, not just for the lack of control they feel over their emotions but worrying about the impact they are having on their loved ones, even on friends and colleagues. This can then fuel feelings of low self-worth, contributing to low mood and possibly depression.
Mood swings are normal
Mood swings are a normal part of the menopause transition however (although if you are concerned about them, do speak to your GP to check there isn’t something else going on), and there are things that you can do to ease them.
Exercise can be a fantastic way to shift your mood. Find something that you enjoy, even for just a few minutes a day.
Watch what you’re putting into your body – a healthy diet, limiting alcohol, reducing caffeine consumption can all be beneficial. You may want to keep a ‘Food and Mood’ diary for a few weeks and see how different foods affect your mood. If you find something that regularly triggers you to feel fatigued or irritable, try cutting it out or reducing it.
Open-up – talk to family, friends, even colleagues if you can, about what’s going on for you. It will help them to take it less personally when you lose it with them!
Speak-up – women often say that as they go through the menopause, they lose their mental filter when talking and are much more likely to speak their mind. This can be very healthy, rather than keeping frustrations and feelings bottled up. However, if there are areas of your life where you are finding it difficult to speak up, this may be contributing to your feelings of stress, irritability, or anger. Finding ways to assertively express yourself can be very helpful.
Share your experiences with others – whether that’s a group of menopausal friends, or in a support group. It can really help to know you’re not the only one experiencing this.
Prioritise rest and sleep - I know this can be a challenge during the peri/menopause but check whether there’s anything you could do to improve your sleep. (Check out this article ‘5 Steps to Overcome Menopause Sleep Issues.’)
Journalling -‘Stream of consciousness’ journalling – where you just sit and write whatever comes into your head – may be helpful as a way to vent some of that rage you’re experiencing in a safe way where you won’t hurt anybody’s feelings.
Let go of the expectation to always be happy and feeling good. We’ve become conditioned to believe that if we’re not happy, there is something wrong with us. However, difficult emotions are a normal part of life. By learning to accept them, let go of the struggle against them, and treat yourself with kindness for what you are experiencing, you can free yourself to get on with your life.
CBT, hypnosis, and mindfulness can all be very helpful in managing fluctuating emotions. Mindfulness can be used to increase awareness and acceptance of emotions, CBT can be used to tackle unhelpful thoughts and cognitive distortions that may be arising, and hypnosis can be used to rehearse different ways of coping, for example relaxing in situations that would normally cause anger. If you’d like to discuss how I could help you manage your mood swings, click here to send me a message.
