Is it stress or perimenopause? Why it can be difficult to tell
Have you ever found yourself wondering what’s happened to the “old” you or are you constantly thinking or saying “I just don’t feel like myself"?
If you have spent years managing a busy life and suddenly everything feels harder, it doesn’t mean that you have become less resilient. Your body may be changing, and understanding those changes and looking at the bigger picture rather than focusing on one or two symptoms can help you work with it rather than continually pushing yourself harder.
Perhaps you're not sleeping as well or feeling more irritable and have less tolerance. Your concentration isn't what it was and you are reaching the end of the day feeling completely exhausted.
Is life simply more stressful, or could changing hormones be affecting how you respond to that stress? If you are somewhere in your 40's and 50's there may be another question worth asking. Could perimenopause be playing a part too? The frustrating answer is that it isn`t always easy to tell.
Stress doesn't disappear when perimenopause begins
One of the first things I noticed, personally in perimenopause, was that I felt more anxious and didn't respond as well to stress. I had always had a stressful job but suddenly I just couldn't cope like I used to.
There is considerable overlap between stress and perimenopause and it can be surprisingly difficult to untangle as one can drive the other.
One of the difficulties with recognising perimenopause is that it often arrives during a busy stage of life.
You may be juggling work with family life supporting teenagers or young adults, caring for ageing parents or dealing with changes in your relationship or career. Sometimes several of those things are happening at once.
So, when sleep starts to suffer, you feel more emotional or your energy levels are lower these symptoms do not automatically signal you are in perimenopause but neither should you automatically dismiss them as stress.
Perimenopause can look different for different women
During perimenopause, oestrogen and progesterone fluctuate significantly more before eventually declining and this changes how our body and mind respond to stress
Oestrogen and progesterone do not just have an impact on the ovaries and reproductive system but also influence:
Serotonin and mood
GABA and feelings of calm
Sleep regulation
Temperature regulation
The stress response and Hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal (HPA) axis which is main system your body uses to handle stress.
This can be why you may be finding that the stress level or circumstances haven't changed dramatically but the way that you cope with them has.
Look beyond the stress to see what else has changed?
Hot flushes and changes to your periods are probably two of the symptoms most commonly associated with menopause.
Some women notice changes in mood, sleep may become more difficult, you might experience more joint or muscle discomfort, changes in sexual desire and comfort, greater fatigue despite doing the same things you have always done and changes to your body composition and where you are carrying your weight.
For some women, mood, sleep and cognitive changes appear much earlier than other symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats.
The vicious circle
Stress and hormones amplify each other
It may not be stress OR perimenopause but one driving the other.
What can you do?
Start with looking for patterns. Rather than trying to decide whether one individual symptom is caused by stress or perimenopause, it can be more useful to step back and look at what`s happening as a whole.
Has your menstrual cycle changed? Periods have become shorter, longer, heavier, lighter, unpredictable?
Are you experiencing hot flushes and night sweats?
Are you having trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep?
Have you noticed changes in your mood or how you feel generally?
It can be helpful to monitor these for a while. It doesn`t need to be complicated just a note in your phone or in a diary can be enough to help you to spot patterns.
Don`t assume everything is hormonal, just because you are at an age where perimenopause is possible doesn`t mean every new system is caused by it.
Persistent fatigue, changes in moods, digestive problems, disrupted sleep and other symptoms can have many other possible causes.
If something is persistent or feels unusual for you and you are concerned about it, I would recommend that you speak to your GP or other appropriate healthcare professional in the first instance.
How can nutrition help?
One of the first things I look at with clients is what is actually happening in their everyday life.
Are meals being skipped because work is busy?
Is breakfast a coffee grabbed on the way out of the door?
Are you getting to the afternoon absolutely ravenous because lunch wasn`t substantial enough?
Are you lacking motivation due to tiredness to cook in the evenings?
Rather than looking for a “special menopause diet” I prefer to start with getting the foundations in place and then personalise it from there.
Your nutritional needs, health history, lifestyle and what you are experiencing are individual to you. That’s why the advice needs to be individual too.
Give yourself five minutes
There`s a very simple practice I have been sharing recently in my Wellness Hub https://chat.whatsapp.com/DVAmGtJ8lpeFDJ42165xC0
Take five minutes and ask yourself:
What is my body telling me today?
Notice how you are breathing.
Think about your energy levels.
Notice whether you are holding tension somewhere.
Think about how you have been feeling over the past few days.
There is nothing you need to achieve with this exercise, just simply observer and pay attention to what your body is trying to communicate to you.
If you would like to explore whether personalised nutrition and lifestyle support could be helpful for you, you are welcome to book a FREE 30-minute discovery call here:
Thank you for taking the time to read "Is it stress or perimenopause? Why it can be difficult to tell". If you would like me to cover another topic of interest to you, please get in touch.
This article is intended for general education and wellbeing support only. As a qualified nutritional therapist and health coach, I offer lifestyle and nutrition guidance but do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. Please consult your GP or another appropriate healthcare professional for individual medical advice.
When to seek medical advice
Is it stress or perimenopause? Why it can be difficult to tell
by Julie Gough
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