Beyond the Hot Flashes, Menopause Packs a Powerful Punch to Mental Health
This bylined article by Dr. Stephanie Setliff for BabyBoomers.com highlights how menopause is more than just hot flashes -- it takes a toll on women's mental health, including triggering or causing relapses of eating disorders.
In this piece, Dr. Setliff shares how menopause impacts women's health and why perimenopause and menopause can exacerbate mental health issues.
Hot flashes get all the attention when it comes to talking about menopause. But what’s left out of the conversation for millions of menopausal women is the mental and emotional punch it packs. Those who may have never experienced anxiety, depression, or eating disorders suddenly find themselves struggling with their emotions and “not like themselves.”
Women in midlife aren't facing the same physical, emotional, social, medical, and nutritional challenges they did before. Many hit perimenopause right in the middle of the "sandwich generation" years, the time in life when they’re simultaneously raising children while caring for aging parents, experiencing career burnout, and navigating an ever-changing body.