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Low mood and crying

Menopause symptoms and treatments.

Low mood and crying

You may have noticed changes to your mood in the days leading up to your period, when oestrogen is at its lowest pointl in your cycle. The same can happen in perimenopause and menopause, and the low feelings may come and go or be present for longer. It may coincide with more tearfulness or a feeling of emotions closer to the surface than usual. You may experience other psychological symptoms like anxiety, a lack of motivation, anger, irritability, intrusive thoughts and a lack of confidence.

You might put changes to your mood down to other factors if you don’t realise you’re in perimenopause, like problems at work, relationship issues, or tiredness. 

Many women are diagnosed with depression when they seek help for peri/menopausal low mood and sometimes be prescribed antidepressants. If your low mood and other psychological changes are due to perimenopause/menopause, antidepressants may not be effective as they don’t treat the underlying cause, a lack of hormones.

If you have had clinical depression in the past, you may be more susceptible to mood changes when you enter perimenopause. 

Book a consultation.

If you have any questions or concerns about your health, please book a consultation.

Don’t worry alone, we’re here to help.

Ways to help

  • It’s important to talk to someone about how you’re feeling, including any unsettling thoughts you may be having.
  • Find support from others going through perimenopause/menopause and know that you’re not alone.
  • Be kind to yourself and manage your own thoughts, talk to yourself with empathy and compassion like you would to a good friend.
  • Healthy lifestyle habits of good sleep, a well-balanced diet, regular exercise, time outdoors, managing stress levels, and limiting alcohol and other addictive substances can bring real benefits to your mood.
  • Even if you don’t feel very social, maintaining connections with friends and family is super important for your mental health.
  • Take regular time out for yourself, both for pleasure and relaxation and also to reflect on your emotions and perhaps use techniques like breathing exercises, mindfulness or journaling.
  • Talking therapies are beneficial to help with the psychological symptoms of peri/menopause such as CBT.
  • HRT is the recommended treatment for mood changes at perimenopause and menopause, and if you’re already taking antidepressants, you can still take HRT alongside this. Many women find the addition of testosterone replacement into their HRT regime brings extra benefits to their mood.

Dr Natalie Summerhill will be happy to listen to your experience of mood changes at peri/menopause and can offer treatments to help with this, including HRT. 

If you need to talk to someone today, you can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123 or if you need urgent help with your mental health, dial 999.