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Unlocking the Menopausal Mind: The Surprising Science Behind Mood Swings and Mental Clarity at Midlife

Unlocking the Menopausal Mind: The Surprising Science Behind Mood Swings and Mental Clarity at Midlife

Graph shows men and women's risk of depression across the lifespan. While men's risk remains relatively stable across adulthood (and also lower than women's risk overall), women's risk peaks around the perimenopausal years, before declining around age 50.

Before starting hormones, I often found myself sobbing for no reason. Other times, the world’s stimuli felt too… stimulating.

Normal everyday sounds—like the buzz of traffic or people at the mall—literally hurt. I was jumpy and irritable and felt anxious about situations that had never bothered me in the past, such as driving over bridges or through construction.

It’s not completely clear what drives these cognitive and emotional symptoms.

Fluctuating hormone levels likely play a role, as do typical age-related changes in the brain.

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