Menopause and mood

For twenty years Shahnaz went to Ramna Batamul at dawn on Pohela Boishakh, in red and white, for the songs. This year Shahnaz, forty-seven and deputy managing director of a bank, stayed in bed. She snaps at her team, wakes drenched at three, forgets names she has known for decades, and cries in the car for no reason she can name. Her mother says it is just her age.

An illustration drawn from common experience. The person is invented; the pattern is not.

Understanding menopause and mood

Menopause is the point when periods stop for good, usually somewhere between the mid-forties and mid-fifties; perimenopause is the few years of changing hormones before it. This transition often brings hot flushes, night sweats and broken sleep. It can also bring low mood, anxiety, irritability, poor concentration and memory lapses. These are real and common, not weakness or “just age”. For some women they amount to depression, which needs treatment.

How common it is

A 2024 meta-analysis in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that women in perimenopause had about 40% higher odds of depressive symptoms or depression than women before menopause.

Signs worth noticing

• Low mood, anxiety or irritability that is new in your forties
• Poor sleep and night sweats
• Forgetfulness and poor concentration
• Losing interest in things you have loved for years

How care helps

Good care looks at both mind and body: mood, sleep, hormones and general health, often together with a gynaecologist. Psychological therapy helps with mood and with coping, and medication for depression is considered where needed. Being believed is often the first relief.

What getting better can look like

Next Boishakh, Shahnaz might be at Ramna at dawn, in red and white, singing again.

Common questions about menopause and mood

Can menopause cause depression and anxiety?

The years around menopause often bring low mood, anxiety, irritability, poor sleep and memory lapses, alongside hot flushes and night sweats. A 2024 meta-analysis found that women in perimenopause had about 40% higher odds of depressive symptoms or depression than women before menopause. For some women these changes amount to depression, which needs treatment.

Should I see a gynaecologist or a psychiatrist for mood changes in menopause?

Either can be a good first step, and often the two work together. Good care looks at mood, sleep, hormones and general health at the same time. If low mood or anxiety is affecting your daily life, it deserves to be taken seriously rather than put down to age.

When to see a psychiatrist

If your mood has changed in midlife and you do not recognise yourself, please do not wait for it to pass on its own.

Care here is personal: built around your history, your health and what you want to change, and reviewed with you as it goes.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

Sources

• Badawy et al., Journal of Affective Disorders, 2024 (PMID 38642901)