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When the time comes for your body to go through ‘the change’, of all the symptoms you experience during menopause, depression is probably one of the most challenging.   Depression during menopause is totally different to feeling ‘a bit down’ it can leave you feeling a huge sense of despair and isolation. As with any other kind of depression, the one experienced during menopause is no less aggressive and often causes the sufferer to feel intense feelings of loneliness, abandonment, helplessness and lack of energy with life in general. The worrying aspect of this type of depression ia that there is no guarantee it will end after the menopause is over.

Extensive research however, has shown that the menopause is not a direct cause of depression. Depression at the time of menopause can be coincidental and be a result from many different factors. If we look at things solely at the physical point of view, the body is undergoing such dramatic changes from the erratic hormone levels that it’s easy to have feelings of depression.The drop in estrogen levels can lead to fatigue that is totally alien to your usual energetic self.You become consumed by fatigue that you just can’t seem to shake.   

You also feel mentally drained as well. Some women simply sail through the menopause effortlessly while others have a far harder time accepting that their youth is fading and the days of having children are drawing to a close. This is the time of life that some claim to have a midlife crisis and it’s widely known that men can go through similar feelings of being useless and unwanted, that life has passed them by with nothing more to look forward to. Haunting thoughts of whether you’ve fulfilled what you’ve wanted in your life along with thoughts that life has no more to offer are apparent.

It’s not unusual to feel this way. Menopause depression is almost certain and more often than not, strikes during the perimenopause stage. Pinpointing the reasons for these emotional lows can be complex but the first road to recovery is that of acceptance that you need some help to get back on track. A choice for treating menopause depression would be to get help from a doctor.

Doctors can prescribe prescription strength antidepressants as part of the treatment, these are basically mood enhancing drugs. Some doctors will prescribe antidepressants in order to artificially boost your moods by increasing serotonin which is the hormone in charge of your moods.Hormone replacement therapy is a well known treatment for menopause depression as this aims to boost the decreasing estrogen levels. Lows in your moods can be attributed to sudden drops in the hormones progesterone, androgen and most of all estrogen, all of these have effects on the brains central area governing your moods. Estrogen can easily be taken in tablet form to counteract the low moods and give a feeling of euphoria.

 
It’s important to talk about your feelings to someone close or a professional, this in itself is therapy and can help to alleviate stress and pressure from what you’re going through. Being open about your emotions is sometimes all you need to overcome menopause depression.