The Mental Health Impact of Menopause and Perimenopause

[Music] there is such shame and stigma around menopause still the impact on my confidence is so bad the level of anxiety is so high it's stopping me from living there is increasing information about the physical impact experienced by women in Ireland during the menopausal experience International Studies indicate that perimenopause is a period of heightened risk for a woman's mental health and well-being we know that the physical and emotional changes of menopause strongly affect women I was fearful of what was happening to me and was in denial really I think if I had more education or more support I maybe could have embraced this phase of my life here at HSE mental health engagement and Recovery we wanted to find out what mental health impacts Irish women are experiencing during perimenopause and menopause and if there are ways that we can improve or support women's Mental Health Care experiences during this time along with our partner mental health reform we set about Gathering perspectives from women around Ireland by an online menopause conversation webinar we used a recovery Cafe approach online which was relaxed and informal the women broke into small groups to answer three key questions [Music] I had such fears about my job with a brain fog and the flushes it made me so anxious what has been helpful is speaking to other women I am having the support of other women we asked about the mental health and well-being supports that have been accessed I was 48 when I first had anxiety it was six months before my GP said I was experiencing the perimenopause so I asked for HRT and it helps we asked about the supports and services women would like to see introduced to support their Mental Health we need to joined up Women's Health System from birth to old age so that perimenopause and menopause are no more of a surprise than the beginning of a period include mental health and other holistic supports in this setup from the engagement in the online webinar we have a deeper insight into the Irish experience of perimenopause and the menopause and the impact on women's Mental Health we learned about the importance of continuing this conversation nationally the importance of training for all medical staff and recognizing the impact of perimenopause and the menopause on mental health and the value in education for everyone not just women and understanding this period in a woman's life are learning to combined in a short report created with the help of the Women's Health Fund in the Department of Health it is our hope that this work will support HSC staff to recognize and understand the impact of perimenopause and the menopause on women's mental health and offer relevant supports foreign [Music]

Channel: Mental Health Reform

Views: 5,853

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Id: BbGbj-ozl5g

Length: 3min 6sec (186 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 10 2023