(peri)-Menopause and overwhelm

Brain fog is a real thing!

Overwhelm is the result of a a drastic change in circumstances. One of those drastic changes is the menopause.

While the menopause is really a short moment in time (when the period stops for good), it is preceded by the perimenopause, when much of the physical effects start to affect daily life. This perimenopause usually starts around ten years ahead of the actual menopause. The classic effects include heightened anxiety, low mood, irritability brain fog and many other signs that the female body is undergoing a fundamental change.

While the hormonal changes can lead to emotional upheaval and feeling unsettled, the brain fog involves forgetfulness and poor concentration. This is something that could possibly be addressed if you manage to set yourself up for success.

One way to keep yourself up and running is to keep an ‘energy diary’ and use what you learn about your energy levels and swings to pick the right time to do particular things. It can help you see if your fatigue is worse at certain times, or after particular activities. This might help you plan activities, or delegate those that make you feel fatigued or exhausted.

Marie Curie has a tool ready that is meant for cancer patients, but it has elements that perfectly work for perimenopause issues as well and can be an easy starting point. You can find it here: https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/document/fatigue-diary.

If brain fog distracts you all the time, you may still manage to develop routines and daily resets (small jobs) that help manage the regular stuff without losing track of them or staying focused on them long enough to finish them.

When perimenopause hits, your body may start to feel foreign, because it behaves in ways that you are not familiar with. This can be scary, but it offers an opportunity too: it allows you to reconnect with who you are in the process of becoming.

This goes beyond just finding a path back to “the way it was”: it’s about finding a new balance that works for you now. It involves learning to accept what is happening to you, that you may temporarily have trouble focusing, that things you could do with your eyes closed suddenly become impossible to achieve. Remember that you are still yourself, and that the actual menopause will be a doorway to a new balance. Keep your good spirits up and you’ll come out well on the other side.

[Of course I’m aware that I am a male professional organiser. I can only speak from the lived experience of working with my clients, but I hope you can see some of the above as advice that comes from the heart.]