The Royal College of Psychiatrists has recently published a position statement on menopause and mental health , highlighting something many clinicians have long observed in practice: the menopause transition can have a significant impact on psychological wellbeing. For many women, perimenopause is associated with changes in mood, sleep, cognition and emotional regulation. Anxiety and depressive symptoms may emerge for the first time, or previously stable mental health conditi

Many women reach adulthood feeling that life is simply harder for them than it seems to be for others. They may describe themselves as “too sensitive”, “lazy”, “disorganised”, or “emotionally intense”. Some have spent years moving in and out of mental health services with diagnoses such as anxiety or depression that never quite explain the whole picture.