You Are Not Alone

A Message to Every Woman Struggling with Mental Health During Menopause

If you are reading this while feeling anxious, depressed, or desperate during your menopause journey, or what MIGHT be perimenopause, you’re not sure, please pause for a moment and know this: what you are feeling is real, valid, and treatable. Help exists, hope is possible, and above all else, you are not alone.

Talk to your partner, spouse, friends, colleagues or HR department. Explain how you are feeling, asking them to support you so that you can get the help you need. That help exists and there are solutions to this temporary situation.

If you are an employer and you employ women, please read on and be aware of these challenges that some women can face. Are your managers menopause-informed and confident-conversation trained?

A Tragedy That Should Wake Us All Up

In February 2025, Donna Mann tragically took her own life after battling severe anxiety and paranoid thoughts. She was going through menopause. The inquest confirmed that Donna had experienced deteriorating mental health, made worse by her menopausal transition.

Donna’s story isn’t just a sad news article. It should be a wake-up call for society, healthcare providers, employers, and most importantly, for any woman currently struggling with mental health symptoms and wondering whether menopause could be playing a part.

I share this because I’ve been there too. I know the crushing weight of feeling like you’re losing your mind, of waking up already overwhelmed, anxiety and panic creating a sense of dread in your stomach, lacking energy and motivation, feeling like a burden. First wondering if anyone would understand and then feeling gaslit when your experience was denied or trivialised.

And I want you to know, this is not just my story. Many other women will experience these symptoms too.

Spoiler alert – Menopause Is More Than Hot Flushes

When we say “menopause,” most people still picture hot flushes or night sweats, but for many women, the most terrifying symptoms are mental, not physical.

• Anxiety that hits from nowhere
• Panic attacks that feel paralysing
• Low mood or depression that won’t shift
• Rage that feels completely alien and comes from nowhere
• Tears of frustration, sadness, overwhelming pain
• Disconnection, brain fog, and a loss of confidence

These aren’t character flaws. They aren’t personal failings. They are symptoms, symptoms of a hormonal storm affecting our brain chemistry, nervous system, and overall emotional stability.

The Hormone Connection

During perimenopause and menopause, levels of oestrogen and progesterone begin to fluctuate wildly. These hormones don’t just affect reproduction, they also regulate mood, support brain function, and influence serotonin and dopamine, the neurotransmitters responsible for feeling calm, stable, and motivated.

As oestrogen drops:

• Mood regulation suffers
• Sleep becomes disrupted
• Emotional resilience weakens

Progesterone’s calming effect also disappears, leaving women more vulnerable to anxiety, irritability, and insomnia. Double edged sword – the lack of oestrogen making us more susceptible and the lack of progesterone to recalibrate and calm our system.

Dr. Louise Newson, a renowned menopause specialist, has highlighted research that shows women in perimenopause and menopause are at far greater risk of poor mental health and difficult thoughts during this time, and European research suggesting we are up to seven times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts than at other life stages.

This is not a minor side effect. It is a crisis.

If you have women in your workplace who are experiencing this, please know:

• They are not being dramatic.
• They are not overreacting.
• They are not broken or lazy or being ridiculous.
• They don’t need to “pull yourself together”, try harder or get a grip.

They are navigating one of the most intense hormonal transitions of your life, and the mental health impacts are very real and YOU have a duty of care as an employer to be aware, take action and signpost appropriately.

The Isolation Can Be Devastating

And that is why your managers and HR professionals need to be trained, educated and capable of engaging in meaningful conversations in a confident and caring way.

One of the hardest parts of menopause-related mental health struggles is how invisible it can feel. These women are not losing their mind, they are not weak, they need support and signposting from you.

There Is Help Available

• HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) can be life-changing, especially for mental health symptoms – for me it was a life-saver, for sure!
• Menopause-informed therapists can provide a diagnosis, prescription and support as necessary
• Certain antidepressants, lifestyle changes, nervous system regulation tools, and dietary support can also play a role.
• There are other non-hormonal medications that can help.
• Therapy such as CBT has been shown to have fabulous results.

Make sure your staff are trained to signpost appropriately.

When the Darkness Feels Too Much

For as many as 1 in ten women it can all feel too much. They might be feeling like they can’t go on, or have thoughts of self-harm or suicide, please create a psychologically safe workplace where they can reach out and ask for help.

You DO NOT NEED to become the help, but you do need to be able to help them access whatever help they need. Be aware of services such as:-

• Samaritans (UK): 116 123 (free, 24/7)
• Text SHOUT to 85258
• Call NHS 111 or 999 if in crisis
• Your own EAP – Employee Assistance Programme
• Occupational Health services

The Workplace Really Needs to Step Up

Menopause doesn’t stay at home. It walks into boardrooms, classrooms, hospitals, shops, and offices every day.

Mental health symptoms can:

• Undermine confidence
• Affect productivity
• Damage relationships at work
• Lead to absence, poor performance and capability issues.

Employers have a duty to create supportive environments. That can include: –

• Menopause policies
• Trained staff
• Obligation to consider reasonable adjustments
• Access to counselling or EAPs
• Flexibility and understanding

These women need your awareness, empathy and support, not shame or dismissal.

If you are ready to do some training with your managers and colleagues, please get in touch – you could save a life.

If this article has resonated with you, please share it. Someone else might need to be reading this right now too. This could save a life.

You can also listen to the podcast episode that relates to this tragic story, and share that link too: HERE