Skip to main content

Connecting the dots between hormones and mental health

Today is PME day. What on earth does that mean, you may well ask? It stands for Premenstrual Exacerbation. So we've all heard about women being 'hormonal'? This is far worse. This is when your hormones trigger an underlying mental health condition, in my case bipolar. So no surprises that rapid cycling bipolar is much more common in women. 

So I'm starting to connect the dots between hormones and mental health; I say me, because it's not the health professionals I've dealt with who are telling me this, for the most part; it's me informing them! Nowadays you have to be an expert in your own health. You have to know what to ask for and then go out and make it happen. 

Finally I've been put on HRT, and so far, so good. Time will tell but we really must see the holistic picture when treating women with mental health conditions.

#PMDAwarenessMonth2022




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2023 reflections

Well it's that time of year when we start to take stock as we head into the holiday season. I have to say, whilst 2023 has been an incredibly difficult year for me personally due to ill health, professionally and for my business, Penned by Jen, has been very successful! True, I was made redundant at the start, but that only inspired me to focus on my own business and really go for it! The upshot of this has been so many amazing clients. I've written articles about AI, carpet cleaning in hotels, robotics and employer branding, to name just a few. So many projects have come my way through my existing contacts, and I'm extremely grateful to all of you for believing in and investing in my business. I ended the year with a market stall selling my poetry based gifts and had such a great time making connections.  So I end the year with full gratitude and excitement about what 2024 will bring. Merry Christmas everyone!
 So it's #InternationalWomen'sDay and as a woman I feel compelled to write about something, to inspire other women and share my experience of 45 years around the sun.  No surprise to my friends, I'm writing about menopause. But not the hot flushes and night sweats - they are horrid, but I am focusing on mood disorders that are exacerbated or triggered by the perimenopausal hormone changes.  I'm talking brain fog, memory issues so much so you think you have dementia, anxiety leading to phobias, and the depression which is all-consuming. I want to share that I have all this every 3-4 weeks at the moment and have done now for nearly 5 years. Surely this will end soon? They say 10 years is possible. I've recently started following Louise Newson from Balance; she's a doctor with really great advice and support around menopause and all the problems it brings for women. As well as Davina Mcall, she and Dr Greenhouse are sending out a very clear message which resonates