Menopause: Is It All In Your Head?

You can be 54 and still be an attractive woman and feel full of energy. What may surprise you is that for some, menopause feels like a haze has been lifted and you see in a way that you haven’t been able to see before.

Until menopause, hormones, physical touch, emotions and the synapses to care, fix and help others have programmed a woman’s brain. But, in later years the brain circuits that have provided the foundations for these impulses are no longer being fueled.

Menopause is characteristically the moment 12 months after a woman’s last period and 12 months after the ovaries have stopped producing hormones that have boosted communication circuits, emotion circuits, the drive to tend and care, and the urge to avoid conflict at all costs.

All the main brain circuits to run the course are present, but the fuel for running a highly efficient engine for tracking the emotions of others has begun to run dry. As estrogen decreases through menopause, so does the calming affect of oxytocin. Even the rush of dopamine from enjoying life has diminished.

This biological truth is one of the greatest mysteries to women at this age – and to the men around them – as how the changes in hormones affect thoughts, feelings and brain functions.

Perimenopause Reward

Starting at about age 43, a woman’s brain becomes less sensitive to estrogen, accompanied by a variety of symptoms for months to years, including hot flashes, joint pain, anxiety and even depression.  The rocket fuel that feeds the sex drive (testosterone) also drops and estrogen withdrawal symptoms start with the shortening of the menstrual cycles by a day or two.  The brain’s response to glucose changes dramatically too, giving energy surges and drops, as well as cravings for sweet and carbs.

Since estrogen affects the brain’s levels of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine other neurotransmitters that control mood and memory, it is no surprise that symptoms of depressed mood, sleeping problems memory lapses and irritability are common

During perimenopause and menopause, the brain circuits fueled by estrogen and reinforced by oxytocin and dopamine are set free as the mommy wiring comes loose and can be applied to new ambitions, new thoughts and new ideas.  When children are young, the physical sensations of tending and touching the children reinforce the estrogen sensation and tend the circuits that turn up oxytocin in the brain.  Women use this physical feedback to activate and maintain nurturing and caretaking brain circuits.  Once kids leave the home and if a mother is menopausal, the hormones that built, primed and maintained those brain circuits are gone.  (Note: this does not mean they are lost forever. Helping others can renew care-giving circuits.)

Not all perimenopausal or postmenopausal women lose their testosterone or sexual interest.  On the contrary, many women experience a renewed zest for life, even rejuvenated sexual desire because you no longer have to be concerned with birth control, PMS or painful cramps.  It is like starting life all over again with a better set of rules.  Consider a testosterone patch to reignite that zest.

Note To Husbands

Being coy, accommodating and empathetic towards husbands, as wives often are gifted, can be attributed to the estrogen hormone.  But being hit with menopause overrides the supply of hormones that dials the controlling emotions.  Filters come off, irritability increases and anger pathways become more aggressive when estrogen decreases and the calming effects of progesterone and oxytocins are not present to cool off the anger.  More than often, the unhappiness gets blamed on the husband as a result.

Just as drops in estrogen and progesterone before a period can make her believe she fat, ugly and worthless, the absence of reproductive hormones can make a woman believe her husband is the cause of all her misery. This might be the time, if you haven’t already, to learn process and resolve to disagreements.

The decreased urge to tend and nurture after menopause may not come as a relief to all women.  Research has yet to examine why low oxytocin, which ensues after estrogen declines, may lead to real behavioral changes. A friend of mine, Marcia, admitted feeling much less concerned about the problems and needs of her family, friends and children — and less likely to look after them —during her perimenopause years.  She found that her new emotional independence could be applied to individual focus and pleasures rather than family centric efforts, so she took up golf!

But Marcia began having vaginal dryness, night sweats and interrupted sleep, which lead her to begin taking estrogen.  The nurturing instincts came flooding back with one little pill and she started feeling her old self again. The estrogen may have stimulated her brain to products higher levels of oxytocin again, triggering familiar patterns of behavior – and to her husband’s relief!

Ready to Retire?

At menopause, the female brain is nowhere near ready to retire.  As a matter of fact, many women’s lives are just hitting their peak.  This can be an exciting intellectual time now that the burden of child rearing has decreased and the preoccupation with the mommy brain is lessened.

Work and accomplishment can be critical to a woman’s sense of well-being during this life transition.  There is a lot of life left after menopause, and embracing work – whatever that may be – passionately allows a woman to feel regenerated and fulfilled.

Hormones in the brain are what make us beautifully women, with specifically female behaviors and skills.  When we lose estrogen, the brain cells, brain circuits and neurochemicals start to shrivel.  Each woman must find her own way using diet, hormones, activities, exercises and natural treatment to treat this hormone change.

Despite the storms and hormonal adjustments that accompany menopause, women can stay remarkably vigorous, smart and capable.  The choice to present yourself as passionate and real, the impulse to help others and purposefully engage in serious problem solving skills can energize you.

A century ago, menopause was relatively rare because the average death of a woman was 49.  Historically speaking, planning for menopause is fairly new.  But, it is a wide-open place for women to discover, create, contribute and lead in positive ways for future generations.  Women just might even have the most fun years of their lives.  The postmenopausal years can be a time for both men and women to redefine their relationships and roles, take on new challenges and adventures – separately and together.

Maybe life does save some of the best joy for the last.

 

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Grandma Barton is mother to Joe Barton (founder of Barton Publishing), grandmother to 6 grandkids and 28 step-grandkids, and over 3000 Home Cures That Work members. She is atwo-time breast cancer survivor with the help of Dr. Saunders and natural remedies. Grandma loves finding cures within the home to treat all sorts of ailments. With tips she’s learned on the farm and along the way, Grandma Barton brings a time-tested and trusted voice when it comes to home remedies. She really is an inspiration to us all.