Our Nominated Charity
At February’s Performance & Audit Sub-committee, the Trustees chose to take forward SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) as our chosen charity for 2024-25. It was felt that the charity’s ethos fits well with our own current agenda; mental health issues can affect everyone, and stress, whether personal or work-related is frequently listed within our top 3 reasons for staff absence. In addition, we are keen to ensure that we invest more in our welling initiatives to ensure we can support our employees as much as possible and this fits nicely with the launch of our Staff Ambassador scheme and the Wellbeing role. More info to follow!
Menopause and mental health
This month, with the help of our charity partner, SAMH, we want to raise awareness of the connection between menopause and mental health.
Menopause is when a person stops having periods and means ‘the last menstrual period’. It’s not only those who identify as women who will experience menopause. Some transgender men, non-binary people and intersex people may also experience menopause.
Every person’s journey is individual and the symptoms experienced during these three menopause stages can range from minimal to severe. The menopause stages are caused by a change in the balance of the body's hormones (oestrogen and progesterone), which occurs as you get older.
Perimenopause and menopause stages usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55 years old, but can occur earlier or later for some people.
Impact on mental health
Changes in your hormones during menopause can impact your mental health as well as your physical health. A study by SAMH found that 93.8% of participants experienced a change to their mood. Furthermore, 37.4% of participants reported that they had been referred to, or received treatment from, a professional (e.g., GP) for their mental health during the menopause life stage.
Menopausal symptoms may include:
- anger and irritability
- anxiety
- forgetfulness
- loss of self-esteem
- loss of confidence
- low mood and feelings of sadness or depression
- poor concentration – often described as ‘brain fog’ and/or lost words
Many women experiencing menopause or perimenopause will experience problems with sleeping. Lack of sleep and tiredness can also make symptoms including irritability, ability to concentrate or anxiety worse.
Treatment options
There are various treatments that you might want to consider to help relieve some of the psychological impacts of menopause. Everyone is different so it’s about choosing what’s right for you.
Supporting someone through menopause
If you know someone around you is going through menopause, you can let them know that you’re there to support them. Ask them what you can do to help, or just ask them how they’re feeling. People might not always feel comfortable discussing all of their symptoms, but it’s still important to let them know you’re there for them. If your loved one is experiencing poor mental health as a result of their menopause experience then SAMH has information and advice on how to have mental health conversations.