Menopause and Mental Health: 8 Things Your Doctor May Be Overlooking

“The most important conversations are the ones we’re not having.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

When Your Blood Tests Are Normal… But Your Mind Says Something’s Off..

You’re snapping at your partner. Crying in traffic. Forgetting names mid-sentence. You used to love dancing, but now even music feels like noise. You’re showing up, doing the work, but deep down… something just isn’t right.

You go to the doctor. Your CBC, thyroid, iron—all normal.
You’re told: “Maybe take a break.” Or worse: “It’s just stress.”

But what if it’s not?
What if the real issue is one we’ve barely begun to name?

Welcome to the hormonal maze of menopause and mental health.
A space where emotions shift like the monsoon—intense, sudden, and often misunderstood.

Let’s decode 8 often-overlooked ways this connection is affecting women like you — and what can be done about it.

1. Hormones Don’t Just Control Your Period — They Control Your Mood

Estrogen and progesterone aren’t just about fertility. They influence serotonin (your feel-good hormone), dopamine (motivation), and oxytocin (bonding and trust).
When estrogen levels begin to dip during perimenopause, those brain chemicals get wobbly — leading to mood swings, irritability, or emotional flatness.

It’s not “you being emotional.”
It’s neurochemistry on a rollercoaster.

2. Perimenopause Can Trigger Depression — Even If You’ve Never Felt Low Before

You don’t have to have a history of anxiety or depression for this stage to hit hard.
Studies (including those from Harvard Medical School) show that the risk of developing depressive symptoms doubles during perimenopause. This isn’t “just getting older.” This is hormonal flux intersecting with identity, aging, and change.

And in India? The stigma around this emotional shift often silences women before they can speak.

3. You’re Seeing the Right Doctor — But Not for the Right Problem

Your gynaecologist tracks your periods. Your therapist tracks your mood. Your endocrinologist looks at labs.
But rarely do these dots get connected.

This siloed approach means most women are treating symptoms in isolation, not recognising that menopause and mental health are part of the same continuum.

Imagine if you could walk into a clinic and say, “I feel off,” and not be handed an antidepressant without asking if your hormones are crashing.

4. Menopause Is Often Diagnosed Too Late

Most doctors still define menopause as “no periods for 12 months.” But what about the years before that?
Perimenopause — a phase that can last up to 10 years — is often where the emotional turbulence peaks.

That means your worst symptoms could be dismissed because you’re “technically not menopausal yet.”
But let’s be honest: your body knows. Your mind knows.

5. We’re Still Not Talking About It Enough

Whether you’re in Mumbai or Minneapolis, talking about mood swings linked to menopause still carries shame.
In Indian households, “pagal toh na?” (You’re not mad, right?) becomes the casual label. In Hollywood, menopausal women are often invisible altogether—unless they’re the butt of the joke.

But remember Vidya Bagchi in Kahaani — alone, unravelling mysteries, navigating loss, rage, and strength in a world that doesn’t quite believe her?
That wasn’t just a thriller. That was midlife, metaphorically — powerful, confusing, and often underestimated.

6. You’re Tired, Foggy, and Irritable—And It’s Not ‘Just Stress’

Sleep disruption (thanks, night sweats) makes everything worse.
Brain fog feels like early dementia.
You want to connect, but everything overstimulates you.

The emotional chaos is often mislabelled as burnout or aging.
But again, this is menopause and mental health.
And unless your doctor’s asking the right questions, you’re left trying to solve a 1,000-piece puzzle in the dark.

7. There’s Still No Standard Mental Health Screening in Menopause Care

Ask yourself: has any doctor asked you about your moods during your check-ups?
Not just “Are you depressed?”
But “How’s your sleep? Your anxiety? Your emotional bandwidth?”

We need integrated care — not just iron and calcium checks, but emotional check-ins too.
Institutions like the Indian Menopause Society are beginning to push for this. But we have a long way to go.

8. You’re Not Just Sad or Anxious — You’re Changing

This is the most radical truth:
You are not broken. You are becoming.

Just like caterpillars dissolve inside their cocoons before becoming butterflies, perimenopause dissolves your old patterns, roles, identities.
And yes — it’s disorienting.
But it can also be liberating.

How Miror Bliss Can Help You Rebalance?

Midlife mood changes don’t always need medication right away. Gentle support goes a long way.

That’s where Miror Bliss steps in — a plant-powered supplement crafted specifically for perimenopausal and menopausal women. With Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Magnesium, Vitamin B12, Evening Primrose Oil, Ashoka Bark, and more — it supports:

• Mood swings

• Fatigue

• Emotional overwhelm

• Hormonal imbalances

Thousands of women across India say Bliss didn’t just lift their mood — it brought them back home to themselves.

👉 Learn more about Bliss on our website or reach out in the Miror Community, where no symptom is ever too “small,” and no emotion is ever “too much.”

Be Your Own Advocate!

• Track your mood alongside your cycle — even if it’s irregular.

• Ask your doctor: “Could this be hormonal?”

• Don’t settle for silence — ask for HRT info or emotional support.

• Reach out. Journals, girlfriends, and safe spaces like ours can work magic. And don’t forget, Miror‘s here for you too!

Final Words: Menopause and Mental Health Deserve a Microphone:

You’re not imagining it.
You’re remembering you.

There is nothing “silly” about needing to cry.
There is nothing “weak” about needing help.
There is nothing “crazy” about wanting clarity.

You’re walking through fire and finding your voice again.
And that? That’s not just normal — it’s powerful.

3 Expert Resources You Can Trust

• Harvard Medical School: Depression more likely during perimenopause than before or after

• Mental Health Issues in Menopause

• PubMed: Risk for New-Onset Depression During the Menopausal Transition