How Perimenopause Affects Mental Health in Midlife Women

What happens when a woman whose career depends on confidence and words suddenly loses both? For journalist Shelly Horton, perimenopause didn’t arrive with hot flushes at first. It showed up as anxiety, heart palpitations, crushing self-doubt, and moments of forgetting simple words at work.In this deeply honest episode, Dr Shauna Watts speaks with Shelly about her journey through perimenopause-related depression, being dismissed by doctors, and the quiet suffering of high-functioning women in midlife. Shelly shares how the right diagnosis, support, and hormone treatment helped her find herself again and why she’s now using her voice to make sure other women don’t feel invisible.In this episode, you’ll learn:• Understand how perimenopause can present as anxiety and depression• Recognise why high-functioning women are often missed or dismissed• Learn how hormonal changes affect confidence, cognition, and mood• Understand the role of HRT in perimenopausal depression• Recognise warning signs that shouldn’t be ignored• Learn why advocacy, for yourself and others, matters• Understand how shame and silence keep women unwellThis episode is for women who feel dismissed, disconnected, or quietly struggling in the midlife yearss. Shelly’s story sheds light on how hormonal change affects mental health and how proper support can help.For more resources from Shelly Horton:Follow her on Instagram or purchase her book ‘I’m Your Peri-Godmother’.Follow Dr Shauna and the podcast on social:Podcast Website: ⁠www.allaboutyoupod.com⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allaboutyou_withdrshaunawatts https://www.instagram.com/drshaunawattsgpLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shauna-watts-a903a5247Disclaimer: This podcast and any information, advice, opinions or statements within it do not constitute medical, health care or other professional advice. Information is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only.00:00 – When Perimenopause Steals Your Confidence00:08 – Shelly Horton’s Perimenopause Wake-Up Call00:53 – Welcome to All About You with Dr Shauna Watts01:10 – “I Didn’t Recognise Myself”: Losing Confidence in Midlife02:24 – Early Perimenopause Symptoms Doctors Miss07:46 – Perimenopause, Anxiety & Depression10:56 – Getting the Right Diagnosis Changed Everything14:32 – What Depression Really Feels Like15:20 – Tracking Symptoms & Withdrawing from Life16:29 – High-Functioning Depression at Work17:28 – Why Women Hide Mental Health Struggles19:24 – Fear, Myths & Starting HRT20:45 – Dark Thoughts & Breakthrough Depression23:26 – Finding a Psychiatrist Who Understands Hormones26:32 – Extreme Heavy Bleeding in Perimenopause28:37 – A Health Crisis That Forced Change30:34 – Strength Training & Rebuilding Her Body31:50 – Body Image, Aging & Self-Trust35:46 – Going Public with Her Perimenopause Story40:13 – Vaginal Dryness & Intimate Symptoms42:17 – Invisibility, Anger & Female Empowerment48:04 – Writing a Book to Change the Conversation01:01:38 – A Message for Women Who Feel Lost* perimenopause depression* perimenopause mental health* Shelly Horton menopause* high functioning depression women* menopause anxiety and mood* hormonal depression in midlife* HRT and mental health* perimenopause symptoms women* being dismissed by doctors women* menopause advocacy Australia* women’s mental health midlife* hormone replacement therapy HRT* menopause stigma* losing confidence in perimenopause

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