I’m sad…and logically there is absolutely no reason for me to be. I mean, HELLO, I’m spending five weeks in Mexico away from the cold, gray, snowy skies of Kansas City!
But, sad I am. I’ve been at the condo we have in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and it’s been a beautiful two weeks. Well…let me rephrase, the weather has been beautiful – sunny, blue skies, birds flying around, pool gurgling, but my husband and I have been INSIDE for the majority of the time doing a full paint job and clean up! Come on!!!! What I had anticipated to be a week or less of work, snowballed to nearly two! No reason to go into all the details but the score on this one – Mexico 2 and Jeanette 0!
It’s all good, but now that the two weeks have come to a close, my hubs is heading home and I’m staying at another apartment till the end of February. OK, I’m hearing the violins in the background and definitely not sensing much sympathy! So, why am I sad. Obvious is that after two weeks of not being able to enjoy my home away from home, I’m going elsewhere and without the hubs. And, it’s not like that’s bad as I’ve got a quaint (but tiny) studio to stay at and some self-care time to look forward to.
Enough of me though. All of this got me thinking about menopause (when I use menopause, I’m talking about pre, during and post) and sadness. Why when life really is pretty good, great or excellent can the sadness kick in and bring down that pretty good, great or excellent?
Feeling sad, anxious or irritable are some of the most common emotional symptoms of menopause. Often, they can be managed through lifestyle changes, such as changing how we eat, learning ways to relax and stress. I hear you! The ‘yeah right, how do I reduce stress let alone the lifestyle changes…. I’m being slammed here! But, hear me out.
This past year of being more consistent in blogging about my thoughts, feelings, menopause issues, etc. has made me become more mindful of my overall ‘life process’. As a logical thinker and analyzer of things, I’ve been working at being more in tune with the WHY of WHAT is happening – hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, sadness, etc. – what is going on around me that makes these issues more pronounced.
Fortunately for most of us, the feelings of sadness or depression are just that and nothing that fall into the clinical definitions of depression. Take a deep breath and analyze what you are feeling. Most likely it’s those pesky hormones that are causing the sadness, anxiety, lack of motivation and many other symptoms. Talk to your health practitioner, therapist, bestie, whatever and realize you most likely are O.K.! If you were here with me in Mexico, I’d say ‘let’s have a shot of tequila and hot flashes be damned!’ But seriously, most of us in the menopause phase will survive. I mean, we’re WOMAN so of course we will! Take a deep breath; call your bestie for ‘happy hour’, take a bubble bath, have a glass of wine or even a shot of tequila and be good to yourself.
Resources for this blog:
https://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/emotional-roller-coaster
https://www.menopause.org/for-women/menopauseflashes/mental-health-at-menopause/depression-menopause
https://www.verywellmind.com/the-connection-between-menopause-and-depression-4767577
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