6 ways to cope with menopausal depression

What is menopause/menopausal depression?

Menopause occurs later in life when a woman’s body stops producing eggs and fertility ceases. Missing a period for 12 consecutive months (in the absence of other obvious causes) is the main criteria for being menopausal. The average onset of menopause is 51. Hormonal changes can lead to menopausal depression.

Interesting facts about menopause:

There is a high suicide rate in women aged 45–54 years. This may be related to the biological changes associated with menopause.

Management can include psychotherapy and other non-drug interventions. Drug intervention treatments include hormone replacement therapy, an antidepressant, or both.

If a woman has had well-controlled depression that is well managed prior to menopause, menopause can disrupt this balance. This is known as a “Perimenopausal relapse”. Agomelatine is a newer antidepressant with a positive sedative impact and fewer adverse effects in menopausal women.

The economic cost (estimated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics) of menopausal anxiety and depression has been estimated at around $22 billion per year.