The focus of this year’s World Menopause Day is cognition and mood. In this episode, Dr Louise Newson talks to Dr Clair Crockett, a GP and menopause specialist with an interest in mood, mental health and hormones. Clair’s interest in the topic stems from her own experience of escalating anxiety, low mood and intrusive thoughts in the premenstrual phase of her cycle during her mid-to-late 30s. Through her own research, she looked for ways to help her symptoms including through lifestyle changes, supplements and antidepressants. While these all helped some aspects of her mental health, it wasn’t until she began taking HRT that the premenstrual mental health symptoms eased.
The experts discuss the importance of considering hormones when helping women experiencing mental health problems and outline some of the ways they are working to improve education about menopause and mental health amongst healthcare professionals.
Clair’s tips to women with mental health symptoms in perimenopause and menopause:
If you’d like to read more about Clair’s personal experience of mental health and hormones, you can read her story here.
177 - Families, relationships and the power of connection with Julia Samuel
176 - Introducing new Chief Medical Director, Dr Magnus Harrison
174 - World Menopause Day Special with Dr Louise Newson
173 - The challenges of accessing menopause treatment as a young woman
172 - Learning to make empowered choices after cancer with Dani Binnington
171 - Finding hope with hormones after 20 years of struggling with my mental health
170 - Recognising and reversing osteoporosis with Dr Taher Mahmud
169 - The unfair choice for elite female athletes with Janet Birkmyre
168 - The facts and fiction about menopausal skin with Dr Sajjad Rajpar
167 - The benefits of yoga (revisited) with Lucy Holtom
166 - Researching suicide in perimenopause and menopause with Dr Pooja Saini
165 - When menopausal symptoms persist, with Dr Anna Chiles
164 - When ADHD collides with perimenopause with Margaret Reed Roberts
163 - When night sweats are not the menopause with Dr Susanna Crowe
162 - Divorce, perimenopause and menopause with Farhana Shahzady
161 - Jill’s experience of heart attacks and hormones
160 - Thinking hormones in psychiatric consultations with Dr Devika Patel
159 - Raising awareness of HRT in the community in Ireland with Pharmacist, Victoria Jones
158 - Pushing against social and political constraints on women’s health with Dr Heather Hirsch
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Good Mood Revolution
The Relaxback UK Show
Your Sleep Guru Podcast
Anxiety Slayer™ with Shann and Ananga
Nothing much happens: bedtime stories to help you sleep
The Gary Null Show