I’ve written about perimenopause before. I recently touched on its connection to brain fog. However, I haven’t shared another condition that many women have been experiencing called perimenopausal depression. During this stage of a woman’s life, which happens before menopause, hormonal changes that a woman has could lead to mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Instead of prescribed medications such as antidepressants, many women have been turning to natural remedies for perimenopausal depression such as herbal remedies and changing your diet. Let’s examine these natural remedies and how they’re beneficial in either complementing or replacing traditional antidepressants.
The Link between Hormonal Imbalance and Perimenopausal Depression
When a woman enters the perimenopausal stage, their hormones start to become imbalanced or fluctuate. A woman’s estrogen and progesterone levels begin to fluctuate, affecting every major organ system in the body, including her brain. This makes us very vulnerable to emotional or mood changes such as anxiety or depression. Mood changes such as irritability, sadness, low energy, and difficulty concentrating, could affect as many as four in 10 women.
Women who go through perimenopausal depression typically experience this as soon as they are in their early 40s. Katie Unverferth, MD, medical director of the Maternal Mental Health Program at UCLA Health and a collaborating physician with the Comprehensive Menopause Care program, mentioned that anxiety and depression symptoms are the most common ones, especially if you have a history of mental health disorders. Louis Dixon De Silva, PhD, a clinical psychologist who works with the menopause care program, mentions that it’s not just hormonal changes that have an impact on perimenopausal depression. “A person’s feelings about aging, fertility, their place in society, and other environmental-social factors also play a role,” she said.
Best Natural Remedies for Perimenopausal Depression
Because some women have become tired of medication or prescribed treatments, many of them have turned to more natural methods of treating conditions. Perimenopausal depression is one of those conditions that has been managed effectively through natural remedies. Some examples of natural remedies for perimenopausal depression include eating a nutritional diet, exercising frequently, mind-body practices, and herbal remedies. Let’s go over each one and briefly discuss how they’re effective in boosting your mood and alleviating perimenopausal depression.
Being Selective of your Nutrition for your Mental Health
What you eat could always have an impact on your mental health. So you must be careful with what you’re putting every day in your body. Making necessary healthy changes to your diet could boost your mood and alleviate your perimenopausal depression symptoms. Foods with omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, Vitamin B6, and folate. Omega-3 fatty acids are substances that can help you manage perimenopausal symptoms such as night sweats and depression. Research has shown that diets with both omega-3 fatty acids and fiber have been linked to a lower chance of women developing depression and anxiety symptoms. Some good examples of foods with omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, mackerel, sardines, walnuts, and flaxseeds.
Magnesium-rich foods are also good options to implement in your diet if you’re going through perimenopausal depression. It’s been said that magnesium is beneficial for various aspects of your body. Magnesium could help your limbic system, which controls your emotional responses, function. While there’s not a lot of research to show that magnesium could impact your mood, a review of seven clinical trials involving a range of participants shows that it could do this. The 2023 review shows that the participant’s depression symptoms were significantly reduced after taking magnesium supplements. Some common examples of magnesium-rich foods include leafy greens, nuts, and seeds.
Foods with Vitamin B6 and folate are other good examples of natural remedies for perimenopausal depression. These foods are effective in serotonin production and stabilizing your mood. Some good examples are spinach, chickpeas, and fortified cereals. You could also consider foods rich in calcium and Vitamin D like dairy products, oily fish, and soybeans to build up your immune system and strengthen your bone and muscle health.
Some other notable mentions are plant-based foods, protein such as tofu, beans, eggs, and nuts, and food with good sources of fiber. Eating these various types of foods daily will help lower your risk of perimenopausal depression. Now that you know what to eat, you may be wondering, “What should I avoid?” Let’s dive into the foods you should steer clear of during the perimenopause stage
What Foods Should You Avoid During Perimenopause?
When you think of foods to avoid during perimenopause, you must think of foods high in sugar and processed. Ultra-processed food is particularly harmful to the bacteria that live in your gut. Foods high in carbs can cause an increase in your blood sugar levels. These types of foods are fast food items, spicy foods, and sugary desserts. I know that this could sometimes be hard, but try to limit your intake of cakes, pies, cookies, fast-food burgers, chilis, and hot peppers. Drinking a lot of alcohol and caffeine wouldn’t lower your perimenopausal depression symptoms either.
What Herbal Remedies to Consider for Emotional Well-being?
Besides having a healthy diet, some have found herbal remedies to be beneficial for perimenopausal depression. Some of these natural herbs have been known to help with sleeping, stress, and anxiety. They also help with mood swings and irritability. A lot of these herbal remedies come from plants and many people have been using them instead of prescribed medications such as antidepressants.
One example of a herbal remedy for perimenopausal depression is a yellow-flowering plant that has been used in traditional European medicine for many years. St. John’s Wort has built a reputation for treating menopause symptoms such as mood problems. One review of studies backs up this claim by concluding that St. John’s Wort was among the most effective botanicals in improving mild to moderate depressive symptoms and mood disorders.
Another plant that is said to be good in alleviating symptoms is the Valerian root. This is a plant with pink flowers and a floral scent. The Valerian root has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient Greece. While it could help in improving sleep quality, it has been said that it could help in reducing stress, hot flashes, anxiety, and other perimenopausal symptoms.
Mindfulness Practices and Importance of Physical Exercise
To calm their mood and de-stress, some women have been turning to mindfulness practices. These methods are best practices for improving mental health in perimenopausal women. Taking some time to do this could help regulate your emotions, elevate calmness, and reduce your mood swings. Some common examples of mindfulness practices or mind-body activities include meditation, yoga, and deep breathing techniques. During these activities, you focus your mind on your breathing and how your body is feeling. These practices have been effective at not only alleviating mood swings, but also balancing hormones, reducing anxiety, and calming the nervous system. Studies have also shown that these techniques could help in lowering your levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Another form of physical activity you can’t forget about is exercising. Getting some form of fitness in is always beneficial to the body, but it’s especially needed for perimenopausal depression. Physical exercise is great in boosting your mood and making you feel good. When you engage in aerobic or cardiovascular exercise such as running, brisk walking, cycling, swimming, or dancing, the body’s mood elevators known as endorphins are released. These forms of exercise are effective in supporting your physical and mental well-being.
How to Cope with Perimenopause?
Coping with perimenopause involves understanding how it affects your mental and physical well-being and implementing strategies to alleviate its symptoms. The risk of women getting depressed during this phase is becoming higher than expected. If you already have a history of mental health disorders, you could be at risk. In addition to managing your diet, considering herbal remedies, mind-body practices, and exercising, it’s also vital to have a strong support system with family members and friends.
However, perimenopausal depression is a manageable condition and these natural remedies can potentially provide the relief you need to calm your symptoms. But that doesn’t mean that they’re suitable for everyone. If you’ve been experiencing this condition, please consult with your doctor concerning what forms of treatment are safe and right for you.
What experiences do you have with natural remedies for perimenopausal depression? What remedies have been effective in alleviating your symptoms? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below about any holistic health strategies that you’ve used. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next woman you know.
