NPR

For Some Women Nearing Menopause, Depression And Anxiety Can Spike

Women with a history of depression and anxiety are at a higher risk of having a flair up during the time leading up to menopause. And getting doctors to take the issue seriously can be challenging.
Teri Hines says she had a bout of depression during the lead up to menopause in her mid-40s. For many women, the lead up to menopause can trigger mood issues.

Teri Hines was in her mid-40s when she started to notice that her body was changing.

Her period became irregular and more intense. "It increased in frequency, it increased in intensity and it increased in duration," she says.

She began to have hot flashes, gained weight and her energy levels took a nosedive.

"I just did not have the energy to do the things I wanted to do," she says, like the long morning walks she loved to take with her dogs, or planning solo travel.

At the time, Hines lived alone in Philadelphia where she worked as an assistant principal at a school. She struggled to get out of bed and go to work, and began to withdraw from friends.

Looking back, she remembers feeling isolated and unmoored. "It was such a fog over who I was,

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