being easily startled
Inability to rest or relax
Impulsive behaviour
Panic attacks.
Life Changes and the Impact on Mental Health and Wellbeing
Our mental health and wellbeing can change not just from day to day, month to month, and year to year, but at key stages and changes in our lives. Childhood, adolescence, going into further or higher education, starting work, being in a relationship, becoming a parent, midlife, retirement etc. all have particular relevance and can impact on our wellbeing and mental health. Here we describe how some key life stages can adversely impact on mental health and we list common emotional and behavioural responses.
Menstruation and Mental Health
With menstruation comes hormonal changes that can cause emotional and physical symptoms each month. For some women these symptoms are mild and for others, distressing and difficult to manage.
Emotional responses:
Mood swings, irritability, anxiety, frustration, anger
Depression, sadness, crying
Low confidence and self-esteem.
How you might behave:
Inability to focus and concentrate or achieve as much as usual
Withdrawing from groups and social activities
Being irrational and impulsive
Abandoning normal physical activity
Greater inclination to conflict with others; easily offended.
‘Periods can be a problem for female tennis players. I often lose if I'm on my period. I suffer when I have it. I always have one bad day when I'm tired, I have no energy and all I want is sugar. Playing at Wimbledon, with its all-white dress code, makes things even more difficult. You're in short skirts and tiny shorts. It's the worst thing – and so distracting.’
Heather Watson. Tennis player
Menopause and Mental Health
When a woman experiences menopause, her ovaries stop producing the hormones – oestrogen and progesterone – that contribute to the reproductive system's normal cycle. This can result in distressing and uncomfortable physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms. (Some individuals who have transitioned from female to male may still have their ovaries, and so may also experience menopausal symptoms.)
Some women see menopause as a positive experience, no longer having to be concerned about periods or pregnancy, and see middle age as a time to think of themselves rather than dependents. But for others, menopause can be felt as a loss; a woman may feel that a part of their life is over; that she doesn't compare so well with younger family members and colleagues.
Emotional responses:
Mood swings – anger, sadness, irritability
Anxiety, depression
Low self-esteem/confidence
Feelings of hopelessness
Nervousness
Panic/feeling trapped
Loss of identity – ‘I don't know who I am any more’
Suicidal thoughts/feelings
How you might behave:
Inability to concentrate at work
Feeling confused and unable to prioritize
Lack of interest in usual social activities
Being argumentative and irritable, less patient with self and others
Memory lapses in conversation with others
Eating more – comfort eating
Male Midlife and Mental Health
People joke about the male ‘mid-life crisis’ and of men they know who have left their partners for someone much younger than themselves, or bought themselves a motorbike or a sports car. For some men, middle age makes them acutely aware that part of their life is over; they may feel they don't compare so well with younger family members and colleagues. They may either attempt to regain their youth or sink into a depression.
Although, as with any life stage, there are positive aspects to middle age, men too struggle, just as women do, with changes and challenges in life; mental health statistics and suicide rates for men certainly reflect this. (And some individuals who have transitioned from male to female may still experience difficulties specific to their gender identity, or original birth identity.)
You spend the first 20 years of your life running, running, running. You reach a point where you question if you can keep running like this for another 20 years.
Paolo Gallo
Emotional responses:
Depression and anxiety
Negativity, pessimism, and hopelessness
Irritability
Sadness for life that has passed
A sense of needing to cram more into life – time is running out
Suicidal thoughts/feelings.
How you might behave:
Becoming withdrawn from friends and family
May want to leave everything – partner, job, family, country, without thinking through the consequences
Disengagement from work
Spending more time at work as a displaced behaviour/anxiously avoiding relationships
Becoming more selfish and self-centred
Becoming more erratic and unable to think clearly
Increased alcohol or recreational drug intake
Eating more/less.
Grief and Mental Health
Grief
