Perimenopause – The Roller Coaster Ride of Hormones

When You Feel Different but Can’t Explain Why

One day, you wake up and realize something has changed.

You are still you — responsible, caring, capable — but your body doesn’t respond the way it used to. Sleep feels lighter. Energy feels fragile. Emotions feel closer to the surface. Small stresses feel heavier. Weight shifts despite unchanged habits. Your eyes burn after screen time. Your joints ache when you get up in the morning. Anxiety appears without invitation.

And the most painful part?

No one warned you this would happen.

You start wondering:
“Is this stress?”
“Is this aging?”
“Why can everyone else manage but I can’t?”

What you are experiencing may have a name — perimenopause.

Not a disease. Not a weakness.
A transition.

---

---

What Is Perimenopause?

Perimenopause means “around menopause.” It is the long, often confusing phase before menopause, when the ovaries slowly begin to change how they produce hormones.

Menopause is diagnosed only after 12 months without periods. But perimenopause can begin 7–10 years before that, sometimes as early as the mid‑30s, most commonly in the late 30s or 40s.

This is where many women feel lost.

Periods may still be regular. Life looks normal on the outside. But internally, hormones begin behaving unpredictably — not declining gently, but fluctuating sharply.

Estrogen rises high one month and crashes the next.
Progesterone, the calming hormone, quietly drops earlier.
The nervous system struggles to keep up.

Your body starts speaking a new language — one you were never taught.

---

Why Perimenopause Feels So Overwhelming

Perimenopause does not arrive in isolation.

It often overlaps with:

• Peak career responsibilities
• Parenting teenagers
• Caring for aging parents
• Emotional and financial pressure
• Years of neglecting your own needs

Women are expected to carry on — emotionally steady, endlessly capable, always giving.

So when perimenopause disrupts this image, women don’t ask for help.

They blame themselves.

And that self‑blame hurts more than the symptoms themselves.

---

The Symptoms: More Than Just Hot Flashes

Perimenopause symptoms are diverse because estrogen receptors exist throughout the body — brain, eyes, skin, joints, gut, heart, bladder.

Every symptom feels personal — but none are imaginary.

---

The Science Behind the Chaos (In Simple Words)

Estrogen: The Master Regulator

Estrogen supports:

• Brain chemistry (serotonin, dopamine)
• Sleep and mood
• Eye lubrication and vision
• Skin collagen
• Joint lubrication
• Bone density
• Heart and blood vessel health

In perimenopause, estrogen does not simply decline — it fluctuates.

These fluctuations confuse the brain and nervous system, creating emotional and physical instability.

Progesterone: The Lost Calmer

Progesterone supports:

• Deep sleep
• Anxiety control
• Emotional balance

It often declines earlier than estrogen because ovulation becomes irregular.

This is why many women experience anxiety and insomnia before periods change.

Stress Hormones Join the Story

As ovarian hormones fluctuate, the adrenal glands compensate.

Chronic stress amplifies symptoms dramatically — worsening sleep, weight gain, mood swings, and fatigue.

---

Why Every Organ Feels Different

Estrogen is present everywhere — so when it fluctuates, every system responds.

Brain & Nervous System

• Mood swings, anxiety, brain fog

Eyes

• Reduced tear production causes dryness and burning
• Lens stiffness worsens near vision

Skin & Hair

• Reduced collagen causes dryness, wrinkles, pigmentation
• Hair growth cycle shortens → hair fall

Joints & Muscles

• Loss of estrogen increases inflammation
• Stiffness and aches increase

Gut

• Slower digestion
• Increased bloating and sensitivity

Bladder & Vaginal Tissue

• Thinning tissues cause dryness and discomfort

This is whole‑body transition, not random breakdown.

---

The Emotional Cost of Not Knowing

When women don’t understand perimenopause:

• They hate their bodies
• They suppress symptoms
• They push through exhaustion
• They accept suffering as normal

Awareness changes everything.

When women understand why, they stop blaming themselves.

---

Lifestyle & Self‑Care: Supporting a Changing Body

Perimenopause is not the phase to fight your body.

It is the phase to support it differently.

---

Diet for Perimenopause: Nourishment Over Restriction

Why Diet Matters More Now

• Insulin sensitivity reduces
• Muscle loss begins
• Bone density starts declining

Insulin sensitivity reduces means your body’s cells respond less effectively to insulin, making it harder to control blood sugar and increasing the risk of weight gain and energy crashes.

---

Exercise for Perimenopause: Strength Without Stress

---

Lifestyle That Heals Hormones

Sleep Is Non‑Negotiable

• Fixed routine
• Cool, dark bedroom
• No screens before bed

Stress Regulation

• Breathwork
• Meditation
• Nature exposure

Emotional Boundaries

• Say no without guilt
• Ask for help
• Reduce people‑pleasing

Rest is medicine in this phase.

---

Medical Support Is Not Failure

Options may include:

• Hormonal therapy (when appropriate)
• Vaginal estrogen for dryness
• Non‑hormonal symptom support

Quality of life matters.

---

A Message to Every Woman Reading This

If you feel different — you are not imagining it.

If you feel overwhelmed — your body is communicating, not betraying you.

If you feel lost — this is transition, not decline.

Perimenopause is the roller coaster ride of hormones.

But with awareness, self‑care, and compassion, you don’t have to ride it blindfolded.

You deserve understanding.
You deserve support.
You deserve kindness — especially from yourself.

Read more blogs here.

External Reading – 🔗 Perimenopause – Symptoms and Causes | Mayo Clinic — A trusted medical overview of perimenopause symptoms, why they occur, and what to expect from this transitional phase. Mayo Clinic