Why am I so anxious?
Anxiety, irritability, or feeling unlike yourself in midlife.
What you may want to know
Many women describe new or increased anxiety, irritability, or tearfulness during the perimenopausal years.
Anxiety in midlife can have more than one contributor, including sleep disruption, life stress, thyroid or other medical conditions, medications, and hormonal change. Noticing it does not tell you which of these applies to you.
Mood changes are a recognized part of what women report in this stage of life, and they are worth raising with a clinician rather than managing alone.
If you build your Hormone Map, this page can also show what you've already reported in this area.
Build My Hormone MapWhat may be useful to track
- When the feelings are strongest during the day, and whether they follow poor sleep.
- Whether they change across your cycle, if you are still cycling.
- What tends to be happening around them: stress, caffeine, alcohol, illness, or schedule changes.
Questions you could bring to your clinician
Once you've completed the assessment and reported symptoms in this area, question prompts based on what you reported will appear here.
When to seek care
- If you have thoughts of harming yourself, or you feel unable to keep yourself safe, seek help immediately or contact emergency services.
- If anxiety or low mood is persistent, worsening, or affecting your ability to work, sleep, or care for yourself, contact a clinician promptly.
This is a patient-reported, educational summary. It is not a diagnosis, a medical record, or a treatment recommendation. Only your clinician can advise on what is appropriate for you.
Something else on your mind?