219 - Mental health and the perimenopause

Content advisory: this podcast contains themes of mental health and suicide.

Joining Dr Louise on the podcast this week are Lynsey and her husband Kieran. In this episode, Lynsey movingly describes a rapid deterioration in her mental health during the perimenopause which saw her sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

‘I just felt desperate that this was a new version of me and I couldn't work out why,’ she recalls.

Lynsey and Kieran, who is a GP, speak to Dr Louise about the need for greater understanding of how hormonal changes during the perimenopause and menopause can impact on mental health, coupled with improved access to HRT.

Contact the Samaritans for 24-hour, confidential support by calling 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org