jenjog - what a good thread to start. There are many strategies that one can use and it is about finding what works for you. It's not just in peri that the anxiety and low mood emerge - I am very post meno and I simply can't cope with stress like I used to and my mood can fluctuate greatly adn my anxiety can be awful. To others I give the impression of being so in control - I am doing the swan act - as this tends to help everything. Some might call it the "stiff upper lip†but I call it ‘acting'. I was a professional dancer, singer and actress so I use my training and often pretend outwardly that everything is OK, most of the time (though I will have a bit of a moan to the right people). What really makes my anxiety dreadful is feeling unwell - I am frightened of dementia and anything that might give physical disability e.g. osteoporosis. Strangely I don't worry about cancer as I know early detection can often treat it with positive outcomes but the thought of anything degenerative is too terrifying.
For no reason at all, I woke last Saturday morning feeling totally despondent. I had to drag myself out of bed, make myself eat breakfast, but the heavy heart and overwhelming feeling that life was too hard was awful. I set myself some simply goals for the day and started with a brisk walk and by the afternoon the mood had lifted.
I do a lot of Mindfulness.. Posting on this forum can make me feel better.
AS mental health is very topical at the moment and treatment is still poor, sharing strategies to ‘get us through' is a great idea. I look forward to more comments and ideas from others. DG x
