Piece of Mind Psychology

29/09/2025

During perimenopause, however, hormone fluctuations make the nervous system more sensitive to this surge, turning what should be a natural rhythm into a stressful start.

This experience can feel confusing — especially if you’ve gone to bed feeling fine, only to wake anxious. Over time, it can contribute to poor sleep patterns, avoidance of morning routines, and dread about the day ahead.

While we can’t remove cortisol’s natural rhythm, we can soften its impact. Gentle strategies like slow breathing before getting out of bed, a short stretching or mindfulness practice, stepping outside into natural light, or delaying screens until after breakfast can all help calm the nervous system. Small, compassionate adjustments like these can change the way your day begins — and set a steadier tone for what follows.

Feel welcome to share your experience or reach out for support.

22/09/2025

Hormonal changes play a key role. As estrogen and progesterone fluctuate, so too do brain chemicals like serotonin and GABA, which help regulate mood, calmness, and sleep. When these systems are disrupted, the body can become more reactive to stress.

At the same time, perimenopause often coincides with high-pressure life stages — caring for teens or ageing parents, juggling work responsibilities, or navigating big transitions. Add in sleep disruption and physical symptoms such as night sweats or hot flushes, and the nervous system can feel constantly “switched on.”

The result? Heightened worry, restlessness, irritability, and a sense of unease that doesn’t easily switch off. The good news is, recognising this connection helps reduce self-blame. Perimenopausal anxiety isn’t a weakness — it’s a response to real biological and life changes. And with the right supports in place, it is treatable.

Feel welcome to share your experience, or reach out if you need support.

08/09/2025

Many women enter the perimenopausal transition bracing themselves for the worst: hot flushes, mood swings, sleepless nights, and the sense that something is “ending.” While there can be challenges, much of the distress comes not just from the symptoms themselves — but from the stories we’ve been told.

Here are a few common myths that deserve rewriting:

MYTH: Menopause means you’re past your prime.
TRUTH: This stage can bring clarity, confidence, and self-assurance. Many women report feeling more authentic, less apologetic, and more in tune with who they really are. You're not fading — you're evolving.

MYTH: Everyone goes through it the same way.
TRUTH: Every menopause experience is different. Some women struggle deeply, others glide through. There’s no one-size-fits-all — and no shame in needing support.

MYTH: It’s all about hormones.
TRUTH: Hormones matter, but so do stress, relationships, identity shifts, and life changes. Mental health can be affected, but it’s not just physical — it’s psychological and social, too.

MYTH: You just have to get through it.
TRUTH: You deserve more than survival. With the right support — including therapy, lifestyle shifts, and informed care — you can feel grounded, connected, and even renewed.

Menopause isn’t the end of the road. It’s a transition — one that, while complex, can open space for growth, freedom, and reconnection with what truly matters.

💬 If you’re feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, or simply curious about what this phase means for you — therapy can offer a space to explore and feel supported as you navigate it.

31/08/2025

When you reach the intersection of perimenopause and a late-in-life understanding of ADHD or Autism, it can feel like your world is shifting beneath your feet.

Maybe you’re exhausted from years of masking.
Maybe your usual coping strategies no longer work.
Maybe you’re grieving the time you spent not knowing.
Or maybe you’re just trying to make it through the day without dropping any more balls.

Whatever your experience, you don’t have to navigate this alone.

Support during this time isn’t about “fixing” anything — it’s about understanding yourself more deeply and building a life that actually works for your brain and your body.

In therapy, that might look like:
🛠️ Unpacking long-held beliefs about who you “should” be
🌀 Learning to manage overstimulation and emotional intensity with compassion
🧩 Exploring traits or patterns through a neurodiversity-affirming lens
💬 Processing grief, anger, relief, or confusion after a late diagnosis or self-discovery
🌱 Finding ways to unmask gently and safely, at your own pace
🧘 Rebuilding a sense of identity, agency, and self-trust

And importantly — recognising that the midlife shift isn’t a breakdown.
It’s often an invitation to rewrite the rules you’ve lived by for so long.

You are allowed to stop pushing through.
You are allowed to be supported.
And you are allowed to build something softer, clearer, and more you.

24/08/2025

When the hormonal shifts of perimenopause begin, they can magnify or unmask neurodivergent traits that have been quietly managed, masked, or misunderstood for years. You might begin to notice things that feel “new” — but are actually longstanding patterns becoming harder to suppress.

Here are some common signs that may emerge or intensify during perimenopause — especially in those with late-diagnosed or self-identifying ADHD or Autism:

📍 Increased overwhelm from noise, lights, or multiple demands
📍 Struggling to start tasks (even simple ones), or jumping between many without finishing
📍 Feeling mentally scattered, forgetful, or constantly “behind”
📍 Sudden drops in emotional resilience – crying easily, feeling shut down, or snapping unexpectedly
📍 Deep fatigue or “burnout” that rest doesn’t seem to fix
📍 Frustration with social expectations, or feeling more withdrawn from others
📍 A sense of no longer being able to cope like you used to — even if “nothing” has changed

Sometimes this is dismissed as “just hormones” — and hormones are part of it.
But for many women, perimenopause also brings a deeper truth to the surface:
🔹 I’ve always been different. I’ve just worked hard to hide it.

Recognising these patterns can be unsettling at first — but it can also bring clarity, relief, and a chance to explore your needs with self-compassion rather than self-criticism.

It’s not all in your head — and you don’t have to keep holding it all together alone.

21/08/2025

For many late-identified neurodivergent women, masking becomes second nature early in life. You learn how to act “normal.” You script conversations. You work hard to hide overwhelm, push through discomfort, and blend in — even when it costs you.

Masking can be so automatic, you don’t even realise you’re doing it. Until one day, it stops working.

Perimenopause can be that tipping point.

🌀 Emotional resilience begins to fray.
🌀 Sensory tolerance shrinks.
🌀 Outbursts or shutdowns appear “out of nowhere.”
🌀 Everyday demands become too much.
🌀 You might feel like you’re falling apart — but in reality, the mask is falling away.

This can be confusing, distressing, and disorienting — especially if you’ve always been seen as capable, high-functioning, or “fine.”

Perimenopause often reveals what’s been hidden for decades — not to shame or punish, but to give you a chance to stop performing and start healing.

It’s okay to feel lost. It’s okay to grieve what’s been missed.
And it’s more than okay to start asking: What do I actually need — now that I’m not pretending anymore?

14/08/2025

Perimenopause isn’t just a hormonal shift — it’s a neurological one too. Estrogen plays a key role in regulating mood, memory, focus, and sensory processing. As estrogen declines, many women begin to notice changes in how they think, feel, and cope.

For women with undiagnosed ADHD or Autism, these changes can unmask or amplify long-held neurodivergent traits.

You might start forgetting appointments, missing details, or struggling with task initiation — when you used to be the one “keeping everything together.”

Emotional responses might feel bigger, harder to manage, or less predictable.

Sensory sensitivities — to noise, touch, crowds, or bright lights — may intensify.

Routines that once felt doable might now feel overwhelming.

Why now? Because for years, you may have compensated — with structure, effort, masking, or sheer willpower. Perimenopause takes away some of that scaffolding. It can leave you feeling raw, dysregulated, or even unlike yourself.

But what’s really happening is this: your nervous system is asking for care. You’re not broken. You’re not failing. You might just be meeting your neurodivergence for the first time — and that awareness can be the beginning of something far more compassionate.

You’re not alone—and there’s support available to help make sense of it all.

07/08/2025

Perimenopause can be a time of emotional intensity, brain fog, sensory shifts, and feeling "not quite like yourself."
For some women, these experiences uncover something more — an underlying neurodivergence like ADHD or Autism that’s gone unnoticed or masked for years.
It’s not uncommon for perimenopause to be the turning point that leads to a later-life diagnosis.
You’re not alone—and there’s support available to help make sense of it all.

26/06/2025

18/06/2025

This stage of life often brings:
🔹 A shifting sense of identity
🔹 Grief for roles or possibilities that are changing
🔹 Heightened anxiety or low mood
🔹 Irritability or emotional sensitivity
🔹 A re-evaluation of life, relationships, and purpose

These aren’t just symptoms. They’re signals.
Menopause can act as a psychological turning point — prompting reflection on how life has been lived so far, and how you want it to look going forward.

For some, this is a time of feeling untethered:
🌀 “Who am I, now that I’m not needed in the same ways?”
🌀 “Why do I feel so overwhelmed or flat, even though nothing’s ‘wrong’?”
🌀 “Is this all there is?”

And for others, it’s a time of awakening — a call to slow down, reclaim space, and explore unmet needs.

In therapy, we often support women to:
🌿 Make sense of changing emotional patterns
🌿 Navigate grief, loss, or unprocessed feelings
🌿 Reconnect with personal values and goals
🌿 Build a new sense of self that feels strong, wise, and authentic

You are not alone in this. And you don’t have to navigate it unsupported.

Menopause is a transition — not a breakdown. With the right care, it can be a meaningful time of reflection and growth.

05/06/2025

There’s a story many of us have been told about menopause:
That it’s the end of something.
That life slows down.
That it’s all decline from here.

But here’s another version of that story — one that many women are beginning to tell for themselves:
✨ This is a new chapter.

A time to step into life more fully, more honestly, and on your own terms.

For many women, the menopausal transition sparks a quiet reckoning:
🔸 What do I want now, that I’ve spent so long meeting everyone else’s needs?
🔸 What have I outgrown?
🔸 What do I want the second half of life to stand for?

There can be grief, yes. But also a surprising freedom — to let go of old expectations and start making space for yourself.

Therapy during this stage isn’t just about managing symptoms (although that can be imprtant too).
It’s a chance to reimagine who you’re becoming, to feel supported as you explore what matters, and to emerge feeling more grounded, wise, and whole.

💬 If this resonates, you’re not alone. Many women are rewriting the narrative — and you’re allowed to do the same.