What are the dangers of menopausal depression?

We all know that female friends will enter menopause when they reach a certain age. At this time, you will experience menopause and irritability, so we recommend that female friends control their emotions during menopause. Some female friends will experience depression when they enter menopause. At this time, you should relax appropriately, go out for a walk, drink more water, etc.

Menopausal depression is a syndrome that first occurs during menopause (55-60 years old for men and 45-55 years old for women) due to factors such as mental anxiety, tension, and depression. Common clinical symptoms include anxiety, tension and fear, feeling at a loss at the slightest disturbance, depression, pessimism, frequent crying, self-blame, subjective assumptions, suspicion of others, or suspicion that one has a certain disease, especially "cancer phobia", which may even lead to self-harm, suicide and other behaviors. In addition, there may be irregular menstruation, decreased libido, or sweating, fear of cold, weight loss, fatigue and other symptoms.

1. Harm to psychological functions

Menopausal depression can significantly affect an individual's mental and physical health. Due to the influence of depression, patients always feel unhappy, their previous hobbies and interests no longer have any appeal, and they may even be uninterested in anything. Some people think that life is worthless and that their existence only brings trouble to others and burden to their families. Patients may also experience listlessness, fatigue, unwillingness to see people, difficulty thinking, slow movements, decreased attention and memory, insomnia, loss of libido, decreased appetite, weight loss, pessimism and world-weariness, and begin to become alienated from interpersonal relationships, have few entertainment activities, and have poor overall life satisfaction. After continued development, they will lose self-confidence, withdraw from society, and have difficulty in interpersonal communication. Patients report that their quality of life is very poor. In severe cases, there is psychomotor block: typical manifestations are slow movements, decreased energy, lack of interest and vitality, always feeling that the will is there but the strength is not enough, being too lazy to do housework and daily activities, feeling listless all day long, physically and mentally exhausted, and in severe cases, the patient is in a state of depressive stupor.

2. Increase the burden on the family

The quality of family life is affected and relapses of depression are much slower to control due to relapses, repeated visits to the doctor, self-harm, and suicide. The withdrawal reaction caused by sudden discontinuation of antidepressants is physical discomfort, which may also lead to a large number of laboratory tests to clarify the cause, resulting in increased medical costs, waste of medical resources, affected occupational ability and physical activities, and social maladjustment.

3. Induce physical illness

Once a person suffers from depression, his risk of heart disease increases by 2 times and his probability of suffering a stroke increases by 3 times. Because depression can cause changes in the body's autonomic nervous system. The main symptoms are loss of appetite, weight loss, loss of libido, constipation, impotence, amenorrhea, fatigue, etc. Physical discomfort may involve various organs, and symptoms of autonomic dysfunction are more common.

4. Negative thinking

A depressed mood can lead to negative thinking, pessimism, self-blame, and inferiority complex, just like looking at the world through tinted glasses, feeling that everything is difficult, and being pessimistic and hopeless about the future. The patient sees himself as worthless, exaggerates trivial mistakes and shortcomings, feels sorry for others, family members and society, and believes that he is deeply sinful and an unforgivable villain.

Based on the article’s introduction to the dangers of menopausal depression, I hope you all know how much harm menopausal depression can cause to female friends. When we encounter menopausal depression in life, we recommend that patients should pay attention to their emotions and endocrine disorders, because your overly negative thoughts will affect your mentality.