Reviewed by [Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD](https://www.precisionnutrition.com/author/brian-st-pierre) and [Helen Kollias, PhD](https://www.precisionnutrition.com/author/helen-kollias)

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## It felt as though my thoughts were buried under heaps of mess.

On a Friday evening, while my husband and I attempted to decide on a dining spot, a usual conversation would unfold like this:

Me: Should we go to that restaurant?

Him: Which restaurant?

Me: I can’t recall the name. We’ve dined there previously. It’s that one with peanut shells on the floor? It’s adjacent to… You know… It’s on that street where we used to take our dog to the veterinarian. Do you get what I mean??

It seemed as if specific information was buried in a thick layer of muck within the deeper corners of my mind. Then, hours later, the details would arise, and I’d exclaim into an empty space…

“Texas Roadhouse!”

### Mental fog around proper nouns is common for individuals who are middle-aged and older.

Yet, what appeared to be occurring to me, increasingly in my late 40s and early 50s, felt far from the norm.

Not only could I rarely seem to recall the names of different restaurants or individuals or books or films or numerous other items, but my brain was also shutting down during the work hours.

I’d sit before my computer screen, gaze at a document, and will myself to produce something meaningful with my fingers. Everything felt blurry, much like those initial moments in the morning when you’re alert enough to silence the alarm but too drowsy to perform simple calculations.

I experienced good spells, usually in the morning, when I attempted to cram eight hours of writing into the two or three hours I had mental clarity.

**On my most challenging days, however, I woke up enveloped in a fog I could never seem to dispel.** Work was a non-starter. I lacked sufficient mental capacity to read, or do much of anything, really.

### I sought professional help.

Three medical professionals suggested antidepressants. I tried one, and it made me feel worse. I tried another. I attempted yet another with a higher dosage. I still felt like a zombie. Another doctor prescribed me a sleeping pill. It made me feel even more sedated.

Someone evaluated my thyroid. There was nothing amiss. I wasn’t anemic. I experimented with supplements, mushroom coffee, and nearly any product labeled with the word “think.”

Ultimately, after almost two years of visiting a stream of doctors, I scheduled a yearly appointment with a gynecologist. I brought up vaginal dryness. That prompted her to ask a series of questions that were unrelated to my lower region. How was my sleep? Mood? Energy levels? Was I experiencing hot flashes? What about brain fog?

**“It’s strange you bring up brain fog,” I said in my usual hazy tone. “I feel like I’m hardly functioning.”**

By the end of the appointment, I realized that I probably never had depression.

### What I “had” was menopause.

My gynecologist provided me with prescriptions for estradiol and progesterone.

Within days, it felt as if a switch had been flipped.

I could think clearly again. I could type words once more. I could engage in conversations. I could work past noon.

And, for the first time in years, I was able to sleep more than two hours straight without waking.

—

#### Now, menopause is not classified as a medical condition.

Nor is it considered a disease.

**Rather, like puberty, it’s a life stage—a precise transitional period.**

Once you have gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle, you have reached menopause. From that point onward, you are officially “postmenopausal.”

As women approach this transition, hormone levels fluctuate and decrease, leading to an array of symptoms. [Weight gain](https://www.precisionnutrition.com/menopause-weight-gain) and decreased libido receive considerable attention.

However, **during and after menopause, approximately 40 percent of women report heightened irritability, mood swings, anxiety, fatigue, and difficulties with concentration,** as noted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. As illustrated in the following image, it’s also one of the most vulnerable periods in a woman’s life for developing depression, especially for those who have faced challenges with it previously.

Before starting hormone therapy, I frequently found myself crying for no apparent reason. At other times, the stimuli of the world felt overwhelmingly… intense.

Ordinary everyday sounds—like the hum of traffic or shoppers at the mall—actually *caused pain*. I was tense and irritable and felt anxious about situations that had never previously troubled me, such