(Peri)menopause and Stress: The Silent Risk We Often Don’t Recognize Until It’s Too Late
- Tessa van nes
- Aug 11
- 3 min read
You’re ambitious, carry responsibility, and have always been in control. Until one day you notice something has changed. You feel on edge, sleep poorly, get emotional or irritable more quickly, and your energy seems to have vanished. It’s often dismissed as “busyness” or “stress.”
But what if it’s actually your hormones?
The Hidden Phase: Perimenopause
Perimenopause is the transitional stage leading up to your final menstrual period.
From around age 35, your hormone levels can start to decline, but the symptoms this causes are often not recognized until much later.
In this phase, your sex hormones—estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone—start to fluctuate and eventually drop (see diagram). This affects virtually every cell in your body: from your brain to your bones, from your heart and blood vessels to your mood and concentration.
Neuroscientists have found that during these years your brain can lose up to 30% of its energy. That explains why you may feel less sharp, more forgetful, or simply… different.
80% of women experience symptoms during the (peri)menopause. For 55% of women in menopause, these symptoms affect their work.
Stress as a Symptom Amplifier
In this stage, your body is dealing with a shortage of hormones it actually needs to function properly. At the same time, those hormones are fluctuating wildly. This creates physical stress for your body.
It’s as if your stress bucket is already half full when you start the day—so it doesn’t take much to overflow. And stress itself negatively impacts hormone production, creating a vicious cycle.
Many women in this phase are misdiagnosed with burnout, anxiety disorders, or depression. They end up on sleep medication or antidepressants, without anyone looking at the hormonal root cause. Meanwhile, their symptoms persist.
Why Healthcare Falls Short
Many general practitioners fail to recognize perimenopause—or only spot it very late. Guidelines are outdated and often focus solely on hot flashes and changes in the menstrual cycle. Psychological symptoms, fatigue, or heart palpitations are rarely linked to hormones.
Fragmentation in healthcare isn’t helpful: for sleep problems, you see a sleep coach; for vaginal complaints, a gynecologist; for heart palpitations, a cardiologist. This means no one sees the full picture or the connection between these symptoms.
Yet Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can often bring excellent results.
If you’re considering HRT, make sure you’re well-informed:
Know what bioidentical hormones are and why they are often preferred.
Understand your options for delivery methods and dosages.
Be clear on what you do and do not want, so you can communicate this with your doctor.
Never go into the conversation unprepared. The better you know what suits you, the more likely you are to get the right support.
Reliable information can be found, on the internet. For example:
The Foundation: Lifestyle and Tailored Support
A healthy lifestyle enhances their effect and makes you more resilient. This thé basis, also for effective Hormone Therapy:
Exercise: strength training and walking
Nutrition: unprocessed foods, plenty of vegetables, sufficient protein and fiber
Stress reduction: breathing techniques, time in nature, relaxation, stress management tools
Social support: talking and connecting
Quit smoking and reduce alcohol
For many women, the combination of lifestyle adjustments and (where needed) bioidentical HRT is what truly makes the difference.
You’re Not Losing It—Your Hormones Are Changing
As a leader or professional, you want to be sharp, decisive, and inspiring. If you suddenly feel less like yourself, it’s not about your character or determination. Your hormones are involved, and stress can fuel the fire.
The sooner you understand what’s happening, the faster you can regain control.
Want to Learn More About Stress and Hormones—and Their Impact on Your Body?
I offer a free online training where I walk you through:
what stress really does in your body
how hormones and stress influence each other
👉 Sign up here for free and discover how to prevent stress and hormones from taking over your performance, health, and wellbeing—especially in this stage of life.
Want to Find Out How Your Body Is Really Coping in This Stage of Life?
Consider a Stress Reset Check, where we objectively measure:
how much stress your body is under
how restorative your sleep really is
whether your lifestyle is helping or holding you back
This isn’t vague advice—it’s hard data. So you can make targeted changes that help you move through this phase with more energy, better sleep, and emotional stability.
More information: https://www.tessavannes.nl/stressapk
Comments