Your Mental Health at Midlife

Life! You have a lot going on right now in your life. Much of it is good, but some of it may be painful or difficult (aging parents, financial problems, relationship challenges). Plus, even good things can become overwhelmingly stressful. While the occasional down day or mood swing isn't anything to worry about, if these feelings become entrenched and begin interfering with your quality of life and daily activities, you may need to be evaluated for clinical depression.

Signs of depression include the following:

• Persistent sad, anxious or "empty" moods
• Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed, including sex
• Decreased energy, fatigue or being "slowed down"
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions
• Insomnia, early-morning awakening or oversleeping
• Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
• Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts
• Restlessness or irritability
• Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders and chronic pain

If you've experienced one or more of these signs for a week or longer, talk to your health care professional. While menopause, per se, doesn't increase your risk of depression, perimenopausal women are more vulnerable to depression during this time. That risk is higher in women who have previously been treated for depression, are having hot flashes, have had a long perimenopausal phase and have a lot of stress in their lives.

If you think you might be suffering from depression, it's important that you seek help. Today, there are excellent treatments for mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. You may benefit from therapy, medication or both.

Some things to remember about treatment: