Are You Getting Angrier In Midlife?
I once heard a woman say, “I want to throw a frying pan at my husband’s head. Is this normal?”. Well, no, it’s not normal. But being in midlife, and most likely having imbalanced hormones, anger and irritability is definitely something we can be experiencing a lot more often than we did in our past.
Seventy percent of women note their number one symptom, while in peri-menopause, is irritability. If you notice your fuse is a lot shorter, or you don’t like being around people, or things are really ticking you off a bit more than usual, just trust there is a reason. You are not going crazy. And, there are steps you can take to get a bit more calm and relaxed and chill.
So, what’s going on with our bodies that have suddenly turned us into women who don’t have patience? The first thing is estrogen. In midlife, estrogen starts to dip. And estrogen is related to the feel good hormones, serotonin, and dopamine. As estrogen plummets, so do these feel good hormones.
Additionally, as we age, progesterone levels naturally start to get lower. One of progesterone’s benefits is that it calms us, it relaxes us. It gives us a more peaceful presence.
Also, a lot of us are struggling with sleep in midlife. We’re not getting good quality sleep. So, now we have this perfect storm of hormones that are changing and not getting a proper night’s sleep. And that’s what is turning us into a grouch.
But there are things that you can do to help yourself.
- MOVE MORE. When you exercise, endorphins, feel-good hormones, are released and after your workout you’re going to feel better, happier, more energized. And it’ll be easier to release that anxiety and anger that’s built up.
- EAT HEALTHY. When we eat healthy, i.e., reducing the processed foods, etc. It will help balance our hormones so that we’re not on that crazy roller coaster ride with estrogen.
- RELAX MORE. Try to be a little bit more mellow. Meditate. Do yoga. Take a walk.
- SLEEP MORE. Create a sleep hygiene program. For example, stop screen time a couple of hours before bed. Do a brain dump into your journal right before bed. Create a really beautiful sleep environment. Cool room, beautiful linens, no TV, just a nice peaceful way to drift off into the night.
Peace & Love!