Perimenopause Health and Stress Perception
I’ve had a book on my nightstand taunting me for what must have been months. I don’t know about you, but I love books. I love picking them out with the anticipatory promise that something wonderful will be revealed once I open the pages and start reading. But then, once I get the book home, I find myself easily distracted by life’s demands and get pulled away from the promise, leaving the book on the shelf unread.
This is one of those books. Only this time, I left it on my nightstand where I could see it as I began and ended each day because I knew it was going to be a good read full of promises. As I write this, I’m actually only 100 pages into the book, but it’s fascinating.
Stress and Your Longevity
My big takeaway so far is actually something that I have generally known and accepted: that bad stress can reduce the quality of life and shorten a person’s lifespan. But this book, The Telomere Effect, is giving me a better appreciation of the physiology behind how.
Stress is an inevitable part of life. It is technically defined as anything that makes us adapt, which is desirable because, without adaptation, we stagnate. Socially, we tend to use the terms “stress” or “stressed out” to describe events where we feel anxious, afraid, threatened, attacked, or socially diminished in some way.
No matter how hard we try to avoid or eliminate stress, it’s there. However, we can do some nervous system housekeeping to manage the stressors within our control and eliminate the little annoying things that wear at us daily.
Managing Daily Stressors
A friend and I often discuss the housekeeping chores that still seem to fall at our feet. Mainly, cleaning the shower. I hate it. I hate it so much that I usually wait until the grout is practically growing fuzz before I’ll get to scrubbing, which of course, takes me longer to do because I let it get so bad.
Does it cause stress? YES! It causes me double stress! Because I shoulda, woulda, coulda all over myself every time I see the messy shower and then I have to spend more time scrubbing the damn thing when I finally get around to it.
It’s true, I could eliminate this problem by hiring a cleaner, but that would just add different layers of unhelpful stress—having to work around a stranger’s schedule, having them in my house, and the guilt of having someone clean up after me and my family.
My friend, on the other hand, experimented with setting a roster for cleaning a different part of the house each day of the week. She says it’s been a game changer for her! I admit that I do feel better when I can keep a weekly shower scrub going too.
Making small, manageable changes like these can help reduce the daily load of incidental stress that diminishes your joy. Start by finding little annoying elements in your life that you can easily shift without too much resistance.
Reframing Your Perception of Stress
We’ve talked about managing stressors that we have some control over. But what about stress that you can’t avoid or control?
It turns out that how we think about and frame the impacts of “stress” can make all the difference. Stress, on its own, isn’t necessarily bad for us—unless we believe it is. Our perception of events dictates the stressful impact on our health. Research suggests that stress responses are shaped by how we interpret situations.
Ask yourself:
- What stressors in your life do you perceive as a threat?
- Which ones do you accept as a challenge?
The physiological stress response remains the same for any potentially stressful event. It follows this sequence:
- The amygdala senses a potential threat and alerts both the prefrontal cortex and the hypothalamus.
- The prefrontal cortex sends a message to the hippocampus to check its memory files for similar past experiences.
- Meanwhile, the hypothalamus assumes the worst and sends an alarm signal to the pituitary gland.
- The pituitary gland signals the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol, priming the body for action.
If the hippocampus determines that the situation is truly dangerous, the alarm response continues. If past experiences indicate that everything is fine, the stress response is stopped.
The difference between harmful stress and adaptive stress is how we perceive and respond to it. Are you manifesting fear and threat, or curiosity, excitement, and challenge?
Emotional Stress and Perimenopause
The hormonal shifts that occur during perimenopause can make women more susceptible to the negative effects of emotional stress. Fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels can impact cortisol regulation, making stress feel more overwhelming and harder to recover from. To add insult to injury, women who have negative beliefs or stressful thoughts about menopause and aging often have worse symptoms than those who do not have negative beliefs about it.
These factors can exacerbate common perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, fatigue, brain fog, mood swings, and sleep disturbances. Perimenopause can be a proinflammatory state for many women and chronic emotional stress can potentially amplify systemic inflammation.
The Link Between Stress and Autoimmune Disease
Scientific research is increasingly connecting chronic emotional stress with autoimmune disease, which disproportionately affects women. Approximately 80% of autoimmune sufferers are female. With some of these conditions, the hormonal shifts during and after perimenopause may contribute to the immune system becoming overactive and attacking the body’s own tissues. At the same time, scientific research linking chronic stress with chronic inflammation and dysregulated immune function is growing.
Let Stress Go
The big part about chronic stress is being able to let it go before it becomes chronic.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that it’s just a matter of pitching through your tears, stuffing down your pain, and moving on with life. That approach is sure to manifest disease into your body! But rather, think of stress as something that you must express, and then release, so you can move on with a healthy body!
Protecting Your Health and Longevity
According to The Telomere Effect, perceived “threat stress” in our lives can prematurely shorten the telomeres on our chromosomes. Telomeres are the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that allow genetic sequencing to be thoroughly and correctly copied for cell division. When telomeres become too short, essential genetic information is lost, and cells can no longer divide properly, accelerating aging.
The good news? Challenge stress does not have the same impact.
How do you know the difference between threat stress and challenge stress? By getting connected with the physical manifestations in your body.
Feelings associated with threat stress:
- Anxiousness
- Withdrawal
- Knots in your stomach
- Tightness in your chest
- Racing heartbeat
- A feeling that you can’t breathe
Feelings associated with challenge stress:
- Energized
- Alert
- Open and courageous
- Nervous but excited at the same time
Imagine Joining a New Group Fitness Class
Emily has been thinking about joining a new group fitness class, but as the start date approaches, she feels a familiar wave of stress wash over her. Depending on how she interprets this stress, her experience can take two very different paths.
Scenario A: Threat Stress
Emily’s mind races with doubts. “What if I can’t keep up in class? What if everyone already knows each other and I feel awkward? What if I embarrass myself?” Her chest tightens, and she starts to feel overwhelmed. Her body interprets the class as a threat—something to be feared. She considers backing out, convincing herself it’s safer to just stick to her routine, even though she’s been craving a change. The stress response leaves her drained before she even steps through the door.
Scenario B: Challenge Stress
Emily acknowledges that she’s nervous but chooses to reframe her thoughts. “This is something new, and new things are exciting. I might not be the fittest person there, but that’s okay—I’m here to improve. What if I actually enjoy it? What if I meet some really great people?” Her body still releases adrenaline, but instead of feeling paralyzed, she feels a sense of energy and anticipation. Rather than withdrawing, she stands a little taller, takes a deep breath, and feels ready to take on the challenge.
A shift in stress perception can make all the difference—not just in whether Emily attends the class, but in how she experiences it.
Final Thoughts on Health and Stress Perception
The problem isn’t necessarily stress itself—it’s how we perceive and react to it. Yes, if we are on constant high alert, it will take a toll. But the main difference between harmful and beneficial stress is our mindset.
Want to learn more about reshaping your stress response? Watch Kelly McGonigal’s TED Talk on “How to Make Stress Your Friend.” And for additional strategies on shifting your mindset, check out my blog post on Rewiring Your Brain and Lifting Your Mindset.
