{"id":13408,"date":"2026-03-02T11:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T12:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=13408"},"modified":"2026-03-04T21:33:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T21:33:36","slug":"my-perimenopause-symptoms-were-so-bad-i-worried-i-had-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/my-perimenopause-symptoms-were-so-bad-i-worried-i-had-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"My perimenopause symptoms were so bad I worried I had dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Catherine\t<\/div>
I\u2019d been feeling overwhelmed: on the brink of tears most days (Picture: Benenden Health)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018I can\u2019t cope with this any more,\u2019 I thought, as panic, anxiety<\/a> and dread threatened to overwhelm me.<\/p>\n

It was a Friday in May 2025 and I was in an important meeting at the office. I had just presented a significant piece of work that had taken a great deal of time and energy.  <\/p>\n

The response in the room was simple: it didn\u2019t meet the brief.<\/p>\n

Of course, nobody wants bad feedback at work, but when I heard those words, my heart dropped.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t a one-off. For months, I\u2019d been feeling overwhelmed: on the brink of tears most days, unable to cope with my workload, struggling to remember what had happened the previous day.<\/p>\n

I had no idea I was going through perimenopause<\/a>; instead, I was quietly terrified about what was happening to me.<\/p>\n

That meeting experience was the straw that broke the camel\u2019s back \u2013 and I ended up being signed off work for two months.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Catherine\t<\/div>
I started waking up, every night, at around 2am (Picture: Catherine Folan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These days, I know how deeply perimenopause and menopause<\/a> symptoms can impact us. They can knock us sideways, turn our lives on their heads and convince us that we\u2019re losing control of our mental faculties.<\/p>\n

And the scariest thing is: new polling commissioned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists shows that nearly three-quarters of UK women don\u2019t know that menopause can actually trigger a new mental illness<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Perimenopausal women are more than twice as likely to develop bipolar<\/a> disorder and 30% more likely to develop clinical depression<\/a>; but most women mainly associate menopause with hot flushes instead of mental health difficulties.<\/p>\n

This means many women aren\u2019t seeking or receiving the vital help they need. And I find this terrifying; because I found perimenopause hard enough with anxiety and low mood.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m now utterly dedicated to spreading the word about the many debilitating symptoms of menopause; in fact, I\u2019ve just become accredited as a menopause coach<\/a> \u2013 so I can help other women cope with what I went through and point them to specialist services where needed.<\/p>\n

I truly wouldn\u2019t wish my symptoms on anyone; and I want every woman to be able to ask for \u2013 and access \u2013 the help she needs.<\/p>\n

My symptoms started in mid-2024.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Catherine\t<\/div>
I always used to feel capable, alert and switched-on (Picture: Catherine Folan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve never been so sleep-deprived in my life<\/a>. I\u2019d never been a great sleeper, but this was different.<\/p>\n

I had no issue falling asleep, but suddenly I started waking up, every night, at around 2am. I\u2019d be wide awake and wired with no chance of drifting back off. I\u2019d lie there until my alarm went off; then, I\u2019d drag myself into work on three or four hours\u2019 sleep.<\/p>\n

One or two nights like that would have been manageable, but this was a pattern that repeated itself most nights for six months.<\/p>\n

Then there was the brain fog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never known anything like it. I always used to feel capable, alert and switched-on; now, no matter how many planners I carefully filled, or how many post-it reminders I wrote myself, I often couldn\u2019t remember the most simple things.<\/p>\n

Colleagues would ask me, \u2018Do you have the notes from yesterday\u2019s meeting?\u2019, and I\u2019d have no idea what meeting they were referring to, even though I\u2019d attended it myself.<\/p>\n

My anxiety would surge as I tried to sift through my sleep-deprived brain, desperately trying to remember the notes in question, but I couldn\u2019t. Where once I could offer an instant, efficient reply, now I could only stare wordlessly as I attempted to comb through memories that weren\u2019t there.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Catherine\t<\/div>
These perimenopause symptoms crept into my personal life, too (Picture: Catherine Folan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I didn\u2019t understand what was wrong with me. I knew about menopause, but I thought it hit people in their late 50s or 60s. I was only 46; perimenopause never crossed my mind.<\/p>\n

At my lowest point, I worried I had early-onset dementia<\/a>. Rationally, I knew it was unlikely; but there were times when I couldn\u2019t come up with any other explanation for why I couldn\u2019t even remember conversations I\u2019d had the previous day.<\/p>\n

These perimenopause symptoms crept into my personal life, too. Previously the life of the party, I reduced my socialising down to the bare minimum; the thought of being in busy, loud places \u2013 not to mention a drunken late-night tube, which I\u2019d never minded before \u2013 made me anxious and I needed quiet and calm. <\/p>\n

I replaced gigs and bars with walks and at-home dinners.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Catherine\t<\/div>
I sobbed all evening, and my husband convinced me to see a GP (Picture: Catherine Folan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My mood plummeted. I had a constant sense of anxiety in my chest<\/a> and I felt a deep sadness. I wasn\u2019t much fun to be around at home, to say the least; I disconnected from my husband exhibiting little interest when he initiated conversation and had a perpetual \u2018glass half empty\u2019 mentality.<\/p>\n

It was all so unlike me.<\/p>\n

That Friday in May when my work was critiqued, I sat through the rest of the meeting \u2013 doing my best to remain professional while knowing that, later, I would shut down my laptop and walk away. I needed time out from work, straight away.<\/p>\n

That night, I went to Spain for a long weekend with my husband and other family. I sobbed all evening, and my husband convinced me to see a GP. \u2018This isn\u2019t normal,\u2019 he insisted, and I knew he was right.<\/p>\n

I saw a GP the following Monday, telling him I\u2019d been feeling very stressed, and he signed me off work for a fortnight.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tBenenden Health's research on menopause\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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Research from not-for-profit healthcare provider Benenden Health reveals the growing impact of menopause on women\u2019s working lives. <\/p>\n