Just thought I'd post here an opinion piece by Janet Street Porter (she's in favour of HRT):
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/my-body-has-become-a-battleground-for-medical-research-and-i-m-sick-of-it-a6733866.htmlI've been doing a fair amount of research on menopause and depression since I got felled by it in March (but am a lot better now and HRT has definitely been key).
I think the link between menopause and psychiatric disorders is woefully under reported in the media/mainstream press.
From what I've read of the medical literature so far, there seems to be a link between vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) and depression at menopause although researchers haven't figured out which comes first i.e. whether the hot flashes cause depression or whether depression causes the hot flashes to intensify - but either way there is a link between the two and that in itself is linked to the hormonal changes women are subject to at menopause.
There is currently a really interesting Australian study looking at providing women with information and tools to help them through this transition - I don't have the reference to hand as I write - but when I read it, I thought this is so common sense and should be done everywhere.
Edit: Here's the link to the Australian study:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1745-6215-15-312.pdfI had a lot of the risk factors for vulnerability to depression at menopause - I just didn't realise I had because nobody had told me it was a possibility. If I had known, I would have taken extra care. For example if you have a familial history of depression (even if you yourself haven't had it before) you are more at risk of depression at menopause).
Gotta go because Costa are going to throw me out as they are closing for the evening! Am using their wifi! But suffice to say there is much more that could be done to help women ease through this transition - starting with useful information in advance of it happening!