Changes to My Body During Menopause Are Affecting How I Feel About Myself
Menopause can change how your body feels, functions and looks.
Menopause can change how your body feels, functions and looks.
For some people those changes are relatively easy to absorb. For others they affect confidence, intimacy, clothing, exercise, social situations or the sense of recognising yourself in the mirror.
Feeling distressed about a changing body is not shallow. Body image is tied to identity, culture, relationships, health and the way we imagine other people see us.
There may be several changes happening at once
NHS guidance lists possible menopause-related changes including weight gain, hair thinning, skin changes, muscle and joint symptoms, reduced sex drive and vaginal or urinary symptoms.
Not everybody experiences these, and not every body change during midlife is caused by menopause.
But when several changes arrive close together, the overall effect can feel bigger than any one symptom.
Body image is about meaning, not just appearance
A change in weight may feel connected to losing control. Hair changes may affect how feminine or recognisable you feel. Pain or reduced fitness may alter an identity built around being active.
Changes affecting sex or intimacy may create embarrassment or distance in a relationship.
Understanding what the change means to you can be more useful than simply telling yourself you “shouldn’t care.”
Be careful about turning discomfort into punishment
When somebody feels unhappy with their body, it can be tempting to respond with extreme dieting, punishing exercise, repeated checking or spending increasing amounts on products and treatments.
Those behaviours can create new physical, financial or emotional pressures.
Aim for care rather than punishment: comfortable clothes, movement you enjoy, regular nourishment, rest and healthcare advice for symptoms that concern you.
Comparison can make a normal transition feel like personal failure
Images of apparently effortless ageing can create an unrealistic benchmark.
Online photographs may be selected, filtered or edited, while cosmetic and wellness marketing often depends on persuading people that ordinary changes need correcting.
If particular accounts or content reliably leave you feeling worse, reducing your exposure can be a practical wellbeing choice rather than an admission of insecurity.
You can seek help for the symptom and the emotional impact
If a physical change is worrying, painful, unexpected or affecting everyday life, discuss it with your GP or another appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
If the main difficulty is how you feel about yourself, counselling or other talking support may help you explore confidence, ageing, identity or intimacy.
Those two routes can sit alongside each other. Looking after emotional wellbeing does not mean dismissing physical symptoms, and seeking medical advice does not make the emotional impact unimportant.
Last reviewed
6 September 2026
Important menopause and mental health information
This guide provides general information only and is not a diagnosis or a substitute for professional medical or mental-health advice. Symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause can overlap with other physical and mental-health conditions, and individual experiences can be very different.
If you think you may be experiencing perimenopause or menopause, if symptoms are affecting your everyday life, or if you are unsure what is causing a change in your physical or mental health, speak to your GP or another appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Do not start, stop or change prescribed medication or hormone treatment based on information in this guide. Treatment decisions, including whether HRT or another treatment may be appropriate, should be discussed with an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
If you or somebody else is in immediate danger or there is a life-threatening emergency, call 999 or go to A&E. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis and need urgent help but it is not a life-threatening emergency, contact NHS 111 and select the mental health option, or use your local NHS urgent mental health service.