Can Perimenopause or Menopause Cause Low Mood
Low mood can be part of the experience of perimenopause and menopause. NHS guidance recognises mood changes, low mood and depression among symptoms that can occur during this transition.
Low mood can be part of the experience of perimenopause and menopause. NHS guidance recognises mood changes, low mood and depression among symptoms that can occur during this transition.
But “I feel low” can describe many different experiences. You may feel flat, tearful, less interested in things, unusually pessimistic, exhausted or simply less emotionally resilient than before.
Menopause may be relevant, but persistent low mood should not automatically be explained away as hormonal.
Low mood may sit inside a much bigger change
Imagine months of broken sleep, unpredictable physical symptoms, difficulty concentrating and feeling less confident at work. Add caring responsibilities, relationship pressures or worries about ageing and it becomes easier to see why mood can be affected from several directions at once.
Hormonal change may be one part of the picture. The practical consequences of symptoms can be another.
Understanding both matters because the question is not always simply “Is this menopause or depression?”
Notice what has changed in your everyday life
Low mood often becomes clearer when you look at functioning rather than trying to measure how sad you feel.
Have you stopped looking forward to things? Are you withdrawing from people? Is everything taking more effort? Are you struggling to make decisions, concentrate or get started?
Also notice sleep, periods and physical menopause symptoms. This gives your GP a fuller picture than one symptom in isolation.
Low mood and depression are not interchangeable terms
Everybody can experience periods of low mood.
Depression is a clinical condition with a broader pattern of symptoms and impact. NHS advice says that low mood lasting two weeks or more can be a sign of depression and recommends seeking help where you are struggling to cope or things are not improving.
You do not need to decide which label applies before asking for support.
What support might be discussed?
Support depends on what is contributing to the problem.
NICE menopause guidance includes menopause-specific CBT as an option for depressive symptoms associated with menopause, and NHS information explains that treatment options for menopause symptoms can also be discussed with a healthcare professional.
If depression is suspected, it may need to be considered in its own right as well as alongside menopause.
MH360 does not recommend a particular medical treatment. Your GP can help you consider the appropriate route.
Do not wait for a crisis to make the problem legitimate
If low mood is affecting work, relationships, sleep, motivation or your ability to enjoy ordinary life, speak to your GP or another appropriately qualified professional.
Counselling or talking support may also be useful where you want space to make sense of emotional changes, identity, relationships or pressures around this stage of life.
Seeking support does not require you to know in advance whether hormones, circumstances or a mental-health condition are mainly responsible.
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.