Women undergoing menopause can experience several psychological effects, such as being offended easily, according to the director of productive age and elderly women’s health at the Ministry of Health, Kartini Rustandi.
“Symptoms that women usually experience during menopause include psychological disorders such as lethargy, headache, irritability, and anxiety,” she told ANTARA via a short message service on Wednesday.
The psychological effects may arise from menopausal women feeling that they are no longer productive, especially sexually. This is because the sexual organs feel dry during menopause.
“Psychological problem can be handled through familial support, but if they are severe, doctors can provide anti-depressant medicines,” she informed.
Other symptoms that menopausal women usually feel comprise sweating more easily, indigestion, and mood swings.
Menopause is a natural process that all women experience in which the lining of the uterus thins and the ovaries shrink. This is caused by the declining production of estrogen and progesterone hormones.
In Indonesia, women experience menopause between the ages of 40 and 60 on average. To prevent early menopause, Rustandi suggested developing a healthy life pattern from a young age.
Several women experience severe menopause symptoms for which gynecologists can provide hormone supplements.
Speaking here on Tuesday evening, a member of the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), Retty Ratnawati, asked young women to start learning about menopause to prepare themselves better.
This is important so that women know the signs of menopause and the changes in psychological states that occur when they enter menopause.
Signs of menopause include not menstruating for over a year, or even one and a half years. During the period, menstruation can come and go, she informed.
Source: Antara News