Many women notice a shift during perimenopause and menopause. You may feel:
More anxious than usual
Easily overwhelmed
Less tolerant of stress
Waking in the early hours with your mind racing
Emotionally reactive “for no clear reason”
This can feel confusing, especially if you’ve always coped well.Often, nothing external has changed. But internally, something important has. Many women I work with in my Plymouth practice describe this shift during perimenopause and menopause.
The Role of Hormonal “Buffering”
Oestrogen does much more than regulate reproductive cycles. It also supports the nervous system in several important ways.
It helps to:
Support serotonin (which influences mood stability)
Enhance GABA activity (a calming neurotransmitter)
Strengthen vagal tone (our ability to settle after stress)
Regulate sleep patterns
Moderate the body’s stress response
You could think of oestrogen as part of the nervous system’s buffering system. It softens stress spikes. It helps you recover more quickly. It keeps emotional responses within a steadier range.
What Happens When Buffering Reduces?
During perimenopause and menopause, oestrogen fluctuates and gradually declines. When that buffering reduces:
Stress can feel sharper
Anxiety can feel louder
Sleep becomes lighter or fragmented
Cortisol (stress hormone) spikes may feel stronger
Emotional responses can feel closer to the surface
This does not mean you are becoming weaker or less resilient. It means the biological cushion that supported stress regulation is thinner.
Your nervous system is recalibrating.
What’s Happening in the Nervous System & Why Anxiety Can Appear “Out of Nowhere”
If you have long-standing patterns of:
Pushing through stress
Holding tension in the diaphragm or shoulders
Staying in high mobilisation
Managing a busy life without much recovery time
Menopause can make those patterns more noticeable. It does not create anxiety from nothing. It can amplify what was previously buffered.
For some women, old emotional themes or unresolved stress patterns may also resurface during this time, not because something is wrong, but because the system has less capacity to suppress.
Supporting the Nervous System During Menopause
Because this shift is physiological, nervous system support can be especially helpful during this stage of life.
Gentle body-based approaches such as Spinal Touch and Access Bars work with the nervous system rather than against it.
Spinal Touch aims to reduce long-standing muscular bracing patterns, support diaphragmatic breathing and improve structural balance. When tension in the spine, pelvis or diaphragm reduces, the body can move more easily into a rest-and-repair state (Parasympathetic nervous system state).
Access Bars uses gentle touch on specific points on the head to encourage deep relaxation and mental quietening. Many people experience a noticeable reduction in mental overactivity and a greater sense of calm following sessions.
When hormonal buffering is reduced, subtle therapies can feel particularly supportive because they encourage regulation rather than stimulation.
Counselling can also provide a steady space to explore emotional changes and restore confidence during this transition.
You can choose either counselling or body-based sessions depending on the kind of support you feel would suit you best.
Nothing Is “Wrong”
Increased anxiety during menopause is common.
Understanding the role of reduced hormonal buffering can reduce self-criticism and help you respond with support rather than fear.
If you would like to explore counselling or gentle bodywork support in Plymouth during menopause, you are welcome to get in touch.
