Managing Menopause & Mental Distress
This space acknowledges the lived realities of wāhine navigating hormonal change alongside emotional and mental strain.
Menopause is not weakness.
Distress is not failure.
Here we speak openly about mood shifts, overwhelm, anxiety, exhaustion, and the silent weight many carry. Through education, reflection, and culturally grounded support, we reconnect to our strength, our cycles, and our inner steadiness.
You are not alone in this transition.'ve focused on staying true to our values and making space for thoughtful, lasting work.
Hormonal Shifts During Perimenopause & Menopause
Perimenopause is the transition leading into menopause. It can begin several years before periods stop. During this time, hormones fluctuate, they do not simply decline overnight.
Estrogen rises and falls unpredictably. Progesterone often drops earlier. These shifts can affect mood, sleep, energy, focus, and emotional steadiness.
You may notice:
Irregular or heavier periods
Anxiety or low mood
Irritability
Brain fog
Sleep disturbance
Hot flushes or night sweats
These experiences are not personal failings. They are biological transitions.
Menopause is confirmed after 12 months without a period. After this stage, hormones settle at lower levels, and many wāhine begin to feel clearer and more grounded again.
Understanding what is happening in the body helps remove shame and supports informed choices.
Distress During Menopause
For some wāhine, menopause is not just physica, it can feel emotionally and mentally overwhelming.
Hormonal shifts can intensify existing stress, surface old grief, or heighten anxiety and low mood. Sleep disruption alone can affect clarity, patience, and resilience. When layered with caregiving, work, or relationship pressures, distress can feel amplified.
You may notice:
Sudden anxiety or panic
Low mood or tearfulness
Irritability or anger
Loss of confidence
Feeling disconnected from yourself
Exhaustion that does not lift
These experiences are real. They are not weakness, and they are not a personal failure.
With understanding, support, and appropriate care, steadiness can return. You do not need to navigate this season alone.
If your distress feels persistent, frightening, or begins to affect your safety or daily functioning, it is important to reach out for support. Speaking with a trusted health professional, counsellor, or GP can provide guidance and options tailored to you.
Seeking help is not a sign of failure, it is a sign of care for yourself and those who rely on you.
If you are in Aotearoa and need immediate support, you can call or text 1737 at any time to speak with a trained counsellor.
Enter He Moko Puna
He Moko Puna is a guided space for reflection, remembering, and returning to your inner steadiness.
Through grounded practice and quiet visualisation, you are invited to sit beside your own puna — the source of clarity, intuition, and strength that lives within you.
When you are ready, step gently inside.
If you would like it slightly more poetic or more direct, I can adjust the tone.
Invitation To Our Wānanga
If you are ready to go deeper, we invite you to gather with us in wānanga.
These spaces are held with care where kōrero is honoured, experiences are shared, and understanding is strengthened. Together we explore menopause, ruahinetanga, and wellbeing in ways that restore dignity and steadiness.
Alongside reflection and connection, you will learn practical tools to ease mental distress — supporting sleep, calming the nervous system, strengthening emotional resilience, and rebuilding confidence through this transition.
Come as you are. There is a place for you here.