Perimenopause and burnout

Sarah is 47, and she spent over 2 decades with her high-flying job and has worked hard for her recent promotion. She is ecstatic, she has been dreaming about this role since she started working there.

But now, a year into the role, Sarah is feeling… off. At first, it was small things—forgetting minor tasks, feeling more tired than usual, and snapping at her colleagues over trivial matters. She brushed it off, telling herself that everyone felt a bit run down sometimes. After all, she was working harder than ever before.

Meetings that she used to run with ease now felt overwhelming. Simple decisions became exhausting mental battles. And the exhaustion—oh, the exhaustion. No amount of sleep seemed to help.

At home, it wasn’t any better. She’d come home from work, utterly drained, barely able to make conversation with her family. She started canceling plans with friends, preferring to collapse on the couch, guilt gnawing at her. She didn’t recognize herself anymore. Her passion for the job she’d once loved was slipping away, replaced with dread and frustration.

She began to wonder, Is this burnout? Am I just not cut out for this role after all? The doubts kept piling up.

Then one afternoon, after she completely forgot about an important deadline, her manager pulled her aside. “Sarah, are you okay? This isn’t like you.”

She felt so embarrassed, overwhelmed, and alone. Sarah considers quitting.

Many women in their 40s and 50s, like Sarah, a high-achieving professional who spent over two decades thriving in a competitive career, find themselves facing burnout as they enter perimenopause.

What is Burnout?

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it’s most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships.

If you are in your late 30s or 40s and have female parts, perimenopause could be the reason. Menopause transition or Perimenopause often intersects with a critical time in one's career.

This stage, which marks the transition to menopause, is accompanied by hormonal shifts that can deeply impact physical and emotional well-being. It’s a time when women may experience brain fog, insomnia, mood swings, and even anxiety or depression.

Yet, for those who’ve spent years excelling in their roles, it’s easy to confuse these symptoms with simple work-related burnout.

Read related: Perimenopause, the rollercoaster to menopause

This might also be the time when women deal with young or older children, aging parents, and work pressures added to the mix.

Sadly, this issue often goes undiscussed. Women may feel reluctant to open up about their struggles for fear of being seen as “less capable” or “too emotional” at a stage in their careers when they’re supposed to be at their peak.

Women like Sarah end up quitting their jobs because they think something must be wrong with them.

A more recent study of around 700+ menopausal women showed that of menopausal women currently experiencing menopause symptoms, 53.3?% reported problems while performing their work.

Why This Conversation Matters for Mental Health

For women in midlife, mental health challenges related to perimenopause are often overlooked in workplace wellness programs. There is still a stigma around discussing menopause openly, despite it being a natural phase of life for half the population.

Employers can play a vital role by fostering environments where women feel safe to talk about their experiences without fear of judgment. Flexible working hours, mental health days, or even workshops on women’s health, support via access to wellbeing platforms can make a world of difference in reducing the strain of burnout during this time.

For women experiencing perimenopausal symptoms, it’s important to recognize that burnout may not just be about workload.

Understanding what’s happening in your body can be an empowering first step toward managing symptoms and finding balance.

Practical Tips for Managing Burnout and Perimenopause

1. Seek Help: If you’re feeling overwhelmed, consult with a healthcare professional/professional who understands perimenopause. Hormonal changes can affect mental health, and a healthcare provider can help you navigate treatment options.
2. Set Boundaries: It’s easy to push through burnout when you’re used to high achievement, but setting work-life boundaries is essential. Learn to say no, delegate tasks, and allow yourself time to recharge.
3. Prioritize Self-Care: Take care of your mind and body with practices that support both. Whether it’s meditation, yoga, or simply taking a walk, small acts of self-care can have a big impact on mental health.
4. Open Up: Sharing your experiences with trusted colleagues or HR can lead to more support and understanding in the workplace. You may be surprised at how many other women are going through similar experiences.
5. Educate Your Workplace: Advocate for workplace education around menopause and mental health. This could lead to the development of policies that support women during this critical time.

A New Approach to Understanding Mental Health at Work

Recognizing the mental health impact of perimenopause is an important step toward addressing burnout in women over 40. Employers who are proactive in supporting this transition will not only help their employees thrive but will also contribute to a more inclusive, understanding, and mentally healthy workplace.

On this World Mental Health Day, let’s commit to breaking the silence around perimenopause and mental health, and create environments where women like Sarah can continue to thrive, even as their bodies—and their needs—change.

At Miyara , we help companies prioritize their women employees with access to our digital platform and LIVE workshops and sessions.

Have you or someone you know experienced these changes at work?

Were your workplaces supportive?

Let us know in the comments below.

#WorldMentalHealthDay #Perimenopause #Burnout #WomensHealth #MentalHealthAwareness