“Perimenopause isn’t just about hot flashes and night sweats. It’s about the brain.” - Dr. Jessica Drummond

Brain fog, anxiety, and mood swings are among the most common and frustrating symptoms for women in perimenopause and menopause. At the same time, they’re also the most misunderstood. For too many of us, these symptoms are brushed off as stress or just part of getting older when in reality, they reveal the deep connection between hormonal changes, neuroinflammation, and the brain’s resilience during midlife.

For practitioners, we have to embrace this critical shift in perspective. When your clients describe cognitive fog, forgetfulness, irritability, or rage that feels new to them, it’s about their hormones, nervous systems, and lived experience. The midlife brain is sensitive to fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone, as well as to chronic stress, past head injuries, viral inflammation, and gut health imbalances. Recognizing how these systems interact is key to building care plans that work in the real world.

Today, I’m walking you through a case study of a 46-year-old client navigating brain fog, migraines, anxiety, and mood changes layered on top of long COVID, a concussion history, and chronic stress. Using the IWHI MAPS Framework and our Seven-Step System, I’ll show you how we connect the dots between hormones, inflammation, and nervous system regulation — and how you can best support cognitive healing in women who feel like they’ve lost their edge. You’ll also learn why low progesterone can amplify anxiety and insomnia, how estrogen fluctuations affect cerebral blood flow and migraines, and how to use structured, trauma-informed systems to guide women like this from overwhelm to clarity.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/helping-clients-with-brain-fog-anxiety-and-mood-changes-in-perimenopause-menopause/.

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