Overwhelm and anxiety - any suggestions

[TwinklyLightsForXmas]

I’m 45 and on HRT patches with a mirena coil. Over the last few weeks I’ve been knocked sideways by overwhelm and anxiety, which I’ve never really experienced before (I’m usually a relatively resilient person who just gets on with things). This has come completely out of the blue. I was at a concert at the weekend and halfway through started worrying about how busy it would be to get home. My stomach was churning just thinking about it. Tonight I’ve sat here for nearly an hour trying to get myself to the kitchen to make dinner. So far, I’ve not made it off the sofa.

This is so unlike me and I’m worried it’ll start creeping into other aspects of my life, like work. Any advice? I would prefer not to take medication if possible but realise this may be a pipe dream.

Hello
I'm in a similar position and find walking helps take my mind off things . It's hard to get the motivation for a start but once you get your shoes on and out the door it's suddenly so much easier and feels like a weight has been lifted.
Also a cool shower, or watching something funny on TV or YouTube. I find distraction helps me a lot

I'm also on sertraline and it has helped me a lot.

I spent about a year getting my HRT prescription right. Patches and gels didn’t work for me. Have the Mirena coil and take a relatively high dose of oestrogen in pill form. I insisted on getting a referral to the menopause specialists at hospital. Made all the difference. My local GP surgery are excellent but they’re generalists and I wanted an outside opinion.

I had the Mirena coil as part of HRT and that made me terribly anxious and also very tearful, which is very unlike me normally. I had it removed and was back to my normal self within a week. I think this is more common than medics are leading us to believe as anecdotally I've heard several similar reports. I've been fine on oral progesterone since.