When someone begins to struggle with a mental illness, first what has to be considered is their health as sometimes that is the underlying problem that needs to be addressed first.

It is important to check the individual's hormone levels, this is important in both male and female. It's not unusual for some challenges to arise due to how a woman is beginning to go through menopause and her hormone levels are changing which is often VERY hard to adjust to because of how her body and brain has run on her level of hormones, so in a way this can be very much like having withdrawls from a drug the individual became dependent on to function. With women, it's important to understand how birth control medications can affect them because of how these medications change the normal way a woman's body functions where the body is ready to reproduce which is how nature itself designed women to function. Actually, there have been birth control medications that had to be taken off the market because they were discovered to have side effects that created significant health problems. Yet, not just health problems but real mental health problems. I know this first hand because I had to have lazor surgery for endometriosis and after the surgery I was given an "implant" in my arm of Lupron to stop my periods to give my uterus a chance to heal. As a result this drug depleted me of estrogen and I ended up having a total breakdown where I could not function, to the point where I could not even get out of bed. I was treated with estrogen medication to bring back the level of estrogen in my system and Zoloft. It took time for me to gradually come out of the debilitating fog I was in to where I could function, first getting from my bed to the family room couch to sit and watch TV, to then gradually being able to function normally and get back into working and regaining my life back.

I was 42 years old at the time and ended up going through early menopause as a result of how that Lupron affected my system. It is however important to know that a woman can begin to experience menopause in late thirties and early fourties instead of early 50's. So, having a "breakdown" in one's forties can not only be due to life/work/marriage challenges, but also at a time where the hormonal levels are beginning to change making it harder to function "like one used to". It is important to keep in mind that ALL birth control drugs do affect "hormone" levels and CAN contribute to one's mental health along with changing one's "normal" hormones that contribute to one's mental health.

One of the things that challenged me was also how the endometriosis itself affected my hormone levels where instead of experiencing normal PMS, it was like I had multiple uterus's affecting my hormones every month actually increasing the PMS symptoms I suffered through. I began having horrible attacks about 4 days after my period and these attacks would hit me so bad I would get the dry heaves, be on my knees in horrible pain and horrible hot flashes until these episodes would subside, so I was completely debilitated when these attacks happened. When I went to a woman gynecologist, she would get very cross with me and tell me that I was dealing with cysts and there was NOTHING she could do. She was actually MEAN to me and dismissive when in reality she could have made it a point to listen and I could have gone through this endoscopic procedure and been treated when this challenge was not as bad as it had gotten where it spread outside my uterus and down my right leg which also had a period every time I had a period and ached just as the uterus does when one experienced their period. Endometriosis can spread to other parts of the body, including the lungs so it's nothing to dismiss.

Unfortunately, for me the gynecologist that did finally help me did not explain to me how the Lupron implant was what created my complete breakdown. As a result I lived FEARING that I may once again suffer a breakdown out of the blue. It took a few YEARS for this side affect to finally be recognized openly instead of hiding it from patients where doctors did know but did not disclose it to patients.

Eventually, these attacks got so they did not subside and the pain was just horrible and because the endometriosis cannot be seen through an exam or even an ultrasound, I was treated like the horrible pain I was in was just me making a big deal for nothing. This contributed to my extreme discomfort with gynecological issues or even going to see ANY gynecologist. Actually, I have been treated very badly by health professionals overall to the point where I can experience debilitating flashbacks just going to a doctor and sitting in an examining room.