You have to be careful with the pill though. It can up anxiety if you have panic disorder, even the low dose pills. I noticed that with me. I've been on mood stabilizers some years now, but PMS and my cycle are just getting worse with age. I used the copper IUD (Paragard) some time for birth control, but then we wanted to try for another child, and after I got the IUD removed, I couldn't get pregnant again. I think it's been 6 years on no birth control and nothing. I hadn't expected it to be difficult to have a 2nd child because I got pregnant with my daughter the first month trying. But my daughter is a tough child to parent, so maybe God knew what he was doing and gave me just what I could handle and no more.

My mom told me her perimenopause lasted around 15 years. That is much longer than normal, but it does happen to some women who get unlucky in the genetics department.