My mind feels foggy and full of self-doubt

I haven’t had as bad experiences as others that have posted on here.   But around my periods my mind feels foggy and full of self-doubt. It feels like a waste of my own time that I need to just keep my head down for 7 days of the month because my hormones are not in my control.

Also, I’m at the age where I think I am going into perimenopause which means that my periods that were normally like clockwork have begun to change a bit – even those small changes are throwing me into a loop. I just feel like I cannot make any  major (or minor!) life decisions for major parts of the month because I cannot tell what I am feeling versus the self-doubt my hormones are throwing up!

I actually really appreciate my hormonal cycle, the routine of it has been a structure in my life and at least I knew to deal with it when it happened. However, now I am a little lost because of late periods, or periods that are going on for longer than normal. My head is just extra foggy and full of self-doubt.

The solution for me would be better understanding what exactly is going on with me. This sounds kind of weird because I have had my period for nearly 3 decades now! But I feel we are always given information about when in our cycle we might be fertile and put so much energy into understanding that – so that we can get pregnant, or avoid it! Whereas I have never really learned in detail what causes these crazy hormonal feelings. Some basic understanding of what is happening as I go into perimenopause would be great, knowing what research-based solutions are out there that women themselves have found useful would also be really comforting to read about for me.

CG, Ireland