Menopause and tearfulness

If you’re suddenly finding yourself crying in situations that never used to bother you, you’re not alone. During perimenopause and after menopause, many people find they’re more tearful than before. Hormonal shifts, life stress, and disrupted sleep all play a part—and yes, there are helpful steps you can take.

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What are crying spells?

Crying spells during menopause can show up in many forms:

  • Tears that spring up almost instantly and without any clear trigger.
  • Short, intense bursts of tears where emotions overwhelm you, then settle.
  • A heightened emotional sensitivity where things like TV shows or articles trigger tears when they didn’t before.

In all cases, the underlying issue is often emotional regulation combined with physical and hormonal changes.

How common are crying spells during menopause?

They happen more often than you might think. In one study of 675 women aged 47‑54, about 36.8% reported crying spells at age 47, compared with 20.8% at age 54. The results suggest that the transition phase (perimenopause) is particularly sensitive.

Why this happens:

  • Studies show that estrogen has a protective effect on brain structures involved in mood regulation (like the amygdala and hippocampus). When levels fall or fluctuate, emotional regulation can become trickier.
  • Physical symptoms of menopause like hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, and poor sleep all reduce resilience and increase emotional vulnerability.
  • Lifestyle factors also matter. Less exercise, a diet low in nutrients, high stress, and disrupted sleep all raise the chances of feeling more tearful.

Read more about the stages of menopause.

What are the signs of tearfulness?

  1. Frequent weepiness or tears over things that wouldn’t normally make you cry
  2. Intense crying spells that feel out of control
  3. Rapid mood swings, or a baseline emotional fragility where you’re feeling more sensitive or reactive than usual
  4. Everyday events feel more charged or upsetting than they did before

Tips to help with crying during menopause

Let it out (really)

Crying might feel inconvenient or overwhelming, but it’s also one of the body’s natural ways to process stress. There’s evidence that crying can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, helping you feel calmer after the fact. So if you need to cry, go for it. Suppressing your feelings can actually make you feel worse over time.

Prioritize your sleep

Sleep and emotional health are tightly connected. When you’re not sleeping well—whether it’s from night sweats, anxiety, or racing thoughts—your mood can take a hit. Try setting up a simple wind-down routine, and avoid caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and intense exercise close to bedtime. If sleep feels impossible, talk to your provider. Poor sleep is treatable, and improving it can reduce tearfulness too.

Read more about menopause and sleep. 

Move your body

Exercise helps balance mood and reduce stress. Even a short walk or some gentle stretching can lower cortisol, increase endorphins, and can give you a mental reset. It doesn’t need to be intense to be effective, so find something you enjoy and can stick with.

Cut back on caffeine and alcohol

Both can affect your nervous system and throw your mood off. Caffeine can spike anxiety and disrupt sleep. Alcohol might feel calming in the moment but can lower mood and increase emotional reactivity later. Try swapping in decaf or alcohol-free alternatives to see how your body responds.

Track your symptoms

It can be hard to connect the dots between how you feel and what’s happening in your body. Using a symptom tracker (like the Stella app) can help you spot patterns. Maybe your crying spells are worse after bad sleep, or when your stress levels spike. Understanding your triggers can help you manage them more effectively.

Make time for joy (not just self care)

When you’re juggling work, family, and everything else, your own needs often fall to the bottom of the list. Joy is not a luxury. It is something you deserve and need. Whether it’s listening to music, reading something funny, dancing around your kitchen, or catching up with a friend who makes you laugh, these moments matter. They can shift your mood, ease stress, and support your emotional well-being over time.

Can hormone therapy (HT) help?

There’s growing evidence that hormone therapy (HT) can make a real difference for mood, emotional regulation, and tearfulness during menopause. Estrogen plays a role in the brain’s emotional command‑centers; when those signals get disrupted during menopause, you might feel more emotionally raw. Studies show that HT can help stabilise mood, reduce mood swings, and ease other symptoms like hot flashes and sleep problems to improve emotional balance.

That said, HT is not a one‑size‑fits‑all solution. If your tearfulness is part of a broader mood condition, like anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder, HT may not be the sole or best approach. Your healthcare provider can help you evaluate whether HT, non‑hormonal treatments (like antidepressants), lifestyle approaches or a combination is right for you. It’s important to talk about your full health history, risks and personal preferences. 

Read more on HT risks and benefits. 

FAQ: Crying spells and menopause

Why do crying spells happen during menopause?

Crying spells are usually caused by a mix of hormonal changes (especially falling estrogen levels) and physical symptoms of menopause that tax your emotional reserves. Estrogen influences mood‑regulating brain areas (amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus) and when those systems shift, it can lead to mood swings, tearfulness or emotional sensitivity. On top of that, disruptive sleep, hot flashes and fatigue weaken your emotional resilience.

Do crying spells affect your immediate health?

In the short term, some studies suggest that crying can act as an emotional release and help reduce tension… but when tearfulness becomes frequent and overpowering, it can leave you feeling emotionally drained, worn out or less able to cope. This can negatively affect your mood and have a domino effect on other areas, including your personal and professional life. 

Do crying spells affect your long-term health?

Yes. Studies show that women who experience more severe menopausal symptoms—including mood and emotional changes—tend to report poorer health outcomes later on. This can include:

When should you see a healthcare provider?

Talk to your healthcare provider if tearfulness, mood swings or emotional sensitivity are interfering with your relationships, daily responsibilities or mental health. Urgent care is needed if you experience:

  • Thoughts of harming yourself or others
  • Hearing or seeing things that others don’t
  • Sudden, strong mood changes or unusual beliefs
  • Any moment when you feel unsafe with your thoughts or emotions

Learn more – the latest research

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