The school staff I work with talk a lot about the impact of anxiety on their work, and how menopause anxiety can kick in during tasks they once tackled with calm and confidence.

People I talk to also find that this feels difference from ordinary anxiety, or a general anxiety disorder. It’s a new kind of whirring in the brain.

It’s probably your amygdala that’s being affected — that’s the seat of your fight or flight reaction and produces hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.

Cortisol’s not all bad. It helps regulate blood pressure and suppress inflammation among many important functions. It also gives us an extra boost in the morning to wake us up and give us some get up and go — better than coffee!

But during the menopausal transition the amygdala is often over-active. One of the impacts of that can be anxiety — and if you pay attention it does feel different to other sorts of anxiety.

Also the fall in oestrogen can mean we produce less neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and especially GABA which has a soothing effect on the nervous system.

Sometimes it helps just to know that it is not a response to any threat. Your brain is creating a false reading.

It is one of those things that tends to settle down after full menopause, but it can take a while!

1. Although HRT is primarily recommended for hot flushes, many women find it to be incredibly useful for anxiety and other mood problems.

2. CBT has many techniques for dealing with anxiety — although it’s best if the practitioner has an understanding of menopause.

3. Meditation and mindfulness are incredibly useful for managing anxiety. MIND offers courses in many areas — some of which are online. Headspace meditation app is free for teachers.

4. Belly breathing will calm us down in the moment. You need to make sure you are breathing deeply using your diaphragm so your belly expands as you breath in and returns as you breathe out. The more you can focus on your breath the better. Try counting 5 in and 7 out.

5. Understanding that it is a artifice created by hormones affecting our brain, rather than a response to a real threat can help. As you belly breathe tell yourself ‘It’s a brain wobble’ or ‘it’s not real’ or whatever works for you. You might even want to write the words that help on a pebble or button in your pocket.

6. Exercise has been shown to produce feel-good chemicals that help anxiety. Some people find yoga to be particularly useful — but it’s also important to pick an exercise you can enjoy.

7. Some people feel there’s something special about being outdoors that can help them find calm and balance.

8. Having other people you can turn to is also important. There’s even evidence that having a laugh with other people produces a chemical cascade that helps us feel better.

9. Having a good diet and avoiding sugar spikes can also help. Have a supply of healthy snacks.

10. Lots of people find hobbies such as crafts help with anxiety. In general it helps to work on finding more ‘me’ time in our lives.