NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For decades, the menopause conversation has centered on hot flashes and night sweats. But new research from Bonafide Health reveals the symptoms hitting women hardest right now are anxiety, brain fog, declining motivation and emotional overwhelm, and most women say nobody warned them. During a recent satellite media tour in partnership with Bonafide Health and D S Simon Media, Dr. Alyssa Dweck, Chief Medical Officer at Bonafide Health and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, shared what the latest survey findings mean for women in perimenopause and menopause, and what they can do to find the right support and solutions.
Bonafide Health’s 6th Annual State of Menopause Survey found that for the first time, cognitive and emotional symptoms have overtaken hot flashes and night sweats as the most disruptive part of the menopause experience. More than 60% of women surveyed reported a decline in their mental health, 70% of women ages 40 to 49 feel overwhelmed by everyday life, and 72% say they were completely unprepared for how disruptive symptoms would be. Here are some of the top questions and expert insights from Dr. Alyssa Dweck, Chief Medical Officer of Bonafide Health and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner:
What is the difference between perimenopause and menopause and what are some of the common misconceptions?
Dr. Dweck was clear on the distinction: menopause is defined as 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, with an average age of 51 in the U.S. Perimenopause refers to the years, sometimes two, four or even ten years leading up to that point, when estrogen and progesterone levels become highly volatile and symptoms can emerge. She emphasized that while menopause is a natural phase of life and not a disease, it can come with significant and often unexpected disruptions.
The biggest misconception, she noted, is that hot flashes are the defining symptom. Bonafide’s latest survey tells a different story: for the first time, cognitive and emotional symptoms have overtaken physical ones as the most disruptive part of the experience, particularly for women in their 40s navigating perimenopause.
How do hormonal changes during perimenopause affect mental health and why is that connection still underdiagnosed?
According to Dr. Dweck, it is a combination of factors working together. Fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels affect everything from sleep quality to the brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. Progesterone, which plays a key role in regulating the sleep cycle, drops significantly during perimenopause, and disrupted sleep compounds every other symptom. Estrogen changes, meanwhile, alter brain chemistry in ways that directly affect mood and cognition.
Layer those biological shifts on top of the life circumstances many women in their 40s are managing, including caring for aging parents, raising children and managing demanding careers, and the result is a mental health impact that is both significant and chronically underrecognized by clinicians.
Survey data shows women are craving solitude and feeling overwhelmed by everyday life. How is this changing the way they seek help?
Dr. Dweck said the survey revealed something important: women are not primarily looking for a diagnosis, they are looking for validation. Seventy-one percent felt completely unprepared for how disruptive their symptoms would be, and many described feeling confused about what to do next, even with more products and information available than ever before.
What is actually helping, she noted, is community. Sixty-two percent of women said that talking with other women was what finally helped them realize their symptoms were real and not imagined. Women are finding each other before they find clinicians, and that peer connection is becoming a critical first step in the journey toward getting proper care.
Is Hormone Replacement Therapy the only option, or are there alternatives for women who can’t access it?
Dr. Dweck was emphatic that HRT, now more commonly referred to as menopausal hormone therapy, is not the only path forward. Demand has increased since the FDA updated labeling on estrogen-containing products, but many women are either not candidates for hormone therapy or prefer not to take it, and she said there are strong alternatives. These include non-hormonal FDA-approved medications for hot flashes, mood symptoms and other related issues, as well as well-studied, evidence-based supplements like those from Bonafide.
She also stressed the importance of lifestyle pillars: diet, exercise, sleep hygiene and community. Finding a clinician who is knowledgeable and sensitive to perimenopause and menopause, she said, can make an enormous difference.
What is the most important thing women should know as they enter perimenopause?
Dr. Dweck’s message was direct: educate yourself, be proactive, and find a clinician who will take your symptoms seriously. She reiterated that perimenopause and menopause are natural phases of life, not diseases, and that while symptoms can be uncomfortable and disruptive, they can be managed.
To learn more about menopause and stay up to date on Bonafide Health’s research and hormone-free solutions, visit HelloBonafide.com
About Dr. Alyssa Dweck
Dr. Dweck’s full Bio: https://hellobonafide.com/blogs/authors/alyssa-dweck
Dr. Alyssa Dweck, MS, MD, FACOG, MSCP, is the Chief Medical Officer at Bonafide Health, LLC. She is a practicing gynecologist at Well by Messer in New York City, provides care to women of all ages and has delivered thousands of babies. Dr. Dweck is a menopause society certified provider and has a special interest and expertise in female sexual health and medical sex therapy. Dr Dweck has been voted “Top Doctor” in New York Magazine and Westchester Magazine.
ABOUT BONAFIDE HEALTH, LLC
Bonafide Health was launched with a simple mission: to provide women with safe and highly effective symptom relief throughout their menopause journey. As part of Bonafide's scientific research and product development process, the brand prides itself on their deep understanding of the biological and physiological changes that affect women due to hormonal fluctuations experienced with age. Bonafide is a gynecologist recommended menopause supplement brand that provides first-of-its-kind, evidence-based solutions developed from naturally derived ingredients that are hormone-free and drug-free. To learn more visit www.hellobonafide.com or follow @hellobonafide on Instagram or TikTok.
About D S Simon Media:
The firm is well known as a leader in the satellite media tour industry and produces tours from its studio and multiple control rooms at its New York headquarters. Clients include top brands in healthcare, technology, travel, financial services, consumer goods, entertainment, retail and non-profits. Established in 1986 the firm has won more than 100 industry awards.
About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a property of D S Simon Media. The video included and release was part of a media tour that was produced by D S Simon Media on behalf of Bonafide Health.
Media Contact
Michael O’Donnell
D S Simon Media
212-736-2727
modonnell@dssimon.com
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