The Menopause Brain with Dr Sophie Behrman

I’m very pleased to see the menopause is being discussed more that it ever was. It does, after all, potentially affect a great many of us: directly and by proxy. About fifteen years ago, I wanted to write an article for the Guardian about it but kept hitting not so much brick walls as cul de sacs. The questions I was asking kept coming back with “we don’t really know” answers. As you’ll see from this podcast there are still a lot of unknowns. But what I do talk about in this episode on the Menopause brain with Dr Sophie Behrman is about what we do know is happening in the brain: the rewiring that goes on that can make women feel unsure and anxious, the effects of dropping levels of hormones and the subsequent effect on the GABA and glutamate system of the brain. Sophie is a general adult psychiatrist who works in a community mental health team in Oxford and has set up an NHS menopause and menstrual disorders clinic, open to women who fit a certain criteria. Sophie is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Menopause Working party and is currently doing research into suicidality and the perimenopause. She’s also edited a book for the Royal College of Psychiatrists called “Menopause, Menstrual Cycles and Mental Health” which will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2026. Do look out for it. Thanks again to Emily Tammam for the idea for this podcast and the introduction to Dr Sophie Behrman. If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a Substacker: . From £5 a month or £50 (2025 rates) a year you'll get access to all new podcasts as soon as they are available and before general release and ad-free. You can also support us by sharing this podcast far and wide, it's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. And leaving a review if you can. Thank you so much. Produced by Hester Cant. Art work by Lo Cole. Music by Toby Dunham. Support this show . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to The Menopause Brain with Dr Sophie Behrman online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Menopause Brain with Dr Sophie Behrman is an episode from Conversations with Annalisa Barbieri by Annalisa Barbieri.

This episode is 40:58 long.

This episode was published on Feb 12, 2026.

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