Many women in perimenopause describe the emotional sensitivity as feeling like they have “thinner skin.” Things that once rolled off, now register. Conversations replay in your mind. Disappointment feels sharper. Even affection can feel more intense.

Perimenopause changes the internal environment of your nervous system in ways that make everyday stressors feel heavier, louder, and harder to manage. You’re not becoming less capable — your body is moving through a transition that affects how you experience pressure, emotion, and demand.

If you’ve hit your 40s or 50s and suddenly feel more emotional, more overwhelmed, more irritable, more forgetful, or more reactive than you’ve ever been, you are not alone — and you are not “losing it.”