Menopause and Madness: The Truth About Estrogen And The Mind

In 1985, Marcia Lawrence was a vibrant and accomplished 49-year-old. An educator, she had written books and hosted TV and radio shows. But one afternoon, without any warning, she descended into a seventeen-day psychotic hell that changed her life. She found herself tormented by bizarre delusions and crippling hallucinations. "Had it not been for a loving rescue by friends, an artful diagnosis, my own perseverance, and an incredible amount of luck", she says, "I doubt that I would have survived".

As Lawrence discovered, she had suffered from what she now calls Gradual Estrogen Deprivation Syndrome, a debilitating disease for women who react negatively to the decrease in estrogen that occurs in the perimenopause. Although not all women suffer from GEDS, Lawrence reveals that those who do are most often misdiagnosed. Instead of the estrogen replacement therapy that they so desperately need, these women are routinely referred to psychiatrists where they are given psychoactive drugs or even institutionalized.

A story of how determined research led to the discovery of the role that estrogen deprivation plays in mental illness, Menopause and Madness will not only enlighten, but also ease the way for the millions of women now approaching their own mid-lives. The book dramatically describes Lawrence's personal struggle and examines vital new information that will alert other women to the unique symptoms of this perimenopausal psychiatric illness. It's an important and compelling book that will appeal to women the world over.