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🇪🇸 Spain /Health & Science

Natalie Imbruglia says perimenopause worsened her ADHD

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Natalie Imbruglia said perimenopause made her ADHD symptoms worse during the creation of her seventh album, Algorithm.
  • She described increased anger, anxiety, stage fright, sound sensitivity and difficulty processing questions during performances and interactions with her team.
  • Imbruglia said cognitive behavioural therapy and hormone replacement therapy helped her move through the difficult period.

Natalie Imbruglia has described the five years surrounding her new album, Algorithm, as an especially difficult period, linking her perimenopause to a worsening of her ADHD symptoms.

It was really hard. Perimenopause is not just about hormones. It has to do with the mind. The brain needs estrogen to function, so when levels fluctuate, it affects spatial perception.

· Natalie ImbrugliaShe described the mental and perceptual effects she associated with perimenopause in an interview with the BBC.

The Australian singer and actor told the BBC that perimenopause, which began about five years ago, affected more than her hormones. She said fluctuating estrogen levels affected her mental functioning and spatial perception, adding that she had never walked into so many doors. She also explored the experience in “Who Dimmed The Lights?”, one of the 12 songs on the album.

Imbruglia said the changes became particularly difficult during the tour for her previous album, Firebird, released in 2021. She experienced greater anger and anxiety, which affected her concerts and her relationships with members of her team. She said people often looked at her as if asking what was wrong, while she struggled to process information and had less patience.

I had never walked into so many doors. The brain fog is quite disconcerting.

· Natalie ImbrugliaImbruglia illustrated the confusion and spatial difficulties she experienced.

Her stage fright also became severe. Imbruglia said she became sensitive to sound, so ordinary speech could feel like shouting, and she found it difficult to process questions. Even a simple question about sparkling or still water could feel impossible to answer. In a separate interview with The Telegraph, she recalled telling her team before a concert that she might have to stop.

I become sensitive to sound, so even if someone is talking to me normally, I feel as if they are shouting at me.

· Natalie ImbrugliaShe described how sound sensitivity affected her during the difficult period.

Imbruglia said cognitive behavioural therapy and hormone replacement therapy eventually helped her through the period. Algorithm, her seventh studio album, was released on 4 September after five years of silence and major changes in her life.

I get nervous and behave strangely, and it seems to have worsened with perimenopause.

· Natalie ImbrugliaShe linked her anxiety and unusual behaviour to the worsening of her symptoms.
About this summary

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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