Gwyneth Paltrow recently disclosed how her menopause symptoms spiraled out of control during the Los Angeles fires in January. The actress opened up about her health challenges on "The Goop Podcast" with Dr. Mary Clare Haver. She revealed that, despite usually limiting herself to one drink a week, she found herself drinking "every night" during the fires, which she described as "medicating."
Paltrow's menopause symptoms, which include disrupted sleep and heightened anxiety, were exacerbated by the stress and devastation of the fires. The Los Angeles blazes burned thousands of structures, forcing many residents to evacuate. Though Paltrow and her family remained safe, she was deeply affected by the events.
“Our beloved Los Angeles … We are in deep grief for so many of our close friends who have lost everything,”
She shared her struggles with anxiety, a sensation unfamiliar to her before menopause. The actress recounted nights spent awake with overwhelming feelings.
“I would just wake up and I would get crushed with anxiety, which I’ve never had in my life,”
“And I would lie in bed thinking about every mistake I’ve ever made, every person’s feelings I ever hurt, like, every bad, you know. And I would be up for six hours. It was crazy.”
During the podcast, Paltrow explained how the fires' impact on her emotional state led her to break her usual drinking habits.
“But I noticed my symptoms are, like, pretty well under control unless, you know, in January when the fires were happening in LA. I’ve used alcohol for its purpose.”
She described how this change in behavior noticeably worsened her menopause symptoms.
“My symptoms were completely out of control. It was the first time I really noticed causation in that way,”
In January, amidst the turmoil, Paltrow sold her Brentwood home for $22 million. Despite the upheaval, she continued to share her journey through menopause on her podcast.
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