Navigating perimenopause can be a bit of a rollercoaster. At the same time as you’re juggling increased work responsibilities, ageing parents and potentially caring for children on top, you’re also dealing with hormonal fluctuations that can affect everything from your cognitive function to your bone health. And the combination of these two stresses can lead to a unique symptom that often goes unaddressed – joylessness.

If you’ve found yourself feeling a bit flat, deflated or just a bit ‘meh’ recently, then joylessness might be to blame. While joylessness can creep in at any time in your life, it’s particularly prevalent during perimenopause due to several factors, says Kate Codrington, a therapist, menopause mentor and author of The Perimenopause Journal: Unlock Your Power, Own Your Wellbeing, Find Your Path.

“Less severe than depression, joylessness can creep up quietly in a busy life, so that one midlife-day you turn around find that your va-va-voom has driven off and left you in the dust,” she says. “While from the outside it looks like life carries on as usual, inside life can feel utterly barren; the absence of joy flattens what should be ‘peak moments’ into grey hollows, an emotional flatline that puts life’s highs and your purpose out of reach.”

Feeling a bit flat and deflated? A perimenopausal symptom known as ‘joylessness’ could be to blame