Hi everyone,

I am new here. I am 48 and have alway functioned fairly well in life, traveled the world on my own, have a husband and 2 beautiful children, recently completed my master's degree. But I have had a few setbacks and recently have had a big one. 

My last period was in June, right around the time I graduated with my master's degree, which took me 12 years to complete part time while raising my children. In August I started a new job as a school speech therapist, I thought this would be my dream job and that I would work there for the next 20 years. 

They gave me the highest caseload in the district, 60 kids who had to be seen twice a week for therapy. Along with a new computer system, and evaluations with complicated reports to be written, I quickly became overwhelmed and anxious, followed by difficulty sleeping, then depression. My brain was just not able to manage everything and deal with all of these students who had to be seen in groups, many of whom had disabilities, etc. My supervisor kept telling me the job would get harder as the year progressed. I ended up quitting abruptly after 8 weeks and having a meltdown. It has been 3 weeks now and I am still battling the depression, only able to function minimally.

I feel that my menopausal symptoms have taken over and it's like I have lost my mind. I can hardly think clearly at all, I have negative self talk running through my mind all day long. I hate myself for blowing this job. I can't sleep well at night and my brain feels as if someone has drained all of the life out of me. I am absolutely miserable.

I guess what I really need is support and some help finding a direction for myself. We are losing our health insurance in February as my husband is also out of work, so I am hesitant to start on a prescription even though I think that hormone therapy might work.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance from California