Why Pushing Through Fatigue Backfires in Perimenopause & Menopause

For most of our lives, many of us were taught to push through.

Push through tiredness.
Push through discomfort.
Push through busy seasons and deal with it later.

And for a long time, that approach may have worked—at least on the surface.

But in perimenopause and menopause, especially if you’re living with an autoimmune condition, pushing through fatigue often does the opposite of what you want it to do.

Instead of building resilience, it leads to crashes.
Instead of consistency, it creates unpredictability.
Instead of momentum, it fuels exhaustion and frustration.

This isn’t a motivation problem. It’s a physiology problem.

As estrogen and progesterone fluctuate, your stress response becomes more sensitive. Cortisol spikes more easily. Sleep becomes lighter and more disrupted. Blood sugar swings feel more dramatic. At the same time, autoimmune conditions already demand extra energy from your body just to maintain balance.

When you “push” anyway—through workouts, long days, skipped meals, or constant mental strain—your body often responds by pulling the brakes harder later.

That’s why so many women describe a cycle like this:

• A “good day” where you try to catch up on everything

• Followed by days of crushing fatigue, flares, brain fog, or poor sleep

• Then guilt for slowing down

• Then pushing again when energy returns

This cycle isn’t a personal failure. It’s a mismatch between what your body needs and what it’s being asked to do.

In midlife, energy isn’t something you force—it’s something you protect and rebuild.

Working with fatigue doesn’t mean giving up or doing nothing. It means learning how to:

• Pace your energy so good days don’t sabotage the rest of the week

• Choose movement that builds strength without triggering crashes

• Fuel your body consistently instead of relying on adrenaline

• Respect recovery as part of progress, not a reward for earning it

Ironically, women who stop pushing often find they end up with more usable energy over time—not less.

When effort is aligned with your biology, your body no longer has to fight back.

If you’re exhausted in midlife, the answer isn’t more discipline.
It’s a smarter, steadier approach that allows your energy to become reliable again.