Every woman’s perimenopause and menopause will be individual to her. The fluctuation and reduction in reproductive hormones results in a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms, and can include anxiety, hot flushes, weight gain, brain fog, tiredness, bloating, aches and pains.
Despite the fact that half of the population will experience menopause at some point, it has never been given much credence – in fact, I believe in some cultures, there is no verbal term for it.
But now, thanks to high profile women such as Penny Lancaster and Mariella Frostrup, who have been open about their own experiences, it is being put front and centre of the health agenda, with issues such as shortages of HRT making headlines.
As a hypnotherapist, I take a holistic approach to helping ease symptoms.
Menopause can prove to be a real ‘upheaval’ for some women, and our hormones play a significant part of this, but so too can lifestyle factors.
Perimenopause and menopause come at a time in a woman’s life when they are often performing the ultimate juggling act – they may be bringing up their own children while caring for their ageing parents, working and running a home simultaneously.
The hormones women have during their reproductive years are designed to program them not to leave their babies and their families, so when these hormones subside, some women may notice that they feel differently and their tolerance levels diminish meaning that they find it harder to put up with the challenges of family dynamics.
Interestingly, the brain becomes less tolerant of temperature change, and that’s what hot flushes are all about and stress can be one of the triggers for surges in heat.
The Program I run teaches techniques for dealing with hot flushes, which are common during menopause and can be debilitating, not to mention, embarrassing.
Hot flushes are one of the symptoms many women dread, but there is a hypnotherapy technique which can help.
There’s a technique in hypnotherapy called anchoring, which is a way of re-experiencing anything that you’ve ever experienced.
When you imagine something, you create a physiological response, so in the case of something like a hot flush, you can teach women to access feeling cool and calm. In hypnosis we set a ‘short cut’ that can teach them to take control by using this anchor to feel cool quickly.
Anxiety is another common menopause symptom, which may surprise formerly confident women. Physiological changes can lead to an increase of anxious feelings, which can effect participation in things that used to be a normal part of a woman’s life.
Hypnotherapy is an effective way of learning to find calm and settle down.
This life transition, for some, can be tremendous, and to take an optimistic slant on it, I think it can be an opportunity to help women to explore what’s next. All the cultural messages we receive are about staying young and youthful, which denigrates the experience and knowledge that those of us who are older than 35 have gained. For many older women, they may begin to feel that society will not value them and feel a less significant part of society - that everything’s going to dry up and shrivel into non-existence.
Perimenopause and menopause is the time when women should be putting themselves first - ensuring that they're adopting healthy self-care habits, such as eating well, exercising and reducing their stress levels.
I often use the metaphor of what happens during a safety announcement on an aeroplane. We are told that, should the oxygen masks come down in an emergency, we should put the oxygen mask on ourself first, before helping others.
So with this in mind, menopause could really be an opportunity for women to take stock and give themselves permission to prioritise their own well-being.
To find out more about how I can help you learn to manage your menopause and enjoy this transition towards new possibilities visit www.thechangetherapist.co.uk
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