The Menopause, that time of life where a womens reproductive organs stop functioning. When we enter a different stage in our lives something natural that we are supposed to do happens; in fact we have no choice, it just happens and yet it seems to cause a lot of problems for many women. This seems to stem from a lack of hormones, and until the body readjusts to these lower levels certain symptoms can be experienced and in many cases are expected. Anyway, here are a few suggestions which may help.
Symptoms of the menopause?
I found as I was approaching this stage in my life that a lot of my friends were pre-occupied with wearing layers of clothing (to cope with hot flushes); worrying about sleeplessness, using their hormone levels to excuse bad memory or grumpiness. These are the only symptoms that I encountered amongst my friends and clients; although I have recently discovered that there are 34 symptoms that are accepted as being part of the menopause varying from those mentioned above to Panic Attacks.
In one study amongst menopausal women from Hong Kong, Pakistan, Mexico and Japan it was found that only 10% suffered from menopausal symptoms; whereas they found that 75% of women in the USA did. Their conclusion was that the main differences were diet, lifestyle and stress.
The symptoms last whist the body acclimatizes to the new hormone levels; and do not tend to occur in men as they don’t experience such a rapid decline as women do. Although some treatments for prostate cancer can suppress testosterone production to such an extent that men can experience a response similar to menopausal hot flushes in women.
Whats a Girl to do?
Some women decide to go for the pharmaceutical answer, taking HRT and have been very happy with this. Although nowadays they are discovering that this isn’t always the answer, and there are side effects connected to taking HRT.
Personally I’m a great believer in natural answers especially when dealing with something that is supposed to be natural, and especially when I know that there are women who do not have any of these so called symptoms. This tells me that there is a way for my body to make these changes easily.
Research has found that menopausal symptoms can be more persistent in women who have a low body weight, and in women who take little or no exercise and in women who smoke.
Many women have found that by cutting out all diary from their diet and switching to soya that they have found a huge difference and improvement. Soy isoflavones have shown benefits in providing relief from menopausal symptoms; they can reduce hot flushes and promote increased bone density those helping to prevent osteoporosis.
Supplements that may help with the menopause
Black Cohosh, is a flowering plant from Eastern North America and contains phytochemicals that are thought to assist in relieving symptoms of the menopause. It also contains isoflavones as found in Soya. Isoflavones bind to the estrogen receptors in your body and these plant estrogens work in a similar way to your bodies natural estrogen.
Dong Quai or Chinese Angelica is a herb native to China; its nickname is the female ginseng. It contains phytoestrogens that bind to the estrogen receptors in our body, increasing estrogen levels and also contains vitamins E, A and B12. Dong Quai dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow which helps to reduce hot flushes. Its also considered to be a mild sedative and can help reduce mood swings and stress.
Maca Root has been used in South America for centuries; it was thought to be an aphrodisiac and is still used today for its sexual benefits. It does not contain plant estrogen but instead is an adaptogen; that means it can help balance your body’s own hormone system and encourages the production of hormones. It also contains calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B1, B2, B12, C and E.
Red Clover is from Europe and Asia and also contains phytoestrogens which help increase the levels of estrogen in the body. In a recent study in the Netherlands 44% of women taking red clover reported a reduction in menopausal symptoms and due to its high amounts of calcium its thought it may slow down or even prevent bone loss due to osteoporosis.
(Please remember that herbal remedies can be potent and always consult a trained herbalist before taking any supplements.)
These are just a few supplements that are on offer to menopausal women and what they have in common is said to be an ability to increase levels of estrogen.
Self help for the menopause
When working with women who want help dealing with menopausal symptoms my strategy comes from the experience I gained when I went through this period in my life. I found that hypnosis techniques enabled me to move through the menopause simply and easily without any of the so called symptoms. Using hypnosis to re-balance mind and body to acclimatize to the new lower hormone levels.
Its suggested in the various studies that have been held that Stress is a major factor in dealing with the menopause. Hypnosis and self hypnosis has proven to help reduce stress and taking time each day to relax and or meditate can be beneficial.
Simple stress reduction technique.
Use this technique to learn how to become calmer and more relaxed. The more you practice them, consciously at first before they become unconscious automatic responses. With practice you can become more relaxed and create a more resourceful state of mind.
- Make yourself comfortable
- Begin by focusing on your breathing, breath out completely, empty your lungs
- And inhale slowly completely filling your lungs to a count of 10.
- Hold your breath for a few seconds and then
- Exhale as slowly as you can to a count of at least 10 completely emptying your lungs
- Repeat this process and as you exhale each time relax
- Begin by relaxing your jaw, gradually moving all the way down your body
- Relaxing your shoulders, your chest muscles, your arms, legs
- Breathing in comfort and relaxation with each deep slow breath.
The above exercise can also be used to reduce anxiety; and will also work with sleeplessness.
How to relax and sleep easily
During the menopause some women find that hot flushes, or night sweats awaken them in the night. Once awake some find it difficult to get back to sleep.
- If you are having problems getting back to sleep; pay attention to your thoughts. Most people having difficulty sleeping have very busy thoughts.
- Slow the thoughts down in your mind, change the tone to a sleepy one
- Now focus on your breathing breath out completely, empty your lungs
- And inhale slowly completely filling your lungs to a slow count of 10.
- Hold your breath for a few seconds and then
- Exhale as slowly as you can to a count of at least 10 completely emptying your lungs
- Repeat this process and as you exhale each time relax
- Begin by relaxing your jaw, gradually moving all the way down your body.
Menopause health
Obviously do contact your doctor if you have concerns about your health. The suggestions here certainly helped me, and seem to have been benficial for a number of my clients, and I hope that you find them useful too.
Tags: menopause, menopause health, menopause help
I liked the very simple way you demonstrated the steps to relaxation and particularly liked the idea of Hypnosis to balance out thoughts. Graham Constantine sent me this blog as I am developing a website called Helpwiththe menopause.com which I will be using in Greece when I build my retreat so I am always interested in therapys that could benefit women and where they could go to receive it beyond my own levels of skill and expertise.
Sallyann
I’ve just looked at your website; its a great idea. So many women get lost at this time in their lives wondering just who they are now they are no longer able to reproduce. Even those women who never wanted children can have a similar response. One of my friends was so confused, she had never wanted children and yet she moaned the loss of her ability to do so.
When I entered this phase in my life, I was determined that it would be a natural process and that I would move through it as easily as possible. I don’t like the idea of taking pharmaceuticals for anything and did my research. I found that around a third of the women in the placebo group to test HRT found their symptoms were alleviated and went away. As a hypnotists and NLP trainer I thought I would build on this.
I used a combination of NLP, DHE (Design Human Engineering) and Hypnosis and worked on myself, my friends and clients; and received some great results.
We never experienced the depression or anxiety that can be associated with this state in a womens life but these techniques have also proved to be very effective in helping people overcome depression, fears and anxiety.
Every woman’s menopause is unquie many women have told me that they achieved significant relief of menopause symptoms from soy. Soy is not without its own difficulties it is one of the top 8 food allergens. The best options for symptom relief are to start with a remedy with the least amount of side effects and give it time to work. Fans, layered clothing, ice to your inner wrist at the first sign of a flash, cooling pillows or mattress pads, wicking sleepwear. These are the first line of help.If these don’t work, consider soy, natural progesterone cream, black cohosh, etc.Perhaps then bioidentical or synthetic HRT might be an option. Read about SSRI antidepressants and consider carefully before taking them. They truly work for some women, but have significant side effects for many.Need more info? Visit our Menopause Goddess Blog where we discuss it in more depth. As always, you are responsible for educating yourself and for your own healthcare. (Sucks but it’s so true.) Find a physician with whom you can partner. Good luck and stay cool.
S.T., Los Angeles, CAMay 10, 2011 I chose hypnotherapy just to see if it could poslbisy remedy a few things about myself such as my need to pick at my fingernails and my desire to be more outgoing and less of an introvert. I was a bit nervous being only fifteen at the time. I had one two hour session with Gale and practiced (listening to the cassette tape she gave me) well through the beginning of the school year. The results were remarkable. To this day, I have not picked my nails and my fear of new people has vanished. I love the thrill of meeting new people and everything has gone great.