Lifestyle tips for navigating menopause

In my recent article published in DNG24, I spoke about my recent trial with women who were dealing with difficult menopause symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, disrupted sleep and anxiety and I gave my top lifestyle tips to help navigate this time. Let's not forget that weight gain is also a major factor as we transition through our perimenopause and menopause journey.

Do consult your doctor, HRT has so many benefits and the old perception that it was dangerous has been proven to be incorrect.

So here are my top lifestyle tips....

1) Lighten your mood

Anxiety is often brought on or heightened when our hormones are fluctuating as we go through peri/menopause. Anxiety is also a trigger for hot flushes.

Try to de-clutter your life stye, take time out for you to recharge your batteries.

2) Keep on moving

Women are at high risk of osteoporosis as we age, statistics show that 1 in 2 women will get a fragility fracture. Keeping fit and active will help reduce this risk and the added benefit is that it is so helpful for our mental health.

3) Be choiceful about your eating habits

Look at your diet, include lots of healthy veg and protein, reduce carbohydrates. Introduce foods which contain phytoestrogen that can help to balance the fluctuating hormones (leafy vegetables, soy products).

4) Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate,

Keep hydrated but most importantly, reduce your alcohol intake.

There are lots of medical reasons for reducing the amount of alcohol we drink but in addition, this is a big trigger for night sweats and disturbed sleep.

5) A problem shared....

Tell your family, your friends and speak to your colleagues about how you are feeling and what your symptoms are. Every woman will go through menopause and the impact is felt by every one of us, women and men. We should recognise that this is a perfectly natural new phase in life that can also be very positive and empowering.

Did you know nail biting had an actual name?

Nail biting or onychophagia, is thought to be common in children and young adults with studies showing 20-33% of children and around 45% of teenagers bite their nails. Experts don't really know what causes it but stress, boredom, frustration can all increase the habit, it's not uncommon for people to bite their nails when they are hungry or when deeply concentrating as well.

There are a number of negative complications from nail biting ranging from as infections, jaw pain to more serious issues such as bone infections.

What can I do about it? Well there are barrier methods, using mouth guards, wearing gloves. Keeping your nails very short. Keeping your mouth occupied (chewing gum etc).

Or.... you can try hypnosis.

I work with so many different behaviours but regardless of what I am treating, I always love to have feedback and a testimonial makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, to be honest, knowing I have helped someone to achieve their goals is why I do what I do.

I had the pleasure of working with GS recently. He had bitten his nails for 40+ years and although he is a strong willed person, who likes to be in control, he wasn't able to kick the habit except for a short period of time some years back. GS found this extremely frustrating, most of the time, he wasn't even aware that he was biting his nails. His hands and nails were badly affected and he felt this let down his appearance and annoyed him and his family who constantly pointed out when he was carrying out the behaviour.

Over the course of 3 sessions, we worked on bringing his behaviour into his conscious awareness so that he was able to stop the habit before it began.

Here's what GS had to say after the sessions had ended......

I contacted Coral after deciding to finally tackle my problem of Nail Biting for the past 40years +. I went into the whole process after speaking with Coral, I was open minded and felt comfortable about all that was explained to me. Coral led me through all 3 appointments. I began to feel and see results within 1 week of our first session. I have now finished all my 3 sessions and waited over 25 days before writing my recommendation and post to clearly see if I was still happy with the end result. I am and would recommend Room 101 Therapy (Coral) to anyone who just wishes to improve their life balance. Its simple, easy and mind blowing. I would finally add that Coral carried out all my sessions over Zoom which again during Covid times was fantastic. I would whole heartily recommend Coral going forward

Menopause - Hot flushes, Night Sweats, Anxiety and associated Sleep Problems.

Symptoms of menopause can be debilitating, affecting mental health, home life, work life, relationships and leave you questioning what on earth is going on. I recently sat in on a webinar run by Bupa and although this is an area that I specialise in, I was still shocked by some of the statistics from a recent survey of 4000 women.

Did you know that.......

44% of women say that the menopause affects their mental health

75% of women said that menopause had changed their lives

50% of women said that it had a very negative impact on their working lives.

Statistically, you will live longer being menopausal than you will live as a menstruating woman and according to a report 'Better for Women' - 2019

51% of our population is female

47% of the workforce is female

58% of unpaid carers are female

This is a huge part of the population that will go through menopause, a perfectly natural phase in life, just like puberty, and yet we don't discuss it. We don't share what is happening, the symptoms and what help and support is available.

Watch this space.... I will be sharing my article about how my Menopause Relief Therapy has helped ladies get back control which will feature in the spring edition of Menopause Matters magazine (out later this month).

You do not have to 'put up with it', you don't have to suffer in silence. Get in touch with me to find out how I may be able to help you control those hot flushes, reduce those night sweats and get a good night's sleep and reduce that anxiety that also helps reduce the brain fog. Reclaim your life!

Email me now to arrange a free consultation to discuss your symptoms: info@room101therapy.com

#menopause #nightsweats #hotflush #anxiety #disruptedsleep #perimenopause