positively menopausal

I’ve just come back from a lovely long walk in the sunshine ticking many boxes – walking in nature, getting the daily steps in, getting the Vit D topped up and listening to my latest course updates on audio download (I’m always learning!)

As some of you know I helped my sons girlfriend move into university accommodation at the weekend and it felt like a BIG life stage, and I thought it would be useful to relate this to what is happening to us in menopause.

Around this time in our lives we have some major life changes going on- maybe our children are starting Secondary school, moving away to University or even worse…returning back to the family home after university!

Maybe we have parents who now need more of our care- so that load of caring for children is replaced with the care for ageing parents plus careers are changing, relationships are changing….So you see the menopause transition is not happening in isolation, it’s actually coinciding with lots of life changes- it’s not all just hormonal change or imbalance, and that’s why there’s no magic pill…no stack of supplements or HRT that resolves all the symptoms…because they’re MORE than hormonally driven.

Sometimes it’s a combination of life imbalance…and that is absolutely in our control in the way we respond to and manage the changes happening in our lives.These life changes also affect our moods- we are changing as a result of life, we’re not just victims to our hormones. If someone or something is irritating you….maybe it’s not your hormones, maybe you need to listen to that irritation and respond as necessary! (though in no way am I advocating that we act on those occasional impulses to drop kick said source of irritation!)

Full disclosure- I am on a tailored HRT regime- but that’s not enough to make me feel amazing sadly. Yes it took the edge off my symptoms and has gotten me to a place where I could consistently focus on changes that I needed to make in my life but it is most definitely not the end of it! Hormone imbalances are not just because of the menopausal transition, they are also affected by life- nutrition, sleep, stress, activity levels to name just a few.I’ve enjoyed a very relaxed summer which I don’t regret for one minute and my family very much appreciated me kicking back and indulging with them…but sadly eating my bodyweight in ice cream all summer has inevitably come back to bite me on the bum!The hot flashes have returned with a vengeance (which then affects sleep) as has the joy of brain fog where I’m struggling to either find words or they’re in my head but can’t quite make it from there to my mouth without being jumbled or lost!Some of this will be a hormone imbalance- but it’s not that the HRT isn’t working anymore- I have contributed to that with my lifestyle choices….and so I can help redress that imbalance by tweaking my choices.

SUGAR- this is a major trigger for my hot flashes and brain fog and is now limited to a treat at the weekend

SELF CARE- back to yoga once weekly which makes me SMILE plus taking a walk in nature (I’m very fortunate to live in beautiful countryside as you can see from the pictures of today’s walk) whenever possible to reset, ruminate and find my space again, which brings me JOY.

HEALTHY FATS- adding in more salmon, avocados, olives and nuts to both NOURISH my brain and SUPPORT hormone production (hormones are primarily made from cholesterol – therefore healthy fats are ESSENTIAL, they are not the devil!)

What makes you smile or brings JOY into your life? If there isn’t anything at the moment…go and find/do something you love and add it in- your body and mind will thank you for it!