When you asked for a hot body, you weren’t talking about the menopause!
Be careful what you wish for.
So you may well be familiar with the “standard” symptoms of the peri and post menopausal period.
- Hot flushes and night sweats
- Aching joints
- Insomnia
But actually let’s take a look at the reality for the majority of women who will experience some, if not all of these feelings or scenarios through what can be anything from 7–14 years.
Feeling like
- you have been hit by a bus
- you really can’t be arsed
- you have become invisible and no one seems to notice you
- its easier to give up working than to bother competing with your younger colleagues
- your time is over and there is little to look forward to
- even your own family think you’re being daft worrying about your fading looks (“oh but I think you look lovely”)
- YOU don’t know which way is up, so how can anyone else cope with your mood swings!
And
- You cannot function without your slippers
- You can’t talk on the phone without your glasses
- You are afraid of sneezing incase you wee a little bit
- Your brain feels as if it’s being fried when you have a hot flush
- You can’t sit down for long because your lady-lips feel like dried prunes
- You avoid eye contact with your partner incase you give the impression you are up for sex. Which you are not!
- Your teenage (mutant ninja) daughters are baying for blood as they think their hormone issues are more important than yours
- Every time you hear a certain song/catch an advert you are reduced to a weeping mess
- You wake up every morning with an even thicker waistline despite eating “dust” for a week
- Your GP (male?) wants to give you antidepressants
- You find your keys/purse in the fridge
- You forget names – and the reason you went upstairs
- You don’t want to drive at night anymore and you avoid motorways when you can
- You feel alone
So what to do?
- Find a community of women to talk to – online or in person
- Explore natural or traditional hormone therapies and alternate remedies with menopause specialists. Ask first! Don’t be shy they deal with women like you everyday
- Take regular but gentle exercise – like walking (with a friend) swimming, yoga, Pilates and something to get your pulse rate up in short bursts – like HITT
- Avoid chemicals in your diet and environment – they disrupt your hormones
- Practice mindfulness, deep breathing and meditation
- Stay away from people who do not support you – where you can – or create some new boundaries and rules!
- Seek help for emotional upsets – talk to someone who can help
- Approach your place of work to get support with flexible hours, cool rooms, ask your HR lead about women’s wellbeing programmes
- Talk to your partner and significant others openly about all you are experiencing
- Consider looking at new opportunities to feel fulfilled and valuable.
- Eat as good a clean diet as you can and add targeted supplements for brain, heart health and joint support. (Don’t use Dr Google)
- Explore resetting your gut microbiome to manage your weight.
And above all – DON’T feel guilty about looking after yourself
Gill is an international award winning speaker, author, broadcast presenter, Pilates teacher, nutritional expert and advocate for self–care.
Combining her experience in the conventional healthcare field with lifestyle and functional medicine, Gill is an expert in providing holistic solutions for the prevention and reversal of disease. Her interventions align with her ideal of building health rather than treating symptoms. She specializes in addressing the major health trends of the 21st century and is passionate about supporting others to spread this message worldwide; creating global transformation
Gill studied music as her first degree before qualifying as a Registered General Nurse (RGN) in the UK. She has been studying functional medicine for the past 7 years and her transformational work has been recognised with a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the AUGP (Academy of Universal Global Peace) A Peace Award from the UPF (Universal Peace Federation) and she is a member of the ATL (Association of Transformational Leaders) Europe and the WAoFP (Worldwide Association of Female Professionals)
Connect with her here: www.drgillbarham.com
