Are you looking for ways to manage your menopause without HRT?
I’m so pleased to hear people talking about the menopause. It seems to be a subject that has been kept under wraps for so long and when it affects half the population at some point, it should be a natural part of living and open for free discussion. The slight problem with lots of people talking about it is that it can then feel a bit overwhelming to know what to do for the best. For example, should you go down the HRT route or manage your menopause without HRT?
There are many different reasons to consider either choice and it will be a very personal decision for you. For some women, HRT may not be an option on medical grounds or they may simply not want to use it or feel that their symptoms are not bad enough to consider it.
If you’re not currently using HRT, there are a number of ways that you can manage your symptoms including diet, exercise and managing your stress to reduce the triggers for some of the common symptoms that women experience. There is an abundance of information about diet during the menopause and which foods and drinks to include and avoid to help with both general health, hot flushes and sleep.
Is this just for women who aren’t on HRT?
No, absolutely not. These ways of managing your symptoms are obviously also effective for those women who are using HRT and are worth including in your daily life to enhance the effects of HRT too.
When you focus on how you manage your stress and anxiety then it can have a really positive effect on your symptoms. It’s well known that stress and anxiety can increase the frequency of hot flushes as well as affecting your sleep, your eating habits, your mood in general and your ability to cope with everyday challenges.
Here are 5 simple ways of reducing and managing your stress and anxiety:
- Increase your self-care. Taking some well-deserved time out for you to do the things that you enjoy help you to build up your reserves, recharge your batteries and increase your coping skills
- Breathing exercises. Use your favourite breathing exercises to really feel that sense of calm and peace. There are many breathing exercises on YouTube if you don’t have a favourite and it’s good to try a variety to see which exercises work best for you.
- Delegate. One of the many problems at this time in your life is that you’re trying to be all things to all people; work, your relationship, children, older relatives, friends, social commitments and all the other elements of your life that take your time. You don’t need to do it all so start with looking at what you can delegate easily and build up from there.
- Consider finding support for how you’re feeling. Counselling, hypnotherapy and any number of other therapies can help with stress and anxiety from allowing you to release the feelings connected to what’s happening in your life to teaching you new tools so that you can continue to maintain what you’ve achieved.
- Include some exercise in your week. Whether it’s a walk every morning or meeting up with others for something more formal, try different types of exercise to see what suits you best. Exercise releases Endorphins which help to give you the feel-good factor.
Many women manage their menopause without HRT and there are lots of ways to lessen or alleviate the symptoms but managing stress and anxiety is certainly a good place to start.
If you’d like to find out more about how I can support you with symptoms of the menopause and help you to either manage your menopause without HRT or enhance your HRT then please do get in touch at catherine@berkshiretherapist.co.uk and arrange a chat to find out more.