Menopause often takes place outside of public view, leaving women experiencing it feeling alone and often unaware of treatment options. Marketing messages aren’t promoted during prime time and discussing aging and the frustrating symptoms frequently don’t come up in conversations. This reality can make it feel like menopause puts you on an island to suffer in silence, while lesser ailments take precedence. However, many brands have taken note of women’s needs, creating innovative treatments with holistic and traditional therapies to improve symptoms.
Reader's Roadmap
1. Symptom-Managing Nutritional Supplements
A key culprit to menopausal symptoms is the hormonal roller-coaster women go through. Drops in estrogen impact the body’s ability to regulate its temperature, meaning hot flashes and night sweats are the norm. Vaginal dryness, urinary tract infections, mood swings, and decreased libido make intimacy challenging, putting strain on relationships and home life.
Women can lessen the severity of symptoms and prevent correlated issues with supplementation. A UTI Supplement can help stop UTI-causing bacteria from sticking to the bladder, whose microbiome can be weakened from decreased estrogen. Bolster an existing vitamin regimen with additional calcium and vitamin D supplements to support bone health. Magnesium can also boost moods, reduce anxiety and depression symptoms, support bone health, and reduce restless sleep.
2. Body Work
Life demands a lot out of women, and menopause can feel like a final, unfair blow. From managing a lifetime of menstrual cycles, childbirth, breastfeeding, and the associated hormonal demands, women deserve a break. Bodywork can help restore balance to body, mind, and spirit and can be done at home or with a practitioner.
Massage can ease sore muscles, release fascia adhesions, and promote lymphatic drainage. Conduct self-massage, gua sha, dry brushing, and foam rolling at home, and work with a licensed massage therapist. Chiropractic care can realign spines, hips, and other joints that may have caused overcompensation elsewhere. Acupuncture and acupressure can be combined with chiropractic care and massage to reduce hot flashes, anxiety, and even insomnia.
3. Cold Therapy
Contrast therapy is all the rage, but there’s validity to the hype. In fact, research shows reductions in mood swings and anxiety among menopausal women. Shows like The Goop Lab have explored the practice of cold therapy with its poster child, Wim Hof. While you don’t need to do a polar plunge, you can reduce hot flashes and improve mental clarity at home.
Fill your bathtub or a cold plunge tub with cold water, between 50 to 60 degrees. Submerge your body up to the neck for at least a minute, working up to five minutes. Start a timer beforehand with enough time to allow you to get into and under the water. Focus on deep, diaphragmatic breathing to increase the flow of oxygen and get the most benefits.
It’s been shown that extended exposure to water below 59 degrees improves mood, increases metabolic rate, and boosts energy levels. Add cold therapy to your morning routine, as late-day and evening cold exposure can negatively impact your sleep cycle.
4. Meditation and Mindfulness
The body-mind connection is critical for daily life, but it’s even more important when your body changes without your approval. Find your center by adopting a meditation or mindfulness practice, which together give you coping skills and a healthy baseline. Meditation can help you clear your mind and put into yourself the mindset you wish to adopt. Mindfulness techniques support your ability to focus on the present moment without judgment, even when the present is chaotic.
Both techniques help manage stress and can even help with memory and recall, despite declines in estrogen. Caring for your brain health and being more in control of your thoughts and actions can lead to better moods. When an external stressor arrives, mindfulness will become a reflex response instead of allowing emotions to take over.
Start your morning before the rest of your home is awake, setting aside time for you without distraction. Resist the urge to reach for your phone and simply sit, practicing deep breathing and centering on a mantra. Choose one that resonates with you, like “I am here,” or “Things are going well.” Focus on consistency over perfection, as the routine showing up for yourself and your mind will offer the biggest benefit.
5. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Everyone stands to benefit from caring for their mental health, and cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a proven methodology. Similar to how mindfulness and meditation retrain your brain, CBT helps participants unlearn and relearn thinking and behavior patterns. For women in menopause, the body’s transformation makes previous responses to stress more difficult, as hormonal drops heighten moods.
Work with a therapist trained in CBT to learn new ways of your body and mind while navigating menopause. The physical and emotional challenges of menopause can take a toll on even the most strong-willed individual. Learn coping strategies, distress tolerance skills, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness with the support and guidance of an expert. Doing so can help reduce stress, improve relationships, and lessen menopause-related symptoms.
Customized Support Eases Menopause Symptoms and Stressors
Look outside of the status quo for supportive therapies for your menopause-related symptoms. Tap into mental health professionals and health experts to care for your body and mind in this new era. Ask questions, try recommended approaches, and let yourself be vulnerable as you support your needs and manage symptoms. When you do, you’ll improve your well-being and boost your happiness during menopause.