“Self-care means giving yourself permission to pause”
Cecilia Tran – Girls night in.
As women we all just soldier on, we’re all guilty of this, it’s mother nature again making sure we are doing our job correctly!
When your children were younger would you run yourselves ragged caring for everybody else whilst neglecting yourself and becoming completely exhausted. Sound familiar?
It is only when you are really poorly and so run down, do you then realise that there is only one of – you! You run the show.
How many times have we all mouthed the words to those around us “what would you do if I wasn’t here”? There it is, the quiet moment of realisation that there isn’t anyone, you are your own responsibility. You have to run your own show! You have to be at your best and that means self care, never a more important time than when you’re in either perimenopause or menopause.
As women we struggle with self-care because we are always so busy and couldn’t possibly indulge upon ourselves. This stage of our lives, it is absolutely vital that you factor in to your lifestyle your own self-care. Whether it be exercise, relaxation, a hobby, a good film at the cinema or a good book ensure you do what makes you feel rested and relaxed.
You don’t quite notice the tiredness symptom at first, you just become more tired sometimes with extreme fatigue.
Your so busy juggling life, rushing from one place to the next, children/ teenagers/elderly parents/partners, your career and life itself. The tiredness, it sort of creeps up on you.
How many times have you reached for that glass of rose at the end of a day?
A feeling that you are so stressed, tired and needing to switch off and relax with the hope that the pink grapes will transport you to the south of France for a brief respite. Then only to awake around 2am unable to sleep when the one glass turned into a couple. Adding to insomnia and hot sweats during the night, you then notice that alcohol is not very appealing any more.
I had no idea of how exhausted I’d been feeling when I was in perimenopause. I had just been putting up with feeling tired, low and having no energy. Only when I started to take HRT did I realise just how my energy levels had been so low. My zest for life returned and my energy came bouncing back!!
It was extraordinary how quick my energy levels rose and how much better and happier I felt in myself as a whole. The tiredness and fatigue can really make you feel pretty rubbish. If you are feeling tired, fatigued and you’re not sure if you are perimenopause or menopause book an appointment and discuss with your Gp and ask if you could be having menopause symptoms. Remember to check NICE guidelines of menopause treatment, download and print to take with you to help you and your Doctor to decide what is going to be the best form of treatment for you.
Since last summer, I developed a ringing in my ears. Particularly during bedtime, the ringing became such a nuisance with the loud throbbing and ringing in my ears. As I was now able to get to sleep with the help of HRT but I was now being kept awake by Tinnitus. It became a vicious circle, having previously had good sleep and feeling energised I suddenly noticed my tiredness return after a bad nights sleep from tinnitus.
The ringing was all too familiar as when I was a child, I had glue ear. I had absolutely no idea that the ringing would return at the age of 47!
Acupuncture has been a great help to manage tinnitus. I have been told that tinnitus can present as a menopause symptom. Management of my tinnitus has helped me to know and understand when my body is tired, the ringing will start in my ears and then I will notice that I am indeed tired or been particularly stressed. It is like a little reminder just to take it easy and to rest up. Too much white noise from TV, talking or busy open spaces can also trigger the ringing.
With knowledge and management of menopause with HRT and acupuncture, I now know how my body is changing and adjusting to menopause and this is how I self care for myself.
Good luck Meno’s, remember to look after yourself because you are worth it!
News this weekend made headlines about the possibility of halting menopause. This is great news especially for younger women who could be affected by POI, early menopause or through illness and surgical menopause. If you could halt your menopause would you? It is fantastic that we live in an age of such cutting edge science and technology. Let’s hope that this breakthrough will create a better quality of life for women with menopause. We are all extremely lucky to be a part of this time with such talented medical experts who specialise in medical health.
Have a great week Menos!! Make sure you fit in some quality time for yourselves.
