Mums And Menopause: How to Survive and Thrive During This Chaotic Stage of Life
Seldom few things can make the colour drain from a mother’s face. A bulging nappy? Nice try. A toddler with only three hours of sleep? Don’t make me laugh. But the menopause – that’s a different story.
Despite menopause being a natural part of ageing for mothers, most women aren’t overtly thrilled when the symptoms start appearing and, in fact, start fearing it. Typically affecting women between the ages of forty-five and fifty-five, menopause is when a woman stops menstruating due to lower hormone levels which signal her waning fertility.
Yet, it can also cause other unpleasant symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, difficulty sleeping, joint pain, mood swings and more, making the experience like a chaotic roller-coaster ride. Being a mother can often make you feel disconnected from reality. Adding menopause into the equation can worsen it, evidenced by the high suicide rate in women in their mid-forties and fifties.
Due to this, women must be equipped with the tools necessary to cope with the symptoms of menopause, which is why we’ve created this article outlining several ways women can survive and ultimately thrive during this chaotic stage of life. Keep reading to find out more.
Look After Your Outward Appearance
Just as we’re getting to grips with loving ourselves and who we are, Mother Nature sends us a gift in the form of menopause. As well as stopping our most primal bodily function, menopause bestows other gifts upon our bodies – mainly our outward appearance.
From piling on the extra pounds and skin issues to unwanted facial hair and hair loss or thinning on your scalp, menopause can conjure up a variety of problems that can affect your body physically and mentally, which can affect your self-esteem levels and cause the development of debilitating mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.
Therefore, it is essential that you look after your outward appearance as much as you can before these symptoms appear so that any (possibly!) permanent signs they leave will be minimal, including everything from skincare to haircare.
Providing that you take care of yourself before the onslaught of menopause, you’ll find that you’ll be able to lessen (or avoid) some of the prevalent symptoms. For instance, one of the most common menopause symptoms in women is hair loss, thinning or breakage, with a lot of what we lose winding up on our upper lips instead!
However, if this is one of your primary menopausal worries – there is no need to fear. Hundreds of cosmetic and medical hair loss treatments help stimulate hair growth. Prescribed drugs like minoxidil and finasteride are the most popular methods to help prevent thinning, balding. Find your best hair loss solution through online pharmacies like Oxford Online Pharmacy. Consider visiting their website, where you can schedule a consultation with a GMC-registered doctor to discuss the different hair loss treatments available and see how their services could make your menopause experience easier.
Maintain A Balanced Diet And Keep Hydrated
Undoubtedly, you’ve probably heard of the popular phrase; when we feel good on the inside, it reflects on the outside. As menopause wreaks havoc on our bodies, it can interfere with how your metabolism works and how your body displays the foods you consume, which is why it’s essential that you maintain a balanced diet and keep hydrated.
There are many contributors to weight gain during menopause, such as the loss of age-related muscle tissue, declining oestrogen levels, and much more. However, there are various ways that you can combat them and avoid piling on the extra mass. Some of the most popular treatment methods are as follows:
- Regular Exercise
- Strength Training
- Menopausal Hormone Therapy
- Eating Predominately Plant-Based Foods
- Avoiding Heavy Alcohol Consumption
- Limiting Caffeine
- Working with a doctor to create a medically approved weight-loss program, and much more.
Yet, the best way of countering these effects is by watching what you eat and drinking the necessary amount of water daily. Although they can be delicious, instead of reaching for foods that are high in processed fats, refined sugars/salts, you should eat more lean sources of protein and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Don’t Forget Your Sexual Health
Just because you’re ageing doesn’t mean your sex life has to suffer. However, there are a few things to be mindful of that might affect it while you’re being affected by menopause. One of the most predominant symptoms that could affect your sex life is a decline in your sex drive, which can not only make you less open to intimacy with your partner but can also cause other symptoms like vaginal dryness, lack of sensation, mental health issues and much more.
Two of the most prominent symptoms that menopause can have on your sex life are vaginal dryness and sagging of the vaginal tissues/muscles due to the lack of collagen and elastin produced. Fortunately, there are various ways to combat these symptoms, from using a low-dose oestrogen cream or tablet to taking systemic hormone therapy pills or patches.
Despite being a side effect of menopause that can wreak havoc on your mental health, it is one of the most easily treatable and commonly displayed among women, with surveys showing that up to 40-50% of women experience a decreased sexual appetite and other related symptoms while going through the perimenopause or menopause.
Ensure You Get Enough Sleep
Sleep can feel like a luxury you can’t afford when you’re a mother, yet when you factor in all the symptoms that come with menopause, like mood swings, and weight gain, getting a good night’s sleep can feel more important than it ever has before.
Sometimes the best way to combat all the issues that menopause throws at you is by sleeping on it (quite literally!); therefore, you should always aim to get the recommended amount of sleep daily so that you allow yourself time to recharge and face the day with a fresh outlook.
However, this is easier said than done, as the changes in your hormone levels can cause disturbances to your night, making your sleep anything but peaceful. From hot flashes that won’t go away no matter how many times you flip your pillow to the cool side to changes in your mood making it harder to fall asleep – various factors can disturb your sleep.
While you can’t cure your sleep woes with a snap of your fingers, there are several ways that you can attempt to manage them. Some of the most popular methods of achieving more sleep despite having menopausal symptoms are as follows:
- Pay attention to what foods and beverages you consume.
- Create a sleep schedule and stick to it.
- Try to avoid napping during the day.
- Ensure that you get as much physical activity as possible.
- Create an environment that will relax you and encourage you to drift off.
- Put your electronics in a separate room.
- Limit your screen exposure, especially in the hours leading up to bedtime.
- Use over-the-counter sleep aids like diphenhydramine, doxylamine, and others.
- Avoid eating large meals before bed.
- Ensure that your bedroom is quiet, dark, at a comfortable temperature, and relaxing so that you are more likely to fall asleep and stay asleep
