Put that brave face away for a momoment. Let's be honest here, menopause is tough on the majority of women. It can be amongst other things; painful, exhausting, isolating, stressful and debilitating at times. It is on aoocasion hard to keep going, carrying on with the day to day stuff and that is ok.  It is okay to, nay even essential, that you take time to stop an to recover, to rest body, mind and spirit at these points. In fact  . . . 

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Rest is the very foundation of Reseileince

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So what is resilience and how is it going to help during menopause?

 

Resilience is the ability to overcome adversity.  The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as

“the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties”

We know that menopause is an extended period of transition from one state of being to another during which we significant physical, emotional, cognitive and social change.  It is a time in which we can experience feelings of loss and grief, not only for our youth but also as a result of the process of letting go of our previous identities in our social and professional lives. It can make us feel vulnerable .

So how can we remain resilience during this time when our mind, body and very soul seem to be undergoing (in some cases) such dramatic changes.

 All is not lost there are many ways and practises we can employ to maintain a sense of control throughout menopause. In 2020 psychologists Hannah Süss and Ulrike Ehlert conducted a study known as the Swiss Perimenopause Study.  They found that women with a higher rate of psychological resilience experienced milder and less frequent symptoms of menopause.  Now, there is a great reason for intentionally engaging in activities that help to foster a positive mindset.

So what are some of the psychological factors that can contribute to greater resilience during Menopause. The diagram below outlines some of these factors:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Optimism – cultivating and maintaining a sense of optimism helps to reduce stress and feelings of helplessness.  It also reduce anxiety levels and can help keep you on track with other strategies that you may have already put in place for self care , for example – exercise programmes, and health eating plans. But how do we cultivate it.

Activities such as practising gratitude for all the things that have gone well throughout the day and focussing on finding solutions are great ways of cultivating optimism

Sense of Control – Establishing the belief that you are able to influence and manage your own physical and mental health contributes to better overall wellbeing. In the initial stages of establishing this belief you may wish to tools such as affirmations, mantras or mindfulness meditation to establish new neural pathways in the brain that help to embed the belief. This process is known as neuroplasticity. Again using mindfulness meditation and gratitude practices you will intentionally notice the changes you are experiencing in real time further entrenching the belief. A virtuous circle rather than a vicious one.

Inner Resources and Strengths – Having an awareness of one’s own strengths and resources is going to be a real asset during menopause.  If you are not sure what yours are why not try a reflective journaling exercise to identify them or perhaps you could ask your most trusted friends for some feedback on what they feel your strength and resources are.  When you are aware of what you do well  it not only gives you confidence but lodges ion your memory  for easier retrieval during times of adversity.

Core Resilience – this is the ability of the individual to be able to bounce back after experiencing difficulties. It is a behaviour learned through lived experience, role modelling and learning to manage their emotions. It is important that we train ourselves to return to a state of equilibrium as fast as possible during menopause t prevent being in flight and flight state for too long thereby mitigating the risk of long term health consequences. Such as heart disease and bone issues

Spirituality -  Many women view and experience menopause as a psycho spiritual transformation, whilst many others find that they start to become more interested in spiritual practices during this period of their life, whether s its starting to have spiritually based conversations, with others, perhaps start attending church services or begin to carry out small personal  rituals., Research has shown that spirituality acts as like a  protective factor during menopause significantly reducing the severity of physical and psychological symptoms, including depressive moods, anxiety, and cognitive impairment.( find reference)  There is a more in depth section on this topic s below.

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