Bernadette Crane
B.A. Hons, PGCE
Qualified and Registered Mindfulness Teacher
DBS checked
Mindfulness Courses, Training, Retreats and Events
Online and In Person Classes
Mindful Menopause
Session One - Acceptance
In the introductory session we defined menopause and explored the 3 stages of menopause, perimenopause, menopause and post menopause and you probably have a better idea of where you are in this process now. During this session we are going to discover some of the other circumstances in which menopasue does not follow the usual path, including; early and premature menopause, surgical menopause and late menopause. We will the role of hormones in this process and uncover why it is so important to come to a place of acceptance.
Topic covered in this session
You can jump to the area you wish to examine by sleceting the topic
Click on the video below
Prior to sitting down to start this programme, you have probably been rushing about here and there trying to get all those little jobs done before taking some time out for yourself. So! before we start let us just take a moment to allow our minds and body to relax a little. Doing this will allow us to enter 'The Learning Zone'. A relaxed and mindful state that will allow you to take in information easily and remember it for longer.
Please click on the audio player arrow below to join me in a short meditation.
Just spend a few minutes in silence now, thinking about how that felt for you. Did you notice the transition between the state of 'doing' and the state of 'being'.
How did that you feel for you? Hopefully you feel a little more relaxed and open to recieving information.
Other Influences on Menopause
In the last session we looked at the 3 Stages of menopause. Whilst this is the usually process for tha majority of women there are some exceptions, so we will start by looking at some of these.
Those Pesky Hormones
We say it all the time, don’t we?! It’s my hormones. Because it’s true, hormones profoundly impact almost all of the body’s processes. Hormones are chemicals that move around the body via the blood stream carrying messages between cells. tissue and organs. They send instructions to our body, telling it to turn on and off certain functions such as temperature, mood, the ability to reproduce cells, grow bones and produce children.
Their role is to regulate a wide range of bodily functions, however, when they start to fluctuate, as they do, during menopause this can play havoc with some of the body’s processes.
Have a look at some of the different functions of the female sex hormones on the chart below.
The steady decline of these hormones in the female body happens over many years. It usually begins around the late 30’s or early 40’s but for a small percentage of women can begin much earlier.
The diagrams below shows the levels of estrogen in the average woman throughout the life span.
Throughout the programme we will be looking at how fluctuating and declining hormone levels can affect physical health and mental wellbeing in a lot more depth. But for now the diagram below shows some of the key areas that hormone imbalances can affect the mind and body.
I think it’s important to point out that not everyone experiences all the symptoms associated with menopause. Experiences of menopause vary widely, although there are some shared similarities. Some people might have severe and intense symptoms whilst other may not notice many changes at all.
What we do know for a fact is that lifestyle, diet, stress levels and overall general levels of health can have a significant impact on how we experience the menopause. Therefore, having a good general knowledge of what physical and, cognitive and emotional changes might occur during menopause can help you plan ahead to ensure that you are prepared for how to respond when symptoms might start to reveal themselves.
Symtpom Tracker
So let's start to thibk about symtpoms and specfically our own symptoms
Using a symtpoms tracker right a t the bginning of this programme is a great idea. Its gives you a reading of where you are at th point in time. it also givces youa stick at whch to masure against the actions you will be putting place as part of your menopasue programme. Helping you to reflect on their efficaacy, allowing your to make changes to your programme where required.
There are quaite a few trackers availavle. I have provided a printable and downlaodable tracker for you to use below.
Insert my file here
But you might like to use some other methods of tracking your syntpoms such as:
The BUPA menopasue Diary
https://www.bupa.co.uk/~/media/Files/mms/bins-06002
The Dr Louise Newsome QWuestionnaire
https://www.drlouisenewson.co.uk/knowledge/downloadable-symptom-questionnaire
o prehaps and online version such as the Menoscale from the Zoe app
https://quiz.zoe.com/menoscale/about-me
Ensure you date your completed symptom tracker so you can refer back to it and make comprasisions.
you might be surprised by some of the symptoms that are included on th list . There are thought to be around 80-90 different symtpoms. most of which we will explore through the programme.
Jorunal promtp
now that you've completed your symtpoms tracker how do you feel? were there any suprises?
How do you feel about your phjysical symtpoms?
How do you feel about yout emotional symtpoms?
Use your journal to explore your thoughts about your symtomsin more depth. Let the pend rung away with you
Accepting Menopause
It seems absurd to accept something that is causing you pain and suffering. But research tells us that it is exactly this acceptance that can help make menopause more manageable for many women. Studies have shown that the frequency and severity of menopause symptoms are reduced significantly when women . . .
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Recieve quality support from the family, employers and social networks.
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Have an understanding of what is happen within their minds and bodies during the menopause process
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When women are able to accept that menopause is a normal stage of human female development and as with all stages of development has it's own challenges to overcome.
To accept can allow you to seeing things as they really are right now. In doing so, we can transform our focus from one of passive resignation to mental and physical pain and suffering experienced during menopause to one of building resilience. Through acceptance we make space for self compassion and change our reactions to our symptoms thereby reducing the distress they can cause. We also increase self awareness helping us to become more aware of when we might need to seek further help from health professionals.
Rather than resisting the reality of menopause, usually as a reult of societally induced fear of aging, we can accept it's presence as a gateway into the next phase of life. One that can also offer liberation from periods, a stronger sense of self and greater inner wisom.
The practice of mindfulness teaches us that it is important to not to keep resisting the things we do not like e.g. fear, etc. Mindfulness encourages us to accept the things we don't like by sitting with them and allowing them to 'just be'. Being in their presence in a calm manner. Being present with our thoughts about the situation and removing the fear from our bodies with our breath.
The next exercise helps us to move towards acceptance
Facing your concerns
Think about all the concerns you have about menopasue. and rate them from 1 to 10. Place them on the ladder in order of which one you find them easierst to think about. with the easiset on the bottom. Bring youeslef into stillness becoming awre of your fett on the floor and you seat on the chair. Bring your attention to you breath and notice the sensation of breathing now gently open your eyes and give some thought tot the first concern.
Are there any ways you can reframe this concern. Think about it in a new way. e.g. Im s
becomes
Are there any ways you can mitigate the effects of these concern e.g. I'm scared of getting
See ign your concerns for what thy really are helps you to open up the e possibibilities avilable and creat space for acceptance.
eaxcmple
Accepting Menopause Meditation
One of theings that a mindful appropach to menopasue can provide is a greater level of acceptance. Acceptnace is on eof the key attitudes of a mindful life and by rpacticisn gthis attitude throughout menopasue we come to see menopasue as a natural phase of develppment and thertefore we do not try to mental and phsycial combat its impact on our lives. We learn to suspend our judgment of ourselves and how we should be and being to accept how things actually are. This is can help to make the process a much less stresful.
This m,editation is designed for you to come to a place of acceptance with the chnages that are going on withing your mind and body throughout menopasue. Its a great one to use when you feel it is all become too much and need to relax into the process.
You can do this meditation sitting or lying down in a comfortable position.
Is this stuff below this required?
Hang on a sec! Just before we begin, I think its important to say . . .
Menopause is not an illness, disease or disorder. Menopause actually is a normal part of the female human development process and natural part of aging that involves physiological and psychological changes. Any person with ovaries will experience menopause.
However, with the development of synthetic hormones in the 1930’s and 40’s, the ‘treatment’ of menopause was brought under the auspices of the medical profession and became medicalised. This has had both benefits and disadvantages.
Although it certainly has its challenges menopause doesn’t have to reduce women to quivering husks’ of our former selves. When managed effectively menopause can be an extremely empowering stages of life, allowing us to no longer feel the need to conform to society’s expectations and energising us to take action.
Research has shown that women who have a better understanding what to expect during menopause can help them to navigate this time of life with a little more ease. It was found that women who had been educated about the menopause felt more confident in managing their symptoms. And that is exactly what this course aims to to do. Provide you with the information that you need to make infomred choices about how to manage your menopasue, with plenty of activities for your trial along the way. After we all expereince menopasue in a different way and this course will help you create your own menopasue plan that suits you.
Lets start with a few facts and figures
Did you Know?
Wow! it's hardly suprising we feel so negatively about menopause before we've even truly started to experience it. In the past menopause was not really discussed openly within the private sphere (within families, or between friends) or in the public sphere (the wider society). There was very little in writing on the topic and much if it was written by men.
It was more of a stage of life looming in the future and if questions were asked they were often dismissed by those who had already gone through what was known as 'the change'. I know that many of the women I interviewed when preparing for this programme said that when they tried to seek inofmration about the menopasue they were ablout to embark on from senior family members there was a real reluctance to share their experiences. Leaving them all the mmore mysteified.
Happily, things seems to be chaing and many women seem far more open to the idea of sharing their expreinces and coping technqiues although it is still taboo in certain cultures and sections of the wider population.
This programme has been specifically designed to asnswer all those questions you want to know the answers too. Yes! even the embarassing ones like - Why do I suddenly smell so bad, is this normal? to What can I do to keep my sex life going?
Knowledge is Power!
When we are armed with knowledge we can come to a place of acceptance and make conscious decision about how we can manage our menopause in a constructive, more proactive manner, instead of suffering in silence.
This is where the mindful aspect of the course comes in.
What is menopause and Where am I at?
Menopause is defined by the British Menopause Society as
" Menopause is the time in a woman’s life when her periods stop as a result of the reduction and loss of ‘ovarian reproductive function"
Which in basic terms means that the body no longer produce the hormones necessary to prepare the body for pregnancy and produce eggs for fertilisination. As result of this periods stop and other changes start to take place within the body.
Identifying which stage of menopasue you are in, is not quite a straightforawrd as you might think There are generally Three Stages of Menopause, as outlined in the diagram below.
What is Mindfulness?
and
How can it help me with menopause management?
Mindfulness is about being fully present. Being present and aware of what we are feeling in our mind and bodies. Being aware of physical bodily sensations and being aware of our own thoughts and feelings. Having a good awareness of ourselves means that we are able to notice when things start to change as they do throughout menopause.
When we are aware of these changes we can take action. And so it is with menopasue - when we start to notice changes to our minds and bodies, many of which begin quite subtly at first, we can start take action to support ourselves and in some cases reduce symtopms. This may mean small interventions such as a change in diet, or introducing strengthening exercises to seeking more specialist support such as talking therapies or being prescribed HRT.
Being present in our bodies and minds helps us to monitor and respond appropriately to our physical, social, cognitive and emotional health needs. The diagram below illustrates some of the ways in which employing a mindful approach to menopasue can be benefical . . .
The Three Stages of Menopause
Perimenopause
Perimenopasue usually starts around the mid 40's, but occasionally some women start to experince peri menopausal symptoms in their late 30's.
Symptoms can begin around 8 years before your last period.
Hormone levels start to fluctuate as the ovaries start to produce less estrogen.
Menopause
Menopause is a point in time rather than a stage.
It is the day on which menstrual bleeding has not occurred for exactly 12 months.
The average age a woman will experience menopause is
51 Years.
The ovaries have now stopped producing eggs and the production of estrogen and other hormones declines.
Post Menopause
Post menopause begins the day after you have not mensturated for one year and lasts for the rest of your life.
Hormones levels are now low but stable and many of symptoms expereinced during peri menopause have started to fade.
However, lower levels of estrogen and other hormones can have a long term impact on health.
Does any of this sound familiar to you? Well if you it does then you are probably at the stage your identify with the most in terms of age and lived expereince????
There are a couple of exceptions to the above and these are . .
Premature Menopause
Early menopause describes the circumstances in which a woman ceases to menstruate before the age of 40 years old. Around 1.5% of the population experience premature menopause. This is usually as a result of autoimmune disease, family history and genetics, weight and lifestyle factors. Chromosomal factors that cause conditions such as Turner's Syndrome an Fragile X Syndrome can also bring about an early menopause
Surgical Menopause
Surgcial menopause occurs when a woman undergoes surgery to remove her ovaries (oopherectomy) and/or her uterus (womb) which is know as a hysterectomy.
This is completed removal of the reproductive organs instantanesouly places a women in post menopause, as she will not be capacle of menstruation after surgery. The sudeen drop in formone levels is significant and can impact the body. Surgery takes some timWomen in surgical menopasue expereince am instantaneous and signficatn drop in hormes levels.
So let's start exploring some of your symptoms
Print off a acopy of the checklist below annd allow yourself sometime to think abou the symptoms listed on the left hand side. Do you expereince any of these symtpsom and if you to do conisder the frequency and aseverity with thicvh you expereince them. Fill in the boxes according to your expereince.
This exercise is a good way of finding your starting point. It can act as a measureable for the future progress you arebout to make in controlling mood disturbances, pain levls, Sleep distrbance and aspcect of phsycial health such as weight gain, blood pressure etc.
There are a couple of Exception to the above and this are . . . .
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