Mind over Menopause

Is it a serious issue, or nothing to mind about? Updating the 2010 Equality Act sounds serious – with expectations of ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace rendering ‘unfavourable’ treatment of menopausal women as ‘discrimination’.

Research (2023) by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development indicated 67% of women experienced mood swings and 50% had consequently taken absences. However, medical support is not necessarily to be taken for granted. In 2022 criticism of inadequate provision prompted doctors to comment in the BMJ that treating the menopause as an illness heightens anxieties about ‘this natural stage of life’ and over-states HRT’s potential to manage symptoms.

So, if you find yourself with an unsympathetic boss or GP, what else can you do? A recent article in ‘The Times’ advocated reducing menopausal symptoms through twenty minutes of meditative Vedic yoga chanting twice daily. The music of the voice – like that of a lullaby, classical music or mindfulness meditation– is well suited to calm the ever churning wheel of the mind. Similarly, the repetitive motion of the arms whilst rooted in one spot during Chi Kung can achieve inner peace. A 2021 meta-analysis found ‘mindfulness-based intervention groups showed significant improvements in total quality of life’.

But why do I hear the screams of it’s not all in the mind? The World Health Organisation (2022) states that symptoms affecting ‘physical, emotional, mental and social wellbeing’ depend upon ‘prior health, reproductive history, lifestyle and environmental factors’. Perhaps we can influence the physical with the help of the mind through relaxation techniques, but for some hot flushes burn deeper.

From personal experience I can say my own suffering compared to my mother’s seems to have been minimal. Both our lives were stressful, but during these years I have used homeopathy to rebalance – ‘physical, emotional, mental and social’ aspects of my wellbeing as they arose. Whatever your choices I hope you find a satisfactory path to navigate your golden girl years. I wish you a victorious liberation, and a celebration of life and wisdom.