Stress and menopause!
How to cope with your stress during menopause?
Menopause stress, usually a short-lived experience, is your body’s reaction to an external event. When you feel stressed, your body is flooded with cortisol, the ‘stress hormone’ responsible for that ‘fight or flight’ response.
Make no bones about it, managing menopause and the multitude of challenges that it throws at you, counts as a stressful event! You can take steps to help manage your response, so that stress devil doesn’t drag you down.
Prior to peri-menopause oestrogen helps to control cortisol levels. When menopause strikes, oestrogen levels fluctuate wildly, leading to increased levels of cortisol meaning you’ll feel more stressed. Research shows that women often feel stressed or anxious just before a hot flush, so getting on top of stress may lead to fewer hot flushes!
Increased cortisol levels can cause heart disease, weight gain, raise blood pressure, impact on bone density and affect cognitive function. Endlessly feeling stressed may trigger anxiety disorders that can affect everyday life as the feeling of excessive and persistent worrying dominates your life.
What can you do for menopause stress relief?
There are degrees of stress and you’ll know where you are on the stress scale. For some, it’s going to involve more of a systematic and wholesale approach, but for others, just making small tweaks to lifestyle may pay off.
We offer seven simple steps to combat menopause stress and anxiety
Phone a friend!
Being able to express your feelings is important. Find that friend you can talk to about your stresses. Sharing worries and feelings can help to relieve some of your stresses and tensions. As the old adage goes, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’.
Get your heart pumping!
If you are in a role but feeling stuck, push for those career conversations that Aerobic exercise helps to deal with stress by increasing heart rate and increasing oxygen circulation. Running, spinning, skipping, hiking, swimming and what we love most is to dance away your stress. All these options get your heart pumping and are great aerobic workouts. The important thing is to have fun!
Create a distraction!
Keeping your hands busy, keeps your mind busy! So stopping it responding to stressful inner chatter and thoughts. Prioritise yourself - make time to do something you enjoy: cooking, baking, gardening, knitting, sewing, DIY, whatever you choose to do, it can only help.
Stretching relieves stress
Grab lunch or coffee with colleagues in different teams to understand the business and get heads-up on roles that might better suit you coming up.
‘What are you working on at the moment, I’d love to find out more.’ If you aren’t working at the moment, you’ll be surprised at the network you have – map out who you have access to.
Go for a brisk walk
For two reasons! Fast walking, a cardio-vascular exercise, releases the ‘good’ endorphins that trigger a positive reaction in the body. Secondly, spending time outdoors reduces stress. The greener the better. Those living in greener spaces have lower cortisol levels, so even if it’s just your local park, take yourself out for a brisk 30-minute walk. Research shows it may have an impact on improving memory and attention span. Even better!
Tell your GP
Nip menopause stress in the bud. See what your doctor advises for you, based on your health history. You have options, don’t feel that you have to ‘put up with it’. If your doctor tells you that you need to get on with it, be assertive and ask to see another doctor who has a better understanding of menopause.
Take a look at our menopause and mental health section for more advice to cope with your menopausal anxiety and stress.
Menopause and work stress
Onset of perimenopause can have a big impact on our daily lives and this can affect performance and attendance at work.
Perimenopausal symptoms are transient as hormones change. Anxiety, brain fog, loss of confidence, sleep disturbance and fatigue, all can be emotionally distressing. For some, symptoms of stress are so severe that they need to take time off or leave their job altogether, but feel unable to disclose their reasons for absence to their managers.
Menopause and work stress should be treated with respect as with any other health concern by your line manager.
Preparing for a stress-free converstation about your menopause at work:
Make a list of what is causing you stress - a diary or notes can really help in preparation
What impact are your menopause symptoms having in your home/work life?
Consider what you want to get out of this conversation?
Discuss what reasonable adjustments can be made that might help improve your stress?
Is there potential to introduce flexible working hours?
Are there Wellbeing Champions, Mental Health Champions or even a Menopause Champion that you can confide in?
Talking is a positive empowering tool, you may be surprised how supportive and empathetic others can be if you have the confidence to discuss how you are feeling.
Do take a look at menopause and work section where we outline how to cope with menopause symptoms at work and asking for support.
November 2017