Anxiety and the Menopause

What’s happening to me?

“I was never an anxious person before. Now I just can’t stop worrying about everything.” These words have been echoed by many of my clients at each of the stages of menopause; peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause.

Why do I feel anxiety now?

Menopause is a time of transition and is marked not only by the end of the menstrual cycle but also by major shifts in hormone levels.

Specifically, there is a reduction in oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels which can result in imbalances in neurotransmitters that control and modulate your stress response. A reduction in the levels of serotonin (also known as “the happy hormone” ) or reducing levels of endorphins, (which would normally increase your feelings of wellbeing) can also cause feelings of both anxiety and irritability.

These feelings can be compounded by raised levels of cortisol and adrenaline, two stress hormones.

These shifts can bring a host of physical and emotional symptoms including night sweats, hot flashes, changes in mood and anxiety.

Is it anxiety or something else?

As your body changes you can experience both physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety. Physically, you may start to become aware of times when you feel short of breath or become aware that your heart is racing. Emotionally, you may experience a marked increase in feelings of worry or apprehension, or perhaps you become aware of a new restlessness inside. Even becoming more easily annoyed can be as a result of underlying anxiety.

Whilst these feelings may seem difficult to bear, it is important to remember that these are symptoms of the transition that your body is going through and that you have within you the skills you need to successfully negotiate these new, uncharted waters.

What steps can I take to help manage my anxiety levels?

Encouragingly there are many positive steps that you can take to help yourself manage anxious feelings more effectively.

Develop a meditative practice.

Meditation promotes relaxation. By meditating daily you are training your body and mind to access a state of relaxation with increasing ease. In parallel with this increasing ease, you will find that regular practice will enable you to achieve an increasing depth of relaxation.

This practice also reduces your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, which will in turn contribute to a reduction in your anxiety levels.

Meditation will also improve your quality of sleep as it has a calming effect upon your mind which will positively impact your emotional resilience.

To meditate regularly will also heighten your self-awareness and your ability to be mindful, which will enable you to live more fully in the present moment.

Acknowledge that these feelings that you are experiencing will pass.

Research by Queen’s University, Canada suggests that we have about 6000 thoughts per day (assuming 8 hours sleep). This would equate to 6.5 thoughts per minute. Keeping these statistics in mind, it is easy to understand that thoughts pass rapidly through our awareness. We can acknowledge the thought without choosing to stay with it, like a cloud, we can observe it, acknowledge its presence and then let it drift away. A further thought will come and it too, in time will pass.

Nourish your body.

When we feel anxious it can be all too easy to forget to nourish our bodies. Make time to eat healthily, to spend time outdoors in nature, to exercise and to ensure that your quality of sleep is as good as it can be. By following this advice, you will find that your energy levels will be higher, your emotional resilience will be stronger and you will be able to find new perspectives from which to view the issues that were causing you to feel anxious.

Embrace connection.

Spending time with friends and family is a powerful antidote to anxiety. It affords you the opportunity to rediscover yourself through the activities and companionship of the people who bring you joy. It is as if you are shifting the spotlight from being upon the issue causing you anxiety onto everything else that is in your life and not linked to those anxious feelings.

You may find it helpful to talk to a trusted person about your anxiety. If you do choose to do so, you may well find that in the process of sharing your feelings you start to view the situation in a different and more positive way.

Reconnecting with nature is a powerful way to “press the reset button” on your emotions. Reconnecting with nature has been found to restore your mental energy, reduce stress and anxiety, increase feelings of happiness and wellbeing and improve your focus and concentration.

Spending time with others, whether they are friends or family, can be so uplifting.

Can hypnotherapy help my anxiety?

Hypnotherapy can be an effective way of helping you to manage your anxiety as it works with your subconscious thoughts to create long lasting change within your mindset.

Through hypnotherapy you can learn not only to think differently about the symptoms that you are experiencing but also to take control of how (and how much) they affect you.

Through our work together, I will teach you a variety of strategies that can help you to manage your anxiety more effectively, whilst also working with you to “change your mind” about how you feel about your anxiety, your anxious responses and your menopause journey.

Why not contact me today to book your free discovery call or initial consultation ?