Menopause: Ways To Reduce The Impact Of The Journey

Well, the answer is STRESS. Stress in any form causes our adrenal glands to start producing our stress hormones (adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol). If you have had excessive accumulative stress (and who hasn’t?) over your lifetime, by the time you reach menopause your adrenal glands are exhausted and they are no longer functioning optimally. This is a huge problem! The reason behind this is that it’s the job of the adrenal glands to take over much of the production of your reproductive hormones after your ovaries have stopped functioning. If your poor old and worn-out adrenal glands are struggling to keep up the production of your stress hormones, how do you think they will cope with the added burden of having to produce your reproductive hormones as well? The answer is, they won’t.

But don’t despair, we can nurture and nourish your adrenal glands and start improving their function, so you can start to feel better. But first, you need to reduce your daily stressors.

Seriously, think about your life. Do you need to make some changes? Should you change jobs, move homes, take a holiday, stop saying yes to everyone etc.

(On a side note, did you realise menopausal women are the largest group of new start entrepreneurs and the largest users of the dating site RSVP?)

The number one way to reduce and prevent stress from taking over is by exercising. It doesn’t even matter what kind of exercise, as long as you are doing it frequently. These are a few forms of exercise to consider:

• Yoga
• Pilates
• Walking
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Going to the gym
• Dancing
• Tennis
• Team sports

Here are a few other ways to reduce your stress levels:

• Meditation
• Acupuncture
• Aromatherapy
• Pet therapy
• Music
• Having hobbies, e.g. gardening, painting, knitting etc.
• Being in nature and getting some sunshine and fresh air
• Having strong support networks you can vent to
• Massage (physically unwinds you)
• Laughter (why not get the girls together and head out for a hilarious night together)

Bad stress management tools include binge eating, excessive caffeine intake, smoking, drinking and depending on drugs of any type to get you through. These may help you temporarily but will only add further stress to your body in the long term.

After you have added a few good stress management tools and removed the bad ones from your daily routine, it’s time to start healing your adrenals.

Consider a supplement regime that may include:

• A multi or a B complex
• Vitamin C
• Magnesium (this wonder mineral, relaxes the body from the inside out)
• And/or a herbal supplement. My favourite herbs for stress management include:
• Rehmannia
• Rhodiola
• Kava
• Ginseng family (American, Korean, Siberian, Indian)

It’s that easy. Start reducing your stress levels today, take a handful of adrenal nourishing supplements or herbs and start noticing the difference it WILL make to your menopause journey.

Disclaimer: This Content has been developed from our generous global community and is intended for informational purposes only. This Content is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon. Further, the personal views and experiences published are expressly those of the author, and do not represent the views or endorsement of SoulAdvisor through the act of publication on our site.