Physical Wellbeing – How to get through menopause naturally
As a healer, I get asked this all the time because so many of us want to make this monumental, final transition as naturally as possible. And, the short answer is Yes!
Why Natural?
I put this down to a combination of the negative press surrounding Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and the intuitive feeling that this normal part of the ageing process should be possible to navigate without medication; a bit like childbirth!
Exceptions to the Rule
Let me be clear, I am not suggesting for one minute that it is wrong to use HRT if that’s what you need, there is no judgement here. I personally have to use it because I went through medical menopause 10 years early and because of my Joint Hyper-mobility Syndrome am at high risk of osteoporosis. Everything else I use and used to treat my rather extreme symptoms is natural.
Are We there Yet?
Menopause can last up to ten years, it starts with peri-menopause, and this can actually be quite rough and under estimated. I have heard lots of stories of women going to their GPs convinced they’re in the early stages to be told that their blood tests say otherwise. Here is where I diverge from modern doctors, and offer help and remedies, you don’t need to suffer.
Typical Peri-Menopausal Symptoms
I’d say you’ve started your transition to the magical Crone era of no periods, if you experience brain fog, scatty memory, random periods, hot flushes, anxiety attacks, migraines, musculoskeletal problems, weight gain. It’s a bit of a recall on your experience of puberty and how your body reacts to significant hormonal changes.
Important Messages
These annoying symptoms are actually important messages from your body to your brain, telling it that something isn’t right and needs adjusting. So please never play them down, hear yourself.
Don’t Put Up & Shut Up
If I had a pound for every woman that believes she’s in Menopause and has to put up with these jarring, undignified, erratic disturbances, I’d be seriously sitting pretty…on a mountain side in Scotland.
Wheels Fall Off
The darker side of turning 40 is rarely acknowledged in its full truth. Your body’s ability to handle the crap you give it dissipates and everything you previously “got away with” comes home to roost. I am talking intolerances to foods, preservatives, synthetic chemicals, alcohol, caffeine, drugs, often things you weren’t even aware of. This is where I come in, diagnosing what they are and advising how to deal with them.
Blind Acceptance
Don’t just accept these uncomfortable symptoms, which are usually housed under the menopause umbrella, be prepared to make a few adjustments and enjoy them disappearing.
Clever Playing
Please never under-estimate the importance of what you put in, on and around your body in relation to your overall wellness. Yes genes play a role in health, but they’re just the hand you’ve been given and it’s all about how you play the game.
Natural Menopause
Once we’ve uncovered what is causing your discomfort, I can give direction over how to alleviate and heal the symptoms naturally using plant medicines. Or, if I can’t personally help you, referring you to a different natural health practitioner. There is always a natural way, usually with thousands of years of international provenance behind it.
Biggest Change
This may, and often, require significant changes in diet. This is such a biggy, people really will do just about anything to get round this unavoidable horror! But when they finally give in, wow what a positive difference it can make. The short term gain is never worth the long term pain!
Mental Upgrade
I run a workshop covering this, which helps to make this move more acceptable and tolerable.
Dietary Impact
Diet plays significantly into weight gain, not for the reasons you might expect, the body wraps what it can’t deal with in fat and then shelves it! Food and drink intolerances play into migraines, digestive disorders, skin conditions, respiratory conditions, insomnia, anxiety, hormone imbalances. They can adversely affect every single body system!
Toxic Plastification
Our society belittles age, we’re bombarded with the message that we must do all we can to avoid looking our age and fend of the signs of ageing. Sadly, this means unquestionably putting our physical bodies through toxic torture, coating ourselves in varies forms of synthetic chemicals and plastics. The connection between our skin and our internal organs is forgotten and ignored at our peril.
Real Cost
Skin needs to breathe and be able to sweat out toxins, especially around our lymph glands. Modern beauty requires concealing our blemishes and stopping perspiration at all costs, we pay with our health. If you can’t handle the smell of your sweat, you need to question what you’re eating and drinking to create the smell.
Healthy Response
For example, the response to a hot flush should not be the application of more anti-perspirant, it should be, what is my body trying to tell me? And, the same goes for all of your symptoms.
Useful Tips
Here are some common remedies for some of the symptoms, I can’t guarantee they will work for you because we’re all different and that’s why I do individual assessments; not one of my patients has the same treatments.
Achy Joints – Lemon Essential Oil, Wintergreen Essential Oil
Anxiety/Panic Attacks – Lavender Essential Oil
Brain Fog – Rosemary Essential Oil
Digestive Disorders – Herbal Infusions of Melissa, Calendula, Holy Thistle
Headaches/Migraines – Peppermint or Rosemary or Roman chamomile
Hot Flushes – Peppermint Essential Oil
Painful Periods – Herbal Infusions of Red Clover, Motherwort, Shepherds Purse
Weight Gain – Grapefruit Essential Oil
Talking Live
If it works better for you to see me talk through tips, Phillipa Butler from Precizion and I enjoyed a live chat on Menopause, you can enjoy it here.
Safety Precautions
Please note that when taking any of these essential oils, if you are on existing pharmaceutical medications or supplements you must either check with your GP or do some research (they’re often unlikely to know) to make sure you’re not adversely compromising yourself.
Only the Best
I only recommend using the finest grade of essential oils to ensure you get all the therapeutic benefit, which means they are uber potent and are so much more than just a lovely smell. A cheaper oil will not necessarily give you the results you’re hoping for. You can learn more from me with my Introduction to Essential Oil’s Course, and if you buy oils from me I can do the checking for you.
