Mindfulness and the Menopause
Did you know that there are currently 13 million women in the UK who are either peri or post menopausal. Symptoms of menopause can last for up to 15 years and over 60% of women experience symptoms resulting in behaviour change. As many as 1 in 4 women will experience severe debilitating symptoms. Almost half of menopausal women say they feel depressed and a third say they suffer with anxiety.
(Nuffield Health )
How can Mindfulness help?
Backed by science, practising mindfulness regularly has been shown to help symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, all of which are commonly experienced by women during the menopause.
Whilst it may not stop the occurrence of hot flushes studies have shown that hot flushes be become "less bothersome" with regular mindfulness practice.
I offer an 8 week mindful menopause programme to individuals and groups, during which I will share with you and guide you through a series of meditations and exercises to help you become more mindful. Like all skills, mindfulness requires practise and I provide personalised recordings of the meditations shared during the sessions.
Research
A study carried out between 2015 and 2016 by the Mayo Clinic and published in 2017 reported that "midlife women with higher mindfulness scores experienced fewer menopausal symptoms" In particular they found that mindfulness can help with irritability, depression and anxiety. (R. Sood, C. L. Kuhle, E. Kapoor, J. M. Thielen, K. S. Frohmader, K. C. Mara & S. S. Faubion (2019) Association of mindfulness and stress with menopausal symptoms in midlife women, Climacteric, 22:4, 377-382, DOI: 10.1080/13697137.2018.1551344)