DECREASED OESTROGEN LINKED TO INCREASED STRESS
- Alicia Cranwell Marketing Consultancy
- Mar 29, 2024
- 4 min read
What happens to our bodies when we experience stress increase during menopause?
- Cortisol causes oestrogen levels to drop
- Resultantly, physical symptoms become magnified
- Lack of support was also proven to increase the symptoms experienced during Menopause for women in the workplace.
The effects post-menopause can be long-lasting, and women deserve better support than the half-hearted, stigmatised antidepressant prescription-serving medical system is offering!
I have met women with all types of menopause symptoms; some have been very common among all women, such as fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, depression and cravings, while others have been atypical and particular to that individual, with developing allergies being one example.
THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THE MENOPAUSE ON WOMEN
The consensus is that these symptoms can be debilitating and exhausting for the menopausal woman.
And yet, there is so little education around this natural part of a female's anatomy that many women don't have any idea of the impact this period in their life may have on them, let alone their partners, employers or colleagues and any other significant people in their lives.
Did you know? A 2019 survey conducted by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that three in five menopausal women—usually aged between 45 and 55—were negatively affected at work. (1) BUPA found that almost 900,000 women in the UK had left their jobs because of menopausal symptoms. (2)
WHY WOMEN ARE SEEKING ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
There is a great deal of chatter at the moment about Hormone therapy for Menopause relief; however, I know many women may prefer not to take this path following tremendous hardship encountered using hormonal contraceptive methods.
As the push towards more natural medicines continues on its upward trajectory, many women are seeking homoeopathic and holistic remedies for their health and well-being concerns.
The ways in which the medical system fails women are pretty shocking; looking specifically at Menopause as an example, when you google perimenopause or menopause medical support, Antidepressants are third on Mayo Clinic's featured snippet on the first page of Google. Want to see for yourself?
THE BATTLE WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS
Now, I'm not one to dictate whether or not you should use antidepressants because I am not a medical professional. However, what I will say is this: almost every woman I have known to have a problematic menopause has received antidepressants, and not one of them felt their symptoms improved by the slightest.
The magnitude of the negative impact of those drugs is reprehensible. Listed on the NHS website are common side effects of SSRIs (antidepressants); I've added an image below, and here's the link to see for yourself: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/medicines-and-psychiatry/antidepressants/side-effects/
I wish I knew at least one woman whose side effects actually did subside on these drugs, but sadly, I don't.
WOMEN CONTINUE TO FACE STIGMA, DISMISSAL AND IGNORANCE
The Women and Equalities Committee published in a House of Commons Committee report of July 2022 that their findings in an enquiry into Menopause and the workplace included:
"women felt dismissed or misunderstood by health professionals in relation to menopause". (3)
The stigma around women's health continues to keep us silenced, including the dismissive, ignorant approach many face with their health practitioners, so it really does not come as a great surprise that many are turning (by the masses) towards alternative health and well-being.
A HOLISTIC SOLUTION IS A FEW TAPS AWAY
EFT has been proven to reduce depression, anxiety, cravings and pain effectively.
Research shows that when we tap while focusing on the issue we want to resolve, a calming signal is sent to the amygdala in the brain. The amygdala is the part of the brain that encodes our negative experiences and cannot distinguish between a memory and what is happening now. It acts as our alert system and is always watching for danger.
When the amygdala sounds the alarm, it triggers the fight, flight or freeze response, which causes the body to think we are in trouble. The body releases the stress hormone cortisol, and excess blood flows away from the brain into the arms and legs, so the resources we usually rely on to deal with problems are gone, leaving us in the stress response. The emotional freedom technique (EFT) signals to the brain that there is no danger, shifting the mindset from negative to positive.
A randomised controlled study to evaluate "The effectiveness of emotional freedom techniques (EFT) on depression of postmenopausal women", published in the National Library of Medicine in September 2022, concluded :
"[...] using EFT for eight weeks could significantly reduce the mean score of depression in postmenopausal women. Using this method in public health centers for postmenopausal women is recommended." (4)
EFT FOR MENOPAUSE SYMPTOM RELIEF
I am a trained EFT practitioner with results to prove the efficacy of this mind/body tool for emotional, physical and spiritual release.
One common reason clients request EFT sessions is for food cravings, and all have reported that their cravings left after our final session. Another client who was experiencing the menopausal symptoms of insomnia, hot flashes and weight gain experienced better sleep than they had in years, significantly reduced hot flashes and a weight reduction of 9lbs in 5 weeks.
If you are in need of Menopause support, please don't suffer in silence. Feel free to reach out to me personally by email or phone or book an appointment on my website.
Have you felt dismissed by your health professional when struggling with menopause symptoms? If you feel comfortable to do so, leave a comment describing your personal experience.
Citations
(1). CIPD, "Majority of working women experiencing the menopause say it has a negative impact on them at work | CIPD", accessed 3 July 2022
(2). BUPA (MEW0046).
(3.) Women and Equalities Committee (2022) "Menopause and the workplace". House of Commons Committee report, First Report of Session 2022–23. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/91/report.html
(4).Mehdipour, A., Abedi, P., Ansari, S., & Dastoorpoor, M. (2021). The effectiveness of emotional freedom techniques (EFT) on depression of postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of complementary & integrative medicine, 19(3), 737–742. https://doi.org/10.1515/jcim-2020-0245
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