Women’s bodies are incredible, adaptable, and transformative throughout a lifetime. While this nimble nature makes the female form extraordinarily capable, it also comes with near-constant demands. Through puberty, menstrual cycles, and finally, menopause, the hormonal demands on a woman’s body and mind never end.
Body awareness and flexibility are key to managing fluctuating hormones and the accompanying symptoms in each phase. As you enter menopause, the mental demands are significant and how you manage them will determine your quality of life. Luckily, there are ways to manage it.
Table of Contents
1. Nourish Your Body
Nutrition is the backbone of health and wellness, especially as changes outside of your control are underway. Adopt a healthy, balanced diet, rich in lean proteins, healthy fats, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables. Many women in menopause benefit from a higher ratio of protein in their diets, which can support healthy muscle mass. Protein and maintaining muscle can help improve body composition and reduce the potential for injury.
Supplement your diet with a baseline multivitamin and reference your most recent bloodwork to identify gaps you can fill. If you’re low on vitamin D or B, add those vitamins to your routine. Similarly, add collagen protein powder to your morning coffee or yogurt to boost your protein intake for fewer calories. Incorporate a UTI supplement to support urinary health, which can be negatively impacted by the estrogen drop experienced in menopause. By nourishing your body with the right diet and supplements, you’ll feel good, avoid injuries, and deter illnesses, which can lead to a more positive outlook.
2. Get Outside Daily
Your vitamin D supplement will fill some gaps, but there’s no replacement for the great outdoors. Experts have learned that those who spend time outside can reduce stress, improve their mood, and even sleep better. Modern lifestyles don’t always make this task easy, as indoor comforts like temperature control and readily available entertainment beckon. However, incorporating outdoor time is easily achievable and only takes about 20 minutes to begin to see benefits.
Start your morning with a five-minute session outdoors, which can signal your body to wake up. Stretch, take a quick walk, and welcome the day, avoiding blue light from your phone or computer. Use part of your lunch break to walk, which can help correct desk fatigue and improve spinal alignment. Finally, go outside after dinner, walking or checking your garden’s progress. Cumulatively, your time outside can provide the mental and physical reset your body craves.
3. Make Movement Your Best Friend
While you’re already getting outside to move, up the intentionality with planned walks with fitness in mind. Aerobic exercises have been shown to reduce anxiety, depression, and can improve overall well-being. Exercise honors your body, offering a mental shift for many women who can tend to put everyone else first. By preserving time to care for yourself, you’re placing value on your time and wellness, which can improve your outlook.
Use resistance training to challenge your joints and regain flexibility, which naturally lessens with age. Put your muscles to work with strength training, starting small and working your way up safely. Increased muscle mass will preserve your mobility and improve bone density, both of which can reduce injuries as you age. Better muscle mass has also been associated with reduced pain, illnesses, and depression. Invite a friend or partner to join you, which can incorporate social connection, boosting your mental health benefits two-fold.
4. Work With a Therapist
Think of your mental health as a lifelong well-being endeavor. Your mind is where all things flow through, and everything in your life experience impacts its functionality. Worth with a qualified mental health professional, even if you don’t currently feel like you’re struggling. A therapist can provide a confidential sounding board for your life experience that your partner or friends cannot.
During your sessions, you can explore how you’ve been feeling and share what help you may need. Your therapist can provide counsel, teach you skills to manage stress and emotions and help strengthen your sense of self. Mood swings, anxiety, and depression are commonly reported with menopause, and your therapist can help you manage their impact.
5. Take Time for Hobbies
The time when menopause typically takes place is also when women are often rediscovering themselves. If they are parents, their children are typically more independent or have become adults and left home. Careers have likely achieved their peak, and work responsibilities have become routine after years of experience. It’s a season of change, and it can be easy to lose yourself in the routine out of habit. But menopause is also a time of self-discovery that can be rewarding and exhilarating for many.
If you’ve dedicated yourself to work, your family, or both, the sudden availability of time can be alarming. Let yourself be curious about new things and resist the urge to put off starting a project or task. Stop by a craft store and pick up something that interests you or follow along with an online painting tutorial. Embarking on a project where you’re a novice is mentally stimulating, and it challenges your brain in exciting ways. You’ll look forward to working on it, which can improve your mood and give you a sense of purpose.
Read Also: Transforming Leadership with PedroVazPaulo Executive Coaching
Honor Your Body and Mind Through Change
Menopause is part of life, but you can decide how to experience the journey. Care for your mental health by supporting your body from the inside out. Fuel your body with good nutrition and build strength and mobility to ensure you’re up for anything. Let curiosity and a sense of adventure fuel your next project, stimulating your mind and bringing you joy. When you do, you honor all your body and mind have done for you as you enter this new era.