The phase of
menopause is a nightmare for many women. As soon as a woman reaches the age of
45 she starts facing scary health-related issues. She faces issues of irregular
periods, mood swings, physical lethargy, inability to get intimate with her
husband and what not. This sure is a life-changing phase of a woman's life when
not only her reproductive organs become barren but also a lot of hormonal
changes begin to haunt her days and nights. Not only this life after menopause(meaning the next 3-5 years) is full of mental and physical ailments.
Some women take
the help of medicines like antidepressants and mood tranquilizer but that only
helps for a temporary period of time. Talking and opening up to your better
half or taking the help of a professional counselor helps a lot. Talk about
your mood swings and how you feel. Don’t feel embarrassed about the changes in
your body and also the frequent mood swings from which you suffer. Husbands are
the one who won’t even realize what’s happening to their wives! They need to
understand why you feel low some day and don’t want to do the household chores
or look after his ailing parents.
If you are
having a rough time dealing with your menopause symptoms don’t be depressed and
just bury yourself in your mobile phones and laptops! Start finding ways to
distract yourself!
Go out on a
camping trip or shop from that favourite mall of yours. Life after menopause
doesn’t have to be a bane! Ask your husband to come with you.
Going to
evening dates, just dressing up, having wine in your favourite restaurant will
lighten your mood. Your husband will also feel at peace with you!
Let’s know the terms
Perimenopause
and Postmenopause is two terms that are good to have knowledge about.
Perimenopause is the time just before the menopause and is characterized by
mood swings, irregular periods, heavy flow, panic attack. Women become less
tolerant during this period and get angry at little things. On the other hand
postmenopause is the time after menopause characterized by depression, tension
and increased stress. This occurs due to the sudden slip in the level of
estrogen(hormones that are responsible for reproductive function in women) in
the body.
The symptoms and their treatment
1.For hot flashes- Wearing light
breathable clothes, drinking lots of water, regulating air conditioning
temperatures and installing a bedroom fan might help. Refrain from eating hot
spicy food, oily food and any food that has the tendency of releasing heat.
Take shower if possible.
2.For mood swings and depression: There
are ways to deal with this. You should focus on making some lifestyle changes
rather than taking medications. Sleep well and focus less time on mobile phones
and laptops. Exercise regularly as it has been scientifically proven that physical
exercise diverts the mind from stress and helps you sleep better and lead a
peaceful life altogether. Also, eat healthy food like lots of vegetables and
juicy fruits.
3.Dealing with weight gain: To deal with
these unforeseen conditions you may want to join a gym or go for weight
training depending on your concern. Everyone wants to maintain a lean body
whatever be the age and so you should focus on exercising regularly. Also eat
healthy foods which are leafy, protein and calcium-rich and are fibrous.
4. Treating insomnia: Ways to deal with
this is cooling down the room temperature, taking estrogen course
medically(this you should only take under medical supervision). You can also do
yoga as it helps calm down the brain. You can also try sedatives and antidepressants
but both should only be taken under medical support and guidance.
Life after
menopause is difficult but if you take care of a few things, it can be easily
faced like any other difficult phase of your life. Remember the time when you
were newly married or you had your first kid! It passed away and you did pretty
well there! Similarly, this phase shall too pass if you have patience and agree
to deal with it positively.
