 |
|
916369
|
||||||||||||||
|
Menopause and Anxiety
by Cathy Taylor Similar Articles Menopause and Diet Many women have found that special menopause diets can minimize the symptoms of menopause and make the change of life transition much easier and smoother. Menopause diets are a good alternative to prescribed medication and are good for those who worry about adverse side effects. Most all gynecologists recommend that women who are in their… Menopause and Anger During Perimenopause, in the transitional period before menopause, women experience a number of emotional problems and mood swings, including anger, in addition to physical changes. According to experts, perimenopause does not cause anger and other mood swings, but fluctuations in hormone production during perimenopause trigger anger, depression… Menopause and Diabetes Menopause can cause hormone levels to change, and can also cause blood glucose levels to change. Hypoglycemia can be one of the first signs of menopause for a diabetic woman. During menopause, women often have to change their medication or insulin dosages. Monitoring the blood glucose levels is the key to managing diabetes during diabetes. Women… Menopause and Your Diet It seems like just yesterday that you were planning a tropical vacation or preparing for a high school reunion. Preparations for such events included watching your caloric intake two or three weeks to ensure that you would be svelte and sexy for the occasion. And now? Well, you’re noticing symptoms of menopause. As a result your mid-section is… Menopause and Fatigue For menopause sufferers, fatigue it is all too common. Some women report lying on the couch with their eyes closed unable to move for long periods of time. Or they experience mental fatigue that provides for feelings of indifference and an overall slumber from day to dusk that makes them unable to perform activities with maximum effort. Fatigue…
The mid-life phenomenon known as menopause and the stresses of anxiety go hand in hand. Panic attacks, rushes of energy, burning in the chest, unusual vibrations throughout the body, and warm sensations are some of the physical effects you may feel under this condition. When menopause hits, there is a greater chance women will go through anxiety and depression. Christian Northrop talks about this phenomenon in her book, Wisdom of Menopause, where if a woman has repressed something in her life, she won’t be able to get past menopause employing the same tactics. For example, unexpressed anger will find its way out and sometimes in unusual or uncomfortable ways. In what is often referred to as a ?midlife crisis,? this time of life forces women to re-evaluate themselves and the role(s) they play as they are getting older. And, often times we are not comfortable with what we find. A little voice in the back of our head is saying, “If you don’t make changes now … you never will!” Our hormonal imbalances (due to decreased estrogen levels) can contribute to feelings of depression or make us feel plain ‘indifference.’ Even if menopause isn’t actually causing these conditions, it can heighten underlying anxiety and bring it to the surface. Anxiety is an individual’s prolonged feeling of dread and worry with no particular reason behind it. It’s uncomfortable and causes stress particularly on the body. It can be triggered by problems in everyday life like paying the bills and work. Although worrying about these things for a normal person has its ceiling of severity, menopausal women suffering from anxiety tend to think about their problems excessively. When anxiety finally hits its highest peak, it is often called a panic attack. Panic attacks are debilitating episodes of fright and fear that include chest pains, fear of death, and shaking. In what is called being ?psychosocially? depressed, women have negative beliefs and attitudes in regards to getting older, assuming unwanted roles such as caretaker, and responding negatively to impatient husbands who might demand sex. Being depressed during the duration of this condition has a lot to do with their overall psychological well-being prior to menopause. Women who have continuous anxiety and depression beforehand are more likely to suffer worse cases of anxiety during this latter phase of life. If life-long imbalances have not been healed, menopause may exacerbate the situation. We might feel unable to perform ?female duties?, contributing to feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. Research has found that consistent regular physical activity (i.e. exercise) before menopause has been scientifically proven to lessen the possibility of anxiety symptoms during this transition. It’s also helpful to avoid drinking caffeine-loaded liquids, sleep deprivation, and stimulant use.
Psychiatric consultations are highly recommended for anxiety sufferers under menopause. An experienced counsellor and/or therapist can help us recover and evaluate our lives including healing emotional imbalances. It is a great time to refocus our attention toward new activities and roles. As is common with anxiety, feelings of worthlessness, fright, and even suicidal tendencies can occur. In this case, antidepressants may be prescribed. Coping with all of the physical changes, assuming new roles, possibly facing many of our fears for the first time, and generally waking up to the fact that ?life just isn’t what it used to be? are all realizations that contribute to anxiety in older women. In these times, it is important to maintain focus and concentrate on the positive things in life. Although it can be hard, it can be done. Having a plethora of life responsibilities and obligations during menopause can create stress, and having an ?excess? of this stress can cause adrenal fatigue. Anxiety in menopause sufferers results from hormonal imbalances. In the menstrual cycle, ovulation causes progesterone (which has soothing effects on the mind and body) to be released. Irregular cycles are grounds for anxiety build-up, as a result of the lack of this ?happy hormone.? All of these conditions can be treated with alternative therapies such as natural progesterone cream.
But why do some women go through menopause and barely notice a difference? One consensus among medical doctors theorizes that it has a lot to do with women’s self-esteem and self-confidence. One thing is for sure, if you are having trouble with either of these, you’ll get a chance to deal with them now. One thing menopause is great at, and that is bringing out our unresolved issues. And we all know how anxious that can make us. Similar Articles Menopause and Insomnia Insomnia is a very common symptom reported by numerous women at the onset of menopause. It is characterized by sleepless nights and often uncomfortable sleep such as tossing and turning in an effort to get comfortable. If you are primarily a mentally active person, it can become very difficult to calm the mind. You feel restless and irritable.… Menopause and Dizziness Unfortunately during menopause, the explosive symptom of dizziness is all too common. You know the feeling — a spinning sensation inside your head ripping down through the rest of your body making it impossible to be at peace. Or the inability to get up quickly not unlike the sensation you have when just hopping out of a roller coaster. In… Menopause And Your Diet It has recently been found that hormone replacement therapy is linked to increased health problems in menopausal and post menopausal women. Yes, it’s true that the hormone replacement therapy does lessen and in some cases, eliminate the symptoms of menopause—but at what risk? There are other, alternative ways to increase your health, lower the… Menopause and Incontinence Menopause can bring uncomfortable symptoms such as incontinence in several different forms. Even younger women experience occasional bouts of urinary leakage during pregnancy, after childbirth, and sometimes even during sex. But menses seems to bring out more occasions of uncontrollable incontinence. This inability to control your bladder can… Axing Out Menopause Anxiety If you are a woman, it is inevitable. It will come sooner or later and it will be an uncomfortable affliction. You are not alone. Many women go through menopause every year. However, not every woman is prepared to take the challenge head on. The most common attitude among women today is a "wait and see" type attitude. This type of attitude seems… Menopause and Estrogen As we age, is the loss of estrogens what causes the onset of peri-menopause and finally, menopause? For women, menopause is a direct result of the loss of estrogens in the female anatomy. The ?E?, as it is called in medical circles, is a group of female hormones produced in the ovaries. These female hormones are responsible for regulating the… Menopause and Weight Loss During menopause, many women report that the challenge of weight loss becomes even more difficult. The need to lose weight haunts women most of the time, and now more men are reporting the same struggle. When women hit menopause, weight gathers around the waist and hips; despite our best efforts to diet and exercise. What we know is that this… Menopause and Women's Health Creating a "quality" menopause transition requires following certain guidelines to minimize its effects on women’s health. You probably know that this condition wrecks havoc on female anatomy creating chemical imbalances and overall discomfort for a period of time (both short and long). Bouts of anxiety, physical symptoms such as hot flashes and… Menopause and Hair Loss Menopause causes many biochemical changes in your body and often menopause and hair loss occur simultaneously. Rather menopause causes hair loss in women. Although women rarely turn bald due to menopause and hair loss, it occurs mainly as thinning of hair. Before menopause, high estrogen levels negate the effects of low testosterone levels.… Menopause and Headaches During the mid-life phenomenon known as menopause, changes in headache type, duration and intensity are more common. Throbbing, explosive headaches can pain the sides of your head, and your energy become totally depleted. The slightest opening of an eye can cause a ripple of pain to burst on one side of your fragile head, leaving you in physical… Menopause and Hair Loss The onset of menopause can often lead to hair loss and has long been a part of aging that many women fear the most. These days many more women are also experiencing thinning and bald spots as they mature, and both men and women are reaching out for new solutions. Even though there is no real ‘cure', there are many things that can be done to help.… Menopause and Progesterone Do women going through menopause have lowered levels of progesterone? Recent research tells us that women do suffer from decreased levels of progesterone and also experience other symptoms such as unexplained weight gain (particularly in the stomach area), depression, fatigue, hair loss, memory loss, mood swings, migraines and loss of libido. A… Menopause and Depression Many women experience bouts of depression as they approach menopause. As a matter of fact, midlife can be considered a period of increased risk for depression in women, the majority taking place in the years during the transition through the menopausal years. This period of time is associated with gradual declines in estrogen levels, which may be… Menopause and Perimenopause In our youth-oriented society, women are often fearful of any label that contains the word "menopause", because it is often presented as a disease or a condition associated with old age. The truth is that for many women, menopause and the stage of life it represents, is very positive. They no longer fear being pregnant and thus have more sexual… Menopause and Diminished Sex Drive Is a diminished sex drive after menopause a serious health issue? Many otherwise healthy women experience a diminished sex drive after menopause. This does not happen to every woman. Each woman is different and her health is a very unique thing. Studies indicate that at least fifty percent of women encounter a drop in sexual activity either… The views of the authors are owned by them alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of
← Articles index | Save to del.icio.us | Add your article  |
© Copyright 2002-2010 - www.menopause-remedy.org. All rights reserved. Terms, Disclaimer, Health Guidelines