This week is about highlighting women’s’ issues and, when we are talking about menopause, we’ve gone from a time in a woman’s life that barely got press, to a topic of hourly Instagram posts, prime time TV focus and interviews at a government-policy level.
Partly this is due to some great movers and shakers who are working hard to raise awareness and create support for women, but it’s also due to our massively compromised hormonal systems shouting out for solutions.
Where we are now
We have over 34 symptoms associated with menopause, from aches and anxieties to loss of libido and vaginal dryness.
As a practitioner I actually see several more symptoms related to menopause that are not on this list – tinnitus, breathing issues, voice changes, and recurrent herpes. Things that can cause unprecedented and continual stress.
The conventional option is still only HRT and there is massive confusion amongst women and health professionals about its impact. Added to this GPs aren’t trained to differentiate between depression and emotional symptoms associated with menopause and I see many women wrongly prescribed anti-depressants when it’s hormones that need to be addressed.
You may have heard the terms
bio-identical or bio-identical hormones? These are microdoses of synthetic hormones and perhaps nature-sourced elements. These can be much easier to tolerate but many women still struggle with anxiety, depression and sleep issues while taking them.
If we, in the West, talk to Nomadic tribeswomen about menopause they laugh. They do not experience the myriad of issues that we do.
The fact is that the signs for perimenopause – the time before periods actually stop – are showing up in ever younger women. True menopause is when symptoms tend to accentuate and when we haven’t had a period for 12 months we are into post-menopause.
What can we do?
Some women want to take the natural route. For other HRT is contraindicated or not well-tolerated.
My approach is to work alongside whatever your current choices are and to focus on proven, affordable and easy to access solutions.
So much can be done to make life easier both at home and at work. Alongside homeopathy, I prescribe flower essences and give dietary and lifestyle advice. Hot flushes, sleep problems, confidence issues, and tiredness can all be eased.
For myself I had to relearn what type of yoga worked for me – restorative yoga held me, Feldenkrais allowed me to explore being playful and birdwatching extended my meditative practice.
Where are we going?
Something to think about is that we are all living longer so we women have many more years post-menopause – only a few other species do this and it’s fascinating to think why this might be. In Whales, the grandmothers teach their sons how to thrive. Are we missing something?
What is the gift of this time we have after our fertile years? I believe it can be a very rich and rewarding time to come into and that International Women’s’ Day is a time to celebrate our collective wisdom and strengths and to hold each other in sisterhood.
Caroline Gaskin has worked as a homeopath, flower essence prescriber and health coach for over 20 years, and supports clients of all ages with both physical and emotional issues. She is a hormonal health expert and specialises in Managing Menopause Naturally. She draws on her experience of holistic parenting, organic lifestyle and permaculture, as well as her extensive natural health knowledge.
Click here to learn more about Caroline’s offerings and to book an appointment with her at Triyoga Camden or Triyoga Ealing.
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