Mindfulness & the Perimenopause
The title of this sounds like the title of a children’s book… Or maybe I read too many of them!
Anyway - let’s get to it.
Anyone who has experienced one of the many many symptoms of the perimenopause will know the frustration and pain that can totally interrupt your life. But there is a skill you can learn which can massively reduce the effects - mindfulness.
And you’re in luck! I am a mindfulness teacher and can give you lots of recourses and tips on how to use mindfulness to ease the symptoms of the perimenopause.
Why Mindfulness?
A controlled clinical trial in 2016 showed that by practicing mindfulness (mindfulness based stress reduction),
If you’re brand new to mindfulness, i suggest taking my short, fun and simple qu menopausal symptoms significantly reduced over a study period of 8 months - in particular a reduction in depression & anxiety.
In another study, it was found that the people who practiced mindfulness scored lower with menopausal symptoms.**
And in another they discovered that mindfulness has a positive impact on irritability, depression and anxiety in menopausal women.****
In a final study it was discovered that mindfulness practice can help manage the impact of hot flushes and night sweats****
So there is proof, pretty solid proof, that it works!
What is Mindfulness?
Simply, it’s the art of living in the moment.
More complex - it’s noticing what is happening in the moment for your mind, body, thoughts. And noticing what is happening around you - all without judgement. Simply accepting how it is right now, for how it is right now. It’s called a PRACTICE because that’s how it works - you practice it daily and over time you’ll start to see the calming effects.
How do we practice?
If you’re new to mindfulness I suggest taking my short, fun and simple quiz to see which mindfulness practice suits you (and a short intro of how to do it). The quiz is here if you’re interested.
Aside from that, practice can take the simple form of sitting and breathing. Noticing the thoughts we have, noticing our bodies, noticing without judgments or labels.
There are many mindfulness “how to” things online, and I will soon be adding my teaching to the ring pretty soon which of course I’m going to share the shit out of!
The main things you need for mindfulness is to practice and to practice regularly. It also helps to have someone to talk to about your practice (me!) as discussing your practice can really help hone the skill.
Right, that’s all from me today, I am sure that’s more than enough for you to mull over before next week.
Until then - L xx
*Source - National Library of Medicine.
**Source - Mayo Clinic Study.
***Source: Study - ‘Association of mindfulness and stress with menopausal symptoms in midlife women’,
****Source: Study: ‘Mindfulness training for coping with hot flashes: results of a randomized trial’, Menopause
