MENOPAUSE

Menopause is something which all women experience and which happens for most women at around the mid point in their life, with the average age of menopause being around 51. Menopause itself is defined as the point in a woman’s life where she has not had a menstrual period for 12 months or longer and menopausal symptoms can start far earlier than actual “menopause”. Indeed, what we’re often talking about when we discuss “menopause” is actually “perimenopause”. Perimenopause means “around the time of menopause” and is the lead up to menopause. On average, perimenopause lasts for about four years, but some women experience symptoms including night sweats and hot flushes for 15 years or more1. This means that, for many women, they are perimenopausal from their early forties – or even earlier in some cases.

This phase in life is accompanied by both physical and psychological changes – including mood swings, sleep disturbances and hot flushes – which many women find hard to cope with. Simultaneously, women may be dealing with significant life transitions including children leaving home and elderly parents and simply the process of ageing which, in itself, can be hard in a culture which tends to value youth. 

How we think about ourselves during menopause and the practical steps we take to ensure our wellbeing can have a significant impact on how we experience this transitional stage in life. Hypnotherapy can help women adopt a growth mindset and can help motivate them to feel empowered and do everything that they need to do on a practical level to help themselves. It can also help women manage the physical symptoms of menopause, such as hot flushes and sleep disturbances.