How to reduce stress during this life’s phase
“So many women I’ve talked to see menopause as an ending. But I’ve discovered this is your moment to reinvent yourself after years of focusing on the needs of everyone else. It’s your opportunity to get clear about what matters to you and then to pursue that with all of your energy, time, and talent.” –Oprah Winfrey, TV personality
I approach menopause in a very similar way. I see menopause as the start of a wonderful phase of life as a woman, a phase of opportunity. Now is a time to tune in to our bodies and embrace this new chapter.
However, this perspective doesn’t mean menopause does not pose challenges and struggles. As I navigate the menopausal transition, I feel like my stress levels have increased considerably and consistently more time than not.
I sometimes feel completely overwhelmed by all the stuff going on in my body, my life and in my mind. Hence my decision to investigate this very issue: Stress and menopause.
Is there a connection between the two? If so, which brings which?
The current piece will shed some light on how stress can affect women in midlife, and what can we do to alleviate these symptoms so our health is less affected by them.
Midlife is filled with challenges and unique stressors for women, which necessitate a greater understanding of the factors that influence their life satisfaction. More research needs to be done on this area: women at midlife and stress, and how it affects their life quality.
Stress is ubiquitous in everyday life, and chronic stress can have negative consequences for health and social welfare. Although a growing body of research addresses the relationship between stress, health, and quality of life, there is a gap in the literature regarding the effects of stress among women at midlife.
There are still unanswered questions about stress and menopausal and postmenopausal women. What follows is what we know so far.
Before digging into the connection between menopause and stress, let’s review how stress, in general, has an impact in our health.
What is stress?
Stress is the reaction of the body to changes that need adjustment or response that may be physical, mental, and emotional; however, it is a normal part of life since people experience strain from their body environment, and thoughts. Even the birth of a child, a promotion, or a mortgage and every positive change in life are sources of tension.
The design of the human body is made to experience these tensions and to give the corresponding reaction, but stress is harmful when a person continually faces this experience without experiencing any kind of relaxation or relief between the stressors.
Effects of stress in your body and behavior
Stress symptoms may be affecting your health even though you don’t realize it. You may think illness is to blame for that irritating headache, your frequent insomnia, or your decreased productivity at work. But stress may actually be the cause.
Stress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Recognizing common stress symptoms can help you manage them. Stress that’s left unchecked can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Common effects of stress
On your body: headache, muscle tension or pain, chest pain, fatigue, change in sex drive, stomach upset, sleep problems.
On your mood: anxiety, restlessness, lack of motivation or focus, feeling overwhelmed, irritability, sadness, or depression.
On your behavior: overeating or undereating, angry outbursts, drug and alcohol misuse, tobacco use, social withdrawal, exercising less often.
As women in midlife, we all can relate to some or many of these effects of stress.
Impact of stress in women’s health
Heart disease, including heart attack, coronary artery disease, and related conditions, is the number one killer of women in the US, especially in the South. More than one in three women have some form of cardiovascular issue.
Women can have a heart attack at any point in our lives, and the risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attack goes up in midlife and beyond.
Menopause itself does not cause heart disease, but decreases in estrogen can make blood vessels less flexible and able to adjust to blood flow.
Compared to our male peers, stress and mental health disorders in midlife have more of an impact on women’s hearts. Women under 50 are twice as likely as men of the same age to have reduced blood flow to the heart after a stressful emotional event.
A little motivating pressure before a deadline isn’t always a bad thing, but watch out for chronic stress triggered by an emotional event.
It’s important to note that job-related stress doesn’t just apply to professional settings; many women in midlife juggle parenting, taking care of their own parents, work, and household duties, all of which can accumulate dangerous levels of stress.
In addition, PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) is an unfortunate reality for many women.
Women are twice as likely as men to develop PTSD after trauma (10% compared to 4%). Research also shows that there is a correlation between PTSD and heart disease.
How stress affects symptoms of menopause
Stress, for some women, is a prevalent and troubling symptom throughout the menopause and can have a detrimental impact upon their everyday lives.
Stress can cause a range of emotional and physical responses. Where these responses are emotional, feelings can be caused by how we think, perceive, and respond to a situation. For example, we might feel overwhelmed or anxious. The body can also experience a physical response, such as a raised heart rate, sweaty palms, and diarrhea.
What has stress got to do with menopause?
For some women, going through menopause can feel stressful in itself. The transition can be a life-changing experience, and is not at all negative, as we are often led to believe. As stated at the beginning of this post, it can be a time to evaluate our lives: to look at our careers, relationships, and health and wellbeing.
“If you deal with it in a healthy fashion then I think you come out the other side a better person. I’ve got so much more energy now than I ever had in my early 50s, before the menopause.”-Julie Walters, actress
“All of a sudden, I don’t mind saying to people, ‘you know what? Get out of my life. You’re not right for me.’ It’s wonderful and liberating.”-Whoopie Goldberg
Fluctuating hormone levels during menopause alter the way we physically and emotionally respond to stress and can bring on feelings of depression, anxiety, or make us feel overwhelmed and isolated. Some women who don’t realize that these feelings are hormonal issues are sometimes prescribed anti-depressants as a solution. But there are plenty of ways to manage your symptoms and alleviate some of the feelings of stress you are experiencing.
Cortisol and adrenaline are your ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ hormones. While this sounds negative, these hormones can give you energy, focus, and increase alertness. Chronic, long-term stress can cause larger health issues, and play havoc with the delicate balance that our hormones have with each other.
When we experience stress, the body becomes primed for attack, and the adrenal glands choose to produce cortisol and adrenaline over the production of estrogen and progesterone. This is bad news for menopausal women, as we need these hormones for our health and emotional wellbeing.
When we are experiencing chronic stress, whether it is from a high-sugar diet, an unhealthy relationship or from feeling overwhelmed, it forces the adrenal glands to sustain high levels of cortisol. This could also lead to adrenal fatigue, sometimes known as ‘burn out’ which can lead to depression, weight gain, exhaustion, insomnia, and brain fog.
Although ideally your perimenopausal years would be the perfect time to reflect and be honest with yourself about your lifestyle to figure out the factors that might be contributing to your feelings of stress, it’s never too late to make adjustments.
Best tips to reduce or manage stress
Learning to handle stress helps you avoid six of the leading causes of death like accidents, cancer, and cirrhosis of the liver, heart disease, lung ailments, and suicide. More health problems can develop in woman under pressure over prolonged periods leading causes of death like accidents, cancer, of time such as anxiety and depression, bowel problems, menstrual issues, migraines, and obesity.
- Exercise
The human body likes to move, so move it any way you like: dance, swim, walk, run, yoga, Pilates, or aerobics. Exercise reduce stress, improve mood, boost overall health, and give you better sleep.
- Stress reduction techniques
It can be difficult to reduce stresses in our fast-paced, modern world, but there are ways you can manage these anxieties.
- Deep breathing exercises-taking several deep, long breaths can effectively calm down your nervous system.
- Relaxation and meditation. Learn to relax, to meditate, watch relaxation tapes and CDs. Also, sitting for 5 minutes with your eyes closed and focusing on your breathing can work wonders.
- Healthy diet
During menopause, you’ll need to pay careful attention to your new health needs and change your nutrition and lifestyle accordingly.
Eat healthy balanced meals as your body needs good nutrition to fight the effects of stress and always refrain from alcohol to quiet your anxiety.
Choose a variety of vegetables, good quality protein and move away from processed foods and watch your sugar intake.
- Rest and sleep
As part of self-care this one is an essential one. Get a comfortable rest and complete night’s sleep as stress can result in sleep problems and can make nervous tensions worse for your body needs time to recover.
- Support system
Develop and lean on a support network of friends, family, and community. Remember to talk to your family or friends about things that are concerning you.
- Positive attitude and sense of humor
Keep a positive attitude by making a gratitude list, expecting good news, letting go of any negativity and accepting things you cannot control.
- Set aside time for hobbies
Make time to pursue activities that you enjoy such as cooking or reading, or listening to music.
- Pamper
Treat yourself to a massage, manicure, or soothing bath. Find a creative outlet by enrolling in an art or dancing program.
- Journal
Writing down how you are feeling can be an effective way of off-loading information that you don’t want to share with others. It may help you see some areas that need your attention more clearly.
Concluding thoughts
Menopause is a time to change, and emotional reactions are part of that.
Marking the end of one’s childbearing years can be bittersweet for many, and painful for others. Noting changes in the body can prompt concerns about attractiveness and body image, while contemplating midlife, in general, can lead to bigger questions about one’s place and purpose in life.
Among some menopausal women, stress can be a prominent experience. It is a feeling of being under too much pressure, emotionally and physically.
Stress can affect the way you act and think. It can also lead to sleep problems, headaches, difficulty concentrating or difficulty acting rationally. However, the good news is that there are many ways you can manage and reduce stress naturally.
Always remember, the menopause transition can also be a time of gaining wisdom and confidence, a time to reinvent yourself. Get inspired, ladies!