Menopause can increase the chance that a woman experiences a panic attack. It has been found and is believed that women who have experienced problems with anxiety attacks in the past are more likely to experience attacks during menopause. However, not all women who experience panic attacks during menopause have ever experienced problems with anxiety before. On the other hand, women who have experienced anxiety before menopause tend to experience it at all new levels during menopause. If you have experienced anxiety in the past, you can use successful tools you used then to help with your anxiety now. Anxiety can be managed if you dedicate time and energy to finding the strategies that work great for you.
First of all, what is menopause?
Menopause has been a mysterious topic. Basically, it is the result of the end of your menstrual cycles. It is a natural process that the body goes through when it no longer has to worry about periods. It’s something that is not often talked about in public. This makes it difficult for many women that are experiencing menopause symptoms to know what is normal. There are a few symptoms that are commonly talked about, such as hot flashes and weight gain. But, menopause brings with it a lot of other symptoms that are not often discussed.
One of these symptoms is anxiety. Many women don’t realize the link between menopause and anxiety. It is not uncommon for women to experience feelings of anxiety during menopause. There are a lot of new experiences that are happening when a woman is going through menopause that can make them feel anxious. Experiencing normal menopausal symptoms such as night sweats and hot flashes can make women feel anxious. It also becomes harder for many women to sleep when they are experiencing menopause, and a lack of sleep can make even a normal situation more difficult to deal with.
Read below for some things that can help you as you deal with menopause and anxiety.
1. Accept the Changes
Sometimes we can feel anxious because things are changing. We don’t know what to expect. At the age when most women are experiencing menopause, there are a lot of life changes that are happening. This could include children leaving home, health concerns from aging parents, and retirement. All of these changes bring with them different stresses and concerns than what you have had in the past. It’s important that you give yourself a break. Take some of the pressure off of yourself. Remind yourself that you are going through something new in life. Things aren’t the same as they used to be. Don’t put the pressure on yourself to maintain all the things that you did in the past or to feel like it has to look the same way that it did ten or twenty years ago.
2. Talk To a Therapist
There are many ways to ease the feelings of anxiety temporarily. However, if you’re struggling with menopause and anxiety, it’s wise to talk to a therapist. Anxiety and depression can be normal things that women experience during menopause. Even so, if they are left unchecked, they can cause major problems in life.
Anxiety and depression work together as a vicious cycle. The more anxious you become about things, the more depressed you can become, and that depression can lead you to feel more anxious. This continues to cycle around and cause a downward spiral in your life. Anxiety is not something to be taken lightly even if you have experienced it before. There are many therapists that you can talk to at www.gateway2counseling.com that provide online services to make it easy to get the help that you need. There is no reason that you should have to suffer silently with your anxious thoughts during menopause.
3. Practice Gratitude
If you are feeling anxious, it’s going to be easy to think about all the negative things that are happening in your life. However, focusing on these things is only going to increase the levels of anxiety and stress that you are feeling. Instead, try focusing on the positive things. Keep a gratitude list of all the things that you are thankful for to remind yourself when you are in a bad moment. Look for things throughout the day that is positive that is happening around you. Controlling your thoughts goes a long way in being able to control your breathing and levels of anxiety.
4. Mindfulness
The practice of mindfulness is growing in popularity. Mindfulness is a form of meditation that helps you to focus on the current moment. It helps you to be aware of yourself in the present and take your mind off past events or future events. When you practice mindfulness, it will help you to see anything that you are doing that is contributing to your anxiety. It will make you more aware of the tension in your body and what you are doing as a result of it, such as clenching your teeth. Mindfulness will also help you take control of your breathing which can help lower your levels of anxiety.
5. Sleep Well
Everything is harder to handle in life when you are not getting enough sleep. If you’re feeling low, you may not realize that lack of sleep is the culprit. But even small levels of sleep deprivation over time can chip away at your happiness. You might see that you’re less enthusiastic, more irritable, or even have some of the symptoms of clinical depression. All these alterations to your mood can affect not only your individual mental health, but your relationships and family dynamics as well. The link between sleep and mood has been seen over and over by researchers and doctors.
For example, people with insomnia have greater levels of depression and anxiety than those who sleep normally. If you are struggling with sleep, talk to your doctor to see what options are out there. There are some natural remedies that you can use to help relax your mind to fall asleep. Also, journaling before you sleep can also be helpful. This allows you to clear your mind before trying to fall asleep.
Struggling adapting to menopause?