Calm Professional Menopause hypnotherapy support

• Calm, Professional Support Through Perimenopause & Menopause.

Menopause can be a confusing and overwhelming time. Many women feel unlike themselves, emotionally, physically & mentally while still trying to keep everything else going. Karen offers professional hypnotherapy and coaching to support women through perimenopause & menopause, helping them feel calmer, more balanced and back in control of their lives. Sessions are delivered via Zoom.

While hypnotherapy does not change hormone levels, it can significantly improve how the nervous system responds to hormonal change.

Hypnotherapy can help:

* Calm stress responses

* Improve sleep quality

* Reduce the intensity of hot flushes and sweats

* Increase emotional resilience

*Restore confidence and balance

Karen works gently and professionally, always encouraging clients to remain under a GP or specialist care where appropriate.

Hormones, basically speaking are chemical messengers, which means they give our bodies instructions about what to do. They’re produced in our brain and body and are the way that our cells communicate with each other. There are lots of different hormones in our body and they are responsible for many, many functions. From our sleep, stamina to our moods, fatigue and digestion. They are responsible for our reproductive function, which is a big part of why they have a major effect on women at perimenopause and then as they move through menopause.

Hormones are a part of the endocrine system, which includes all the organs, glands that store, produce or secrete hormones. The pituitary gland is in charge of it all. This includes the thyroid, ovaries and adrenal glands. We have receptors for different hormones all over our bodies, from our gut, muscles our brains. If our hormones are not properly balanced, that we don’t have the right levels of the hormones, then things don’t work well and we don’t feel great.

Our sex hormones are the ones that are more focused on at menopause being for women the oestrogens, progesterone and testosterone. Oestrogen is probably the one that women have heard about the most. There are many types of oestrogens but the main ones we will focus on here are oestradiol, oestrone and oestriol. Oestrogen is made mostly in the ovaries. Oestrogen is a very important hormone and is responsible for a lot of what happens in women’s bodies.   

From our menstrual cycle through to perimenopause and menopause. Oestrogengives us energy, it’s like a natural anti-depressant, so it’s a mood uplifter and its really important for our brain functions. So, like remembering why we walked into a room and a person’s name, it protects our brain from dementia of the Alzheimer’s type and perhaps delaying it. It holds moisture in our bodies, so without it everything dries up -  our hair, skin, mouth, vagina. It keeps our tissues elastic, so without it we get more fine lines and wrinkles.   

It is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory; it protects the heart from heart disease and hardening of the arteries. Oestrogenalso protects us from getting osteoporosis as it protects from bone thinning. Without it women can get achy joints, frozen shoulder, urinary tract infections, painful sex so there is a whole list of things of things that go along with low oestrogen.

In terms of how it feels without it you can have hot flushes, night sweats feeling all hot and bothered. Some women get so sweaty that they have to get up and change their bedding and nighties in the middle of the night. This can be very disruptive as without sleep you can be very irritable during the day and suffer from brain fog, & your creativity doesn’t work as well, it feels like your brain is not firing on all cylinders. Progesterone can contribute to this but once oestrogen goes down you can get the fluctuating hot flushes through the day and night.

Often oestrogen is the first and only hormone that is prescribed for women that are suffering with hot flushes, mood swings, vaginal dryness, lack of sleep, anxiety etc. However, oestrogen levels don’t always fall until late in the menopausal transition. The majority of perimenopausal symptoms in women with intact ovaries are usually more related to a lack of progesterone than to a lack of oestrogen.

Symptoms Of Oestrogen Deficiency:

· Hot flushes

· Night sweats

· Mood swings (mostly irritability)

· Mental fuzziness

· Headaches, migraines

· Vaginal dryness/bladder infections

· Incontinence/urinary tract infections

· Vaginal wall thinning

· Decreased sexual response

Symptoms Of Oestrogen Excess

· Bilateral, pounding headache

· Recurrent yeast infections

· Breast swelling & tenderness

· Depression

· Nausea, vomiting

· Bloating

· Leg cramps

· Excessive vaginal bleeding

A decline in progesterone is the first hormonal change to cause symptoms in a woman approaching menopause, sometimes years before she suspects she may be nearing the change. Because the body is designed for progesterone & oestrogen to be present in a counterbalance with each other, the result is oestrogen dominance, with symptoms of both progesterone deficiency & relative oestrogen excess.

Progesterone comes primarily from the ovaries both before and after menopause, but it is also produced in the brain & the peripheral nerves. It’s main job during the childbearing years is to prepare & maintain the uterus for pregnancy, its most important function. When pregnancy doesn’t happen the drop off of progesterone signals this and the thickened uterine lining comes away in the form of menstrual bleeding.

Progesterone also affects brain function. It produces a sense of calmness, its sedating, & its anti anxiety effect helps to promote rejuvenating sleep. When a woman reaches the point or age where she fails to ovulate, overtime this contributes to an increasing deficiency of progesterone. Our bodies are designed to handle very high levels of progesterone during pregnancy. For that reason, symptoms from excessive progesterone are rare. Depression is a common side-effect of synthetic progestins as some women are very sensitive to this. When using natural progesterone cream in the early stage of perimenopause it allows so many women to get relief from their symptoms.

Symptoms Of Progesterone Deficiency

· Premenstrual migraine

· PMS-like symptoms

· Irregular or excessively heavy periods

· Anxiety and nervousness

Symptoms Of Excess Progesterone

· Sleepiness

· Drowsiness

· Depression

Testosterone is produced in both the ovaries and adrenal glands. Its primary function is to provide vital assertive energy & sexual drive. Testosterone and other androgen's can increase the ease with which a woman becomes sexually aroused. Also, it increases the frequency that she will initiate sexual activity.

Testosterone increases sensitivity of the erogenous zones, frequency of orgasm, intensity of sexual fantasies & the incidence of orgasmic dreams. Not all women’s testosterone levels drop perimenopausally – in fact, androgen levels can actually increase in some. If a woman is suffering from adrenal depletion due to chronic stress, a drop in testosterone may occur, with symptoms of declining libido & overall energy depletion.

Surgical removal of the ovaries, uterus, as well as chemotherapy, radiation or autoimmune disease, can also cause a drop in testosterone levels severe enough to cause symptoms. Some women can experience a gradual decline in testosterone from early adulthood to old age, while other woman continue to produce plenty of testosterone throughout life. In some women, it is that the decline in libido is due to oestrogen deficiency, and their testosterone levels may be normal.

Symptoms Of Testosterone Deficiency

· Decreased libido

· Impaired sexual function

· Decreased overall energy

· Thinning pubic hair

· Decreased sense of well-being

Symptoms Of Testosterone Overdose

· Mood disturbances

· Acne, particularly on the face & scalp

· Increased facial hair growth

· Deepened voice

Whether you should or should not take supplemental hormones at menopause depends on your overall health, emotional & spiritual well-being, nutritional status, lifestyle and so forth and having an informed discussion with your medical practitioner. For some women just knowing the symptoms of perimenopause are temporary is enough reassurance; and they are willing to experience the symptoms without medication but for others the symptoms can be severely debilitating. 

Hormones are amazing substances & even the experts don’t fully understand everything about them & how they interact. At perimenopause, lots of changes happen to our hormones. Menopause is a natural transition & is temporary. Even though it might feel like you are on a roller coaster, eventually it will stop and you can come off, relax & enjoy as there is lots to be celebrated at this time – no more periods, worry of getting pregnant. The freedom to be who you want without so many family responsibilities. You can do anything you choose in this next chapter of your life…love it, live it!!

Menopause happens to half the world’s population, so why do women seem to know so little about it and are unprepared for this inevitable change in their lives? Get ready and make the transition much easier.

At this time weight gain tends to go around our middle and that’s thought to be because when the oestrogen starts to drop, there is a greater degree of insulin resistance, which means that the body tends to store food as fat more routinely.

Unfortunately, we can’t control some of this redistribution of menopausal belly fat and the weight shift can be hard to take. Which can make women feel less feminine, less sexy and a bit like they don’t have control of their own bodies.

The other thing that we can’t control is simply aging and with this comes a slowing down of our metabolism. So, with all the hormonal issues going on and if we were also to continue to eat the same way we did in our 30’s, or we start to drink more in midlife, we’re going to see weight gain. 

Alcohol really isn’t a friend in mid-life, especially those nightly glasses of wine. It promotes hot flushes, night sweats, stress and interferes with sleep and adds empty excess calories.

We need to change the way we look at the weight gain and start eating for our health. At this time in our life, we need to be taking care of our brains, our heart, our bones. Our gut health is extremely important if we want to keep healthy and vibrant. When we eat for our health, the weight can start to sort itself out.

But don’t use menopause as an excuse to gain weight and go I can’t help it as I’m menopausal what can I do about it??? Menopause doesn’t make us gain weight on its own.  

Check in with yourself and be honest….ask yourself?

What am I really eating and drinking?

How much am I really exercising?

Write it down and keep a track of your daily habits. This might be a bit of a reality check that can help you take control of the weight gain.

Exercise is really important at this time as we lose muscle mass and this tends to mean weight gain. It’s really important to make sure you use as much muscle as possible leading into the menopause period, because muscle loss does get accelerated during this time increasing even further when you’re older.

Exercise has many other benefits as well, it helps with stress, depression and makes us feel amazing. A variety of exercise is great for example anything that gets your heart rate up and strength training has huge benefits for women in midlife and beyond…things that are challenging for your muscles, increasing your muscle mass and protecting your bones, adding to this some flexibility and mobility training.

It’s important to have consistency and to keep gradually increasing the workload. The type of exercise we are doing is important and that it is being done correctly, so contact a professional trainer to work out an exercise plan that is right for you.