Menopause

The menopause is a natural part of ageing that usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age, as a woman's oestrogen levels decline.  Most women will experience menopausal symptoms. Some of these can be quite severe and have a significant impact on our everyday activities.  In the UK, the average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 51.  Premature or early menopause can occur at any age, and in many cases, there's no clear cause.  

The menopause is caused by a change in the balance of the body's sex hormones, which occurs as we get older.  It happens when the ovaries stop producing as much of the hormone oestrogen and no longer release an egg each month. Periods usually start to become less frequent over a few months or years before they stop altogether. Sometimes they can stop suddenly.

Most women will experience menopausal symptoms. Some of these can be quite severe and have a significant impact on your everyday activities.  Common symptoms include: hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and discomfort during sex, difficulty sleeping, low mood or anxiety, problems with memory and concentration. Menopausal symptoms can begin months or even years before your periods stop and last around 4 years after your last period, although some women experience them for much longer.

If the symptoms are so severe that they interfere with daily life Western medicine will offer hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but it is also acknowledged that eating a healthy, balanced diet and exercising regularly – maintaining a healthy weight and staying fit and strong can improve some menopausal symptoms.  CBT is offered to help with low mood and anxiety.

In Chinese medicine we might identify these symptoms as stemming from an elemental imbalance and as we work with nature we seek to manage the symptoms of menopause without interfering with the underlying changes in the natural aging process.  The menopause is also a time of major spiritual growth and development for many woman and if they are unable to blossom and flourish due to imbalance in any element but if balance can be restored nature can take its course.