As we age, we women are far more likely than men to suffer from anxiety, depression, migraines, brain injuries, strokes and Alzheimer’s disease. Groundbreaking research shows that women’s brains age distinctly from men’s, due mostly to the decline of a key brain-protective hormone: oestrogen. Unfortunately, this means that from the onset of perimenopause (usually between 40 and 44, although it can start earlier) women can experience a distressing mixture of symptoms including brain fog, memory lapses, depression, stress, insomnia, hot flushes, fatigue, mood swings, joint pain, reduced bone density, hormonal imbalances and the increased risk of dementia, and these can continue and worsen through menopause and for years after.
Luckily, there are many things we can do to protect our brains, including adjusting our diet and looking after our microbiome, reducing stress, improving sleep, avoiding environmental toxins and trying hormone replacement therapy. It’s never too early to start with healthy choices, but it’s also never too late to take care of ourselves.
In therapy I listen to client’s distress about their experiences of unsupportive/poorly informed GPs, employers, friends and family, witness their sense of overwhelm, both physical and psychological, validate all their experiences, and help them through the minefield of getting the right medical help if that’s what they choose, reducing stress and making good wellbeing choices for themselves.
The combination of being truly heard by someone who understands what you’re going through, gaining new perspectives about what’s going on and why, making new choices about what to do about the things you want to change (and grieving the things you can’t change), developing new skills and healthy habits, and feeling the benefits of those can lead to a real sense of freedom and agency, which is so important for your wellbeing: you can embrace self-compassion and get back to your true self.
You can find out more about changing the way you cope with stress from my blog https://www.theexetercounsellor.com/a-new-years-resolution-to-change-the-ways-we-cope-with-stress-and-improve-our-wellbeing/.
You can find out more about my therapy and fees here https://www.theexetercounsellor.com/how-it-works/ and options for contacting me here https://www.theexetercounsellor.com/contact-me/.
