5 Steps to Menopausal Sanity on Days When You Feel Completely Insane!

A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed -- or something like that!

I just received a call yesterday from a close friend who was clearly not herself today.  She was completely erratic, very emotional, and somewhat explosive.  This was definitely not the woman I know and love!  She explained that she felt as though she was losing her marbles and that life was just way too stressful.  And she stated that she was so angry at her husband, she felt like she wanted to strangle him.  This was bordering on sounding very scary!  

F.E.A.R. - is all around us these days...

So I asked her when this all started.  She said she had been feeling edgy for a couple of days - but today everything had come to a head!  So we started tracking backwards to see if we could determine the cause.  Well, like most of us today, life has presented a lot of challenges due to the upside down economy.  And her husband's work has not been as consistent as it had been in the past.  She has been feeling the lack of money stress, and the fear of losing everything.  Fatigue set in because of so much of her energy being spent on constructing her fear base - you know what I mean?  The what if scenarios...  The F.E.A.R. scenarios (False Evidence Appearing Real)!  This is is such a major issue with my clients that I actually devoted a chapter to it in my new book.

Then she found herself reaching for the things that normally bring her comfort, at least initially.  Like lots of chocolate, and coffee, and red wine - as well as lots of sweets and simple carbs in general.  She skipped her salads and healthy balanced meals, and snacked on popcorn and wine.  Well, apart from the fact that she is going through peri-menopause (we'll address this in a later blog post), and her hormones are changing by the minute - at least that's what it feels like to her! - she had done nothing to support her nerves and her overall balance as she tackled life's universal challenges.  

The end result:  She was a nervous wreck because the caffeine, red wine (which turns to sugar in the blood stream very quickly), and the sugar-laden foods themselves, were destroying any of the precious few B-Vitamins (often called nerve vitamins) she managed to ingest with her unpredictable snacking.  So I gave her 5 things to do immediately and in this order that would change her energy level immediately. 

5 Easy, Quick & Enjoyable Steps to Menopausal Sanity:

1.  Get a large glass, preferably a 12 ounce glass, fill it with filtered water, and drink the entire glass of water.  You don't have to guzzle it down, but focus on nothing but the drinking of that full 12 ounces of water until it is consumed.  As little as 5% dehydration can completely turn your balance upside down, and hamper your memory by as much as 25%!   

2.  Stop everything, go find a couch or a bed and lie down, feet up, close your eyes and just breath.  First blow out every ounce of air you can through your mouth.  Then focus on your breath as you breathe in slowly, through your nose, to a count of 4, then hold the breath for a count of 4, and finally breathe out, through your nose, to a count of 4.  Repeat this process for 5 minutes.  That's all, just 5 minutes.  Don't tell me you don't have 5 minutes to spare when your sanity depends on it!     

3.  Make a big salad of fresh leafy greens and lots of different colored veggies.  I'm talking BIG salad!  And then top it with some delicious balsamic vinegar, fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice and some Udo's Blend Oil (3.6.9 Blend).  None of that death in  a bottle (commercial salad dressing)!  Put on some really relaxing music, and slowly chew and enjoy all of those fabulous cellular regenerators.  Do not do this step before you do Step #2.  You will not assimilate all of those great nutrients that will calm your nerves unless you are relaxed when you start eating.  

4.  Now go for a walk in the fresh outdoors.  It can be a short walk.  But get yourself out there communing with nature.  And remember to breathe deeply in and out as you walk.  Observe the trees, the birds, the breeze or wind, everything around you, and become a part of what you are observing.  You will get those endorphins popping and you will breeze through the rest of the day or evening - no pun intended.   

5.  End this day with a luxurious bath.  You read that right!  No shower here.  Add a few drops of lavender aromatherapy to your bath, and then settle in with a good book for about 30 minutes, heating up the water as needed.  If you can just be still without reading, all the better.  Make this a time to focus again on your breath and just be still.  Let those delicious negative ions from the water go to work on calming and balancing your over-taxed nervous system.  

That's it.  Nothing complicated.  Yet, the difference it will make in the way you feel, and cope with all of life's circumstances, will be astounding.  Have a great menopause day!

Hugs

Dr Marilyn

The Vitality Doctor™

Author of INSTANT E.N.E.R.G.Y.™: The 5 Keys to Unlimited Energy & Vitality

When Did Menopause and Aging Become Treatable Illnesses?

I don't know about you, but it has always disturbed and baffled me that a natural change in our hormones, something that occurs at each change in our lives over our lifespan, suddenly becomes a medical illness, treatable with drugs!  I don't remember ever being told during my teen years that my raging hormones were a definite illness requiring drugs to alleviate the symptoms.  Nor was I prescribed drugs for PMS, other than some over-the-counter meds that I generally declined the use of, due to the after effects of their use, such as sleepiness, or general fatigue - or sometimes even increased irritability.  

So, my thoughts on this whole matter are that we need to look at the cultures in the world where people live well into their 80's, 90's and beyond, and then incorporate the strategies they have used over the centuries into our own lives.  Coming from the 60's and 70's myself - yes I guess it is safe to say I was a backpacking hippie - I traveled a tremendous amount, and lived with some of these cultures, and was truly in awe of the profound sense of self-acceptance the aging women seemed to embody.  They seemed to be very relaxed and at peace with who they were, enjoying their hard earned wisdom, almost reveling in their matriarchal position within their families and communities.  

I grant you that we live in a very hectic, fast-paced world today with so much ongoing external stimulation.  And I, like most of my menopausal friends, do not want to "get old", per se.  Yet, part of getting older is the realization that many things that seemed to be life or death matters when I was in my 20's, 30's and 40's, are simply not that important today.  For example, today it is much more important for me to feel great and have unlimited energy than it is to have buns of steel!  Sure I miss those buns of steel, but I am simply not willing to invest the hours into having them when I would rather sit here and write a blog, and share the joys of my well traversed years with like-minded women and men, who also revel in their years.  

That does not mean forgetting about fitness!  I teach my patients and clients that there are 5 keys to unlimited energy and vitality, regardless of age, and you need to incorporate all 5 of those keys, on a daily basis, in order to experience optimum health and unlimited energy.  However, it truly is much more about finding balance in our lives as we age, in order to age gracefully.  And though often challenging to stay centered when everything around us seems to be in chaos, it is very important to continually remind ourselves that it is never really about what happens to us, or around us, as much as it is about how we relate to what is happening to us, or around us.  And to take steps to shift our perspective if it is not serving us well.  And I believe that one of those shifts is to see menopause as a naturally occurring shift in our own lives that requires only the creation and maintenance of balance in every area of our lives - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  IT IS NOT AN ILLNESS!    

Your thoughts are truly welcome.  I look forward to a meaningful conversation with you.  

Wishing you a wonderful week, following the US Independence Day weekend!

Marilyn

The Vitality Doctor™