12 Tips for Menopause-Friendly Holidays #3: MANAGE YOUR STRESS
You planned your holiday (TIP #1 and TIP #2) but inevitably something will go awry and you’ll feel anxious and stressed. It’s normal and expected, especially during a pandemic. Especially now, you need to manage your stress.
Hot flashes are often linked to stress and anxiety, so the better you manage your stress the easier your menopause journey will be.
Take time to relax and unwind:
- Allow yourself breathing breaks or brain time-outs. My version of meditation: stand or sit in a quiet place for 5 to 10 minutes and just think about your breath going in and out; you may not succeed in keeping all your thoughts away the whole time, but let them go and focus again.
- Take a bath (and don’t rush it!)
- Read a calming book
- Listen to soothing music
- Do yoga/stretching
- Look out the window and actually SEE what’s out there
- Mindfulness-based stress-reduction techniques help you learn to be less reactive and more accepting.
- Try this breathing exercise throughout the day at regular intervals, and often, to keep stress at bay: close your eyes, breathe in through your nose, slowly, to a count of five, hold for five, breathe out through your mouth slowly for a count of five, wait for five, and then repeat a dozen times or until you’re calmer. It’s an amazingly easy thing to do and has such great effect! It’s good for your mind and your heart will slow down. You’ll leave the fight-or-flight state and get into the rest-and-digest state which is so much healthier for you!
Teresa Isabel Dias is a pharmacist and Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) who provides education and support on symptom management for women at work and at home so they’ll feel like themselves again and enjoy a vibrant and productive life.
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If would like to know how Teresa can improve your menopause transition then schedule a complimentary Discovery Call at MenopausED.org.
