Menopause is terrible!
This is awful!
Just a couple of the comments I’ve recently seen women posting. So if it’s you, I’m not calling you out without respect. I am though, calling you out.
We are an exclusively made-for-menopause based-on-research on midlife women fitness business, training and supporting fitness professionals working with women midlife too. So we are bound to hear the ups and downs of menopause.
What we’re diving into here is subtle damage you can be doing and you won’t even catch yourself.
It’s Not Intentional
You don’t intend to be negative. You don’t want to be. Yet, if it’s been a habit, a way of thinking, for decades? You don’t even recognize it when you do it.
That’s true for any of us and particular habits or traits. You know it because with your partner or your best friend, someone who knows you really well, they’ll point out to you… “you’re doing that again” or “let me finish” (because you too often don’t). You get what I mean, right?
And sometimes… just sometimes you may catch it yourself. When you’ve decided you want to change, and you’re now aware of the power of messages.
Me too.
I found myself saying derogatory things about this menopause ride recently. And of course, I thought I was justified! 4 periods in 8 weeks, are you kidding me? Tied to supply chain issues with hormone therapy, tied to menopause, just in case you weren’t following that!
And… I had to reframe FAST!
How did I do it?
I had to come up with the, “what CAN I do?”
And what does the message I’m saying to myself do? Does it hurt or does it help?
I’m a believer of the science of mind-body-soul connections. That means everything you think and feel is heard by all your cells. What you feel is real and it creates a pattern of sorts so that your brain continues to access again and again. Until, that is, you reprogram.
This episode is about reprogramming in particular about menopause, and some specific symptoms I’ll give as examples. You may need help with the rest so ask in the Flipping 50 Insiders group (Facebook).
So, if you don’t want something, you have to stop obsessing about what it is you don’t want and think about what you do!
Imagine you want to lose 5-10 lbs. What do you do more often?
Do you think about how tight your clothes are? Do you try on clothes that you want to fit that just don’t feel good? Do you weigh regularly, try to exercise more, or ponder what you should or shouldn’t eat?
OR…
Do you imagine how you’re going to feel, the energy you’ll have when you’re there? Do you go for walks or lift weights (the right things) and see yourself doing those activities in your mind’s eye with strong strides, lean legs, and great form?
Which set of questions felt more like what you think?
I could have dwelled on the fact that my cupboards are bare.
I mean I don’t have a tampon in the house, right? I do remember going through luggage and purses like a kid looking for coins in the couch or the car. But nothing! Fortunately for me, one of the first times, I was at a health club with a complimentary supply, just in case you’re wondering how that came out.
But instead, I just stopped on the way home from said health club so I was ready.
And when two weeks after the first the second one came? And I finally realized why I’d been breaking out? I got busy.
First, I let my practitioner know Houston, we have a problem.
I also got out my sauna and started a 14-day sprint. (There’s another episode on that if you want the details)
I took a little better care of myself. Less caffeine and more water. More walking breaks during the day. I got sunshine every day.
The point isn’t what I did but that you look for the things you can do too.
Here’s how I’d get you out of the menopause is terrible syndrome:
- Assess all the things you’re doing for your benefit and ways you take care of yourself right now. What do you do that you enjoy? How do you make sure you can get optimal sleep? How are you eating in a way that supports you?
- What are the symptoms you’re dealing with?
- Can you align the symptoms you’re dealing with a) habits that make it worse and b) habits you’ve tried that make them better?
- Take a sheet of paper, draw two lines vertically down, dividing into three columns.
- In column 1 put the symptoms you’re dealing with. Leave plenty of space between them.
- In column 2 put the healthy habits you do that reduce or alleviate those symptoms
- In column 3 add the habits that contribute to the symptoms
For example:
Fatigue resting, extra sleep, Epsom salt baths Too much exercise
Lack of muscle strength training to fatigue lots of cardio, and caffeine
If menopause is terrible right now, let’s figure out your next steps. There are answers for you.
Resources:
STRONGER Tone & Define: https://www.flippingfifty.com/getstronger
Flipping 50 Insiders group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/flipping50insiders
You Are the Placebo by Dr. Joe Dispenza
Other Episodes You May Like:
Mindset Shifts with Natalie Jill: https://www.flippingfifty.com/redefine-aging/
Mindset Mastery with Kerry Terpedino: https://www.flippingfifty.com/believe-kerry/