Take Advantage Of Stress Awareness Month to Incorporate Self-Care into Your Menopausal Journey

Did you know that April is Stress Awareness Month? Sure, it’s the time of year where we’re often busy with Easter plans and long weekends – but perhaps more importantly, it’s an opportunity for each of us to pause, take stock, and evaluate our relationship with stress. This Stress Awareness Month, we’re making the most of this focus by finding new ways to incorporate self-care into our menopausal journey. Whether stress is a regular part of your daily rhythm or it only occurs every now and then, there are many ways we can limit its presence in our life, and enjoy the peace that results instead.

Stress and menopause

Menopause isn’t just coming for our bodies; it can also make quick work of our emotional and psychological health if we’re not careful. 

With so many fluctuating hormones at play, each stage of menopause can represent a time of immense stress. Physical challenges and the impact of menopausal symptoms can exacerbate stress, while emotional upheavals can also be commonplace. 

For many women, the result is heightened stress as they move through each change. That’s just one reason why self-care becomes so critical during menopause. If you weren’t prioritising in your schedule before, now’s the time to place self-care firmly at the top of your weekly to-do list.

How self-care can reduce our stress levels

There are numerous strategies we can reach for in the fight against stress. Self-care, however, is one of the most sustainable areas to focus on – and the most important. Essential to managing and reducing our stress levels, a high quality of self-care can act as a buffer against the pressures of everyday life and ongoing hormonal changes throughout menopause.

Spending time and energy on self-care also sends signals to our bodies that we’re worthy of some attention. This act, in and of itself, can be one of the most powerful practices for menopausal women. If you’re used to making sure the needs of everyone around you are met, now’s the time to pour some of that energy into meeting your own.

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Where to focus your self-care energies

Navigating stress throughout menopause is less about finding a secret weapon and more about taking a holistic approach. It’s important to focus on both physical and emotional wellbeing, using self-care to manage and reduce the impact of symptoms, increase our quality of life, and protect our mental health.

If you’re building new self-care routines or looking to reevaluate your self-care practices, it’s important to consider areas including:

• Physical health. Our physical health can go through immense pressures during menopause, including disruptive hot flushes, night sweats, and challenges with our metabolism. By focusing on self-care as it relates to physical health, we can look to reduce the impact of stress itself and the consequences of stress on our physical health markers. This includes looking at areas such as our diet, regular exercise, and our quality of sleep.
• Emotional wellbeing. Feeling like you’re on a rollercoaster of emotions that shows no sign of stopping? You’re not alone. No two days are quite the same when it comes to our emotional wellbeing throughout menopause. By prioritising our emotional health, we can employ self-care strategies such as mindfulness and meditation to build resilience against the ebb and flow of unpredictable hormones and emotional challenges.
• Lifestyle adjustments. Yes, sleep, physical health, and emotional wellbeing are important – but so, too, are the small changes we can make that support our ability to prioritise them. Whether you need to set new boundaries to prioritise your self-care, find new activities you enjoy, or practice stress-reduction techniques that mean you’re putting more time in your calendar for you, this period of life needs to see you as your main priority.

Integrating self-care: Practical tips for your daily routine

Need extra support when it comes to integrating self-care throughout your menopausal journey? Here are our top tips for making this a daily practice.

• Schedule it in. No ifs or buts about it, it’s got to go in the calendar! Set a recurring weekly event (or multiple!) that protects the time you need to invest in your own needs.
• Build a mindfulness habit. When the day begins, it’s easy to get swept up in a long list of demands. By starting and ending your day with mindfulness practices, you can help to reduce your stress levels and proactively centre your thoughts. We love deep breathing as an option that can be done anytime and anywhere.
• Keep active. Just like you’ve scheduled in self-care time, schedule in exercise time. By incorporating regular physical activity into your routine, you’re supporting your mind and body throughout this season of fluctuation.
• Prioritse sleep. Yes, every single night! Look for 7-9 hours of quality sleep to meet your needs and fuel your energy.
• Stay connected with loved ones. The power of a 15-minute phone call to a best friend can’t be under-estimated. Make the time you need to connect with friends and family on a regular basis throughout the unknowns of menopause.
• Get used to saying no. Just because the time is available doesn’t mean you need to fill it. Managing your stress levels throughout menopause is a demanding job – by keeping your schedule free of extra commitments, you can protect the energy you need to meet daily demands. 
• Seek the support of professionals. Whether you’ve spent years in therapy or you’ve never stepped foot inside a therapy office, this may be the perfect time to begin a therapeutic experience. This can be a radical act of self-care that helps to keep your stress levels at bay. 

Conclusion

We shouldn’t need an excuse to focus on self-care, but this April, Stress Awareness Month is giving us the perfect prompt. Take the time to consider how you can incorporate more stress management and reduction techniques into your menopausal journey this month. If you need help figuring out how to do so, reach out to the expert team at the Australian Menopause Centre for more support.