World Menopause Day

World Menopause Day is observed on October 18 every year to raise awareness about the impact the condition has on the lives of women around the world. Despite affecting about half of the world’s population, menopause isn’t talked about as much as it should be. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of menopause and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing. 

What is Menopause?

Menopause is when an individual stops having periods due to the lower levels of hormone production in the body. This affects every person who has a period and the official diagnosis is the absence of a period for 12 months.

Prior to this, individuals experience perimenopause which is the process of the ovaries starting to lose the ability to produce estrogen, the preliminary stage of menopause. Postmenopausal is the final phase which occurs after menopause and lasts the remainder of the person’s life.

How might this affect your mental well-being?

Menopause is mostly known by its physical symptoms such as dizzy spells, joint pain, and lack of periods. However, there can be some difficult and draining mental and emotional effects that are not always highlighted.

Some of these symptoms include anxiety, mood swings, forgetfulness and low mood which can be debilitating, especially for people still in the workplace. The considerable shift in hormone levels can vastly affect mental well-being and result in feelings of low mood, depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety.

Individuals who have never experienced mental health disorders previously can suddenly feel overwhelmed by a new well-being issue, such as anxiety or depression.

One of the biggest challenges in hormone levels decreasing during the menopause is the ability to sleep. This has a detrimental effect on mental well-being. Sleep is incredibly important for brain function and helps maintain cognitive skills. Lack of sleep, caused by menopause, can create, or exacerbate mental health issues.

Watch our "Dealing with the Menopause" podcast episode.

How can the menopause affect you in the workplace?

Menopause affects many individuals in many different ways, especially in the workplace. As of 2020, there are 9.3 million people ages 50-64 working in the UK, meaning that more people within that age range are in employment and dealing with menopause at work.

Coping with the added mental and physical pressures of menopause in the workplace means there should be fair and reasonable adjustments.

It is important for employees to feel as though they can talk to a trusted manager about the challenges they face in the workplace with menopause so those adjustments are made.

Ways to cope with the Menopause

Coping with menopause can be a stressful time and comes with many changes physically and mentally. Looking after your mental well-being is key for individuals dealing with this change in life.

Here are some handy tips on how to manage the symptoms:

• Talk about it with a counsellor- we offer fully trained counsellors 24/7, 365 days a year.
• Speak to a trusted friend who has also been through or going through menopause.
• Addressing any sleep problems to alleviate some of the mental well-being problems.
• Freeing up some brain space with meditation or yoga.
• Eat calcium-rich food, like cheese, milk, and green leafy vegetables.
• Talking to the line manager at work to adjust the workspace to create a menopause-friendly space.
• Speak to your GP.

We are here to help.

Health Assured delivers a 5-week online menopause programme advising and assisting you on things like managing symptoms, self-care and identifying triggers to help you along the menopause stages.

• Session 1: Menopause Overview
• Session 2: Identifying triggers. Stress and Lifestyle, challenging thought, pacing activities, problem-solving, relaxation and physical activity.
• Session 3: Managing hot flushes, managing thoughts and beliefs, managing behaviours, healthy activities.
• Session 4: Managing night sweats. Stressful thoughts about sleep, sleep stages, sleep needs, sleep hygiene and tackling worries.
• Session 5: Maintaining gains, being kind to yourself, support networks, relaxation, mindfulness, and physical activity.