Four Unique Ways to Chase Away Symptoms of Menopause

“Post-menopausal zest!” That’s how anthropologist Margaret Mead described the renewed energy that many women experience when their menstrual periods stop. As you reach the change of life, chances are you’ll find it’s not as physically and emotionally distressing as you feared.

In a national survey of over 3,000 adults, the post-menopausal women were asked how they felt when their menstrual periods stopped completely. A surprising 62 percent said they felt only relief. Another 25 percent reported having no particular feeling about it, while a mere 2 percent said they felt only regret at reaching this stage of life. The rest, about 11 percent, had mixed feelings.

The peri-menopausal women – those in the process of the menstrual changes – and those who were premenopausal were asked how they think they’ll feel when their periods stop.

“The major difference by menopausal stage was that peri- and premenopausal women were more apt to have mixed feelings than post-menopausal women,” said Dr. Alice Rossi of the University of Massachusetts, one of the researchers.

In the survey, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, both men and women were asked questions about symptoms related to menopause and aging. You’ll probably find their responses encouraging.

“Irritability was not related to the menopausal phase. It’s age related, decreasing the older the person gets – man or woman,” says Rossi.

And only 30 percent of the women reported having hot flashes as often as once a week, even between ages 50 and 55, the peak years for symptoms during the menopausal transition.

Rossi analyzed the results of the study to learn what predicts whether a woman experiences high or low levels of menopausal symptoms. You might use what she found to minimize your own discomforts as you approach the change of life.

Stay healthy. Women who rated their physical and mental health as poor or moderate had more problems with symptoms than those who reported their health as excellent.
Reduce stress. “High levels of stress in their family roles,” says Rossi, “trigger elevated symptoms scores for both sexes.”
Continue learning. Those who were better educated suffered fewer symptoms. If you’ve always wanted to go back to school, this may be a good time for you to go.
Work on your self-image. “I asked women to rate the extent to which they think their bodies have changed … in terms of energy, physical fitness, physique or figure, and weight,” says Rossi. She found more symptoms reported by those who felt they were “worse now than five years ago.”

If you have had a lot of problems with menstruation, pay special attention to these suggestions. Rossi noticed that women who experienced a lot of discomfort with their monthly periods were more likely to find the same with menopause.