Menopause Self-Care

Menopause Self-Care builds on our self-care to date, plus menopause symptom management and treatment, as required. Healthy lifestyle, healthy diet, healthy weight, regular exercise…

Self-Care

What is self-care?

Depending on the Source the definition of self-care may vary. In Self-Care Month: What Is Self-Care? the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition is:

“WHO defines self-care as individuals, families and communities’ promoting and maintaining their own health, preventing disease, and coping with illness and disability, with or without the support of a health worker”.

Menopause Self-Care

Menopause Self-CareHow can self-care apply to menopause?

In Menopause Fact Sheet: Managing Your Menopause – General Tips To Help With Menopause Symptoms the Self Care Forum in collaboration with the NHS National Menopause Clinical Reference Group, elaborate on:

“Lifestyle changes and self care can help you during the perimenopause and menopause whether or not you are using HRT. Make sure you rest when you need to, eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, take physical exercise regularly, find time to relax, cut down on alcohol, share with other people going through the menopause and if you smoke, talk to your pharmacist or GP practice about an NHS stopping smoking programme”.

On page in the Joint Position Statement By the British Menopause Society, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Society for Endocrinology on Best Practice Recommendations for the Care of Women Experiencing the Menopause, first published online 10 June 2022, one of the recommendations is:

  • “Women should be advised that implementing or maintaining a healthy lifestyle can improve menopause symptoms. A healthy diet (one low in saturated fat and salt and rich in calcium and vitamin D), stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake and including regular exercise can be beneficial. Reducing caffeine intake may also improve symptoms.
  • Alternative therapies, including cognitive behavioural therapy, may also improve hot flushes, nights sweats and other menopausal symptoms and can be considered in women who do not wish to take HRT or have contraindications to taking HRT”.

In their new Menopause Wellness Hub the (British) Women’s Health Concern explain:

“However you choose to manage your menopause symptoms, your lifestyle choices are going to be the cornerstone of any treatment plan you choose.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and other complementary and alternative treatments can all be very helpful, but the transition to menopause is a good time to review your lifestyle. Not only can this help manage menopausal symptoms in the short term, it can lay the foundations for good health through perimenopause, menopause, and the years to come”.

Menopause Depression and Self-Care

How can self-care apply to menopause depression?

On page one in Menopause and Depression: Recognizing Depressive Symptoms and Depression the North American Menopause Society elaborate on:

“When you are transitioning into menopause, you should notify your healthcare practitioner whether you have suffered from depression in the past or whether you were particularly sensitive to hormone changes and have experienced premenstrual syndrome or postpartum depression. Be alert and notice whether these mood changes are mild and do not greatly affect your quality of life or whether they are severe and debilitating and interfere with your daily activities”.

Health Care Provider

What if I would like help with menopause self-care?

If you would like help with menopause self-care, it may be in your best interest to choose to talk to your health care provider about this.

In Menopause Fact Sheet: Managing Your Menopause – When To Seek Medical Help the Self Care Forum in collaboration with the NHS National Menopause Clinical Reference Group, explain:

“See a health professional at your GP practice if you think you have perimenopause or menopause symptoms and one of the following:

  • You want to know more about treatment
  • You want to discuss contraception
  • You are under 45
  • You are already on hormonal treatment or have had a hysterectomy
  • Your periods have stopped unexpectedly or have become a problem
  • Any of your symptoms have become a problem

See a GP at your practice if:

  • It is more than a year after your last period, you are not on HRT and you experience vaginal bleeding”.

Who is a GP?

Dots and/or DotC (Depending on the Country) a GP may be a registered general practitioner, a medical practitioner, a medical doctor or a doctor.

What is the NHS?

NHS can be an abbreviation for the (United Kingdom) National Health Service.

What is HRT?

HRT can be an abbreviation for the Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Health Topics A-Z

Where may I find Health Topics A-Z related to Menopause Self-Care?

In Health Topics A-Z you may find:

Health Topics A-Z

Links

Where may I find Links related to Menopause Self-Care?

Your Country may have Links similar to:

Links

This Links List to third party websites is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive. Inclusion on this Links List does not imply endorsement or recommendation. Non-inclusion on this Links List does not imply non-endorsement or non-recommendation. Third party websites are not under the control of Meno Martha International Menopause Directory. Third party websites may contain explicit medical images and/or sexual references. Please read Meno Martha International Menopause Directory’s Links Policy before proceeding to a Link. Please contact Webmaster if you experience a problem with a Link.

New or Updated

  1. Askearlymenopause.org [Ask EM] [+ Video: What Is Early Menopause?]
  2. BMS TV: Menopause – Weight Gain, Nutrition and Lifestyle
  3. BMS TV: Testosterone Explained
  4. Caring for Your Mental Health: About Self-Care
  5. Find A Menopause Practitioner [United States and Other]
  6. Find An AMS Doctor [Australasian Menopause Society i.e. Australia and New Zealand]
  7. Find Your Nearest BMS Menopause Specialist [British Menopause Society]
  8. Hot Flashes: What Can I Do? [+ Video: What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Menopause?]
  9. How Mindfulness Meditation Improves Mental Health
  10. Joint Position Statement By the British Menopause Society, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Society for Endocrinology on Best Practice Recommendations for the Care of Women Experiencing the Menopause
  11. Later Years (Around 50 Years and Over): Menopause and Post Menopause Health – Menopause [+ Video: Menopause]
  12. Later Years (Around 50 Years and Over): Menopause and Post Menopause Health – Signs and Symptoms [+ Video: Talking Menopause With Your GP]
  13. Mastering Midlife Mood Changes With Marlene Freeman, MD
  14. Mayo Clinic Minute: Help With Hot Flashes Due To Menopause [+ Video Courtesy: Mayo Clinic News Network]
  15. Mayo Clinic Q and A: Perimenopause Transitions and Concerns
  16. Menopause
  17. Menopause
  18. Menopause
  19. Menopause
  20. Menopause Fact Sheet: The Menopause
  21. Menopause Map: Downloadable Resources – My Personal Path Print Tools – Questions for Your Health Care Provider
    Menopause Self-Care
  22. Menopause Map: Downloadable Resources – My Personal Path Print Tools: Symptom Tracker
    Menopause Self-Care
  23. Menopause Patient Information [Videos] 5. Lifestyle Advice In Menopause & Perimenopause
  24. Menopause Preparedness Toolkit Video Series: Common Conditions Associated With Menopause and Midlife
  25. Menopause Preparedness Toolkit Video Series: Lifestyle Tips for Menopause
  26. Menopause Preparedness Toolkit: A Woman’s Empowerment Guide
  27. Menopause Symptoms: Mayo Clinic Expert Outlines Hormone and Nonhormonal Therapies
  28. Menopause Treatments: What Works, What Doesn’t
  29. Menopause and Mental Health
  30. Menopause, Perimenopause, Hormone Therapy and Other Treatments With Madelyn Butler, MD [Podcast]
  31. Menopause: Things You Can Do
  32. Menopause: Understanding the Changes and Finding Relief | Dr Susan Davis | The Proof Podcast EP 256
  33. Mood and the Menopause
  34. Mymenoplan.org [My Menoplan, United States]
  35. Perimenopause and Menopause Symptom Checklist
    Perimenopause Symptom Checklist
  36. Self-Care Month [24 June – 24 July 2023]
  37. Self-Help Tool: Menopause and Mental Wellbeing
  38. Selfcareforum.org [Self Care Forum, United Kingdom]
  39. Therapy for the Effects of Menopause
  40. Tips To Help Manage Menopause Symptoms
  41. Using Natural Therapies In the Menopause Transition – Webinar
  42. Vaginal Dryness: What To Do About It
  43. Video Series-2022: Perimenopause, Signs, Symptoms, and Solutions
  44. Video Series-2023: NAMS 2023 Nonhormone Therapies Position Statement for Bothersome Menopause Symptoms
  45. Video Series-2023: New FDA-Approved Nonhormone Option for the Treatment of Hot Flashes
  46. Video Series-2023: Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Menopause Experience
  47. Videos and Podcasts: Videos – Interviews: A Simple Approach To Menopause: The Menopause Quick Six (www.MQ6.ca)
  48. What Doctors Wish Patients Knew About Menopause
  49. What Everyone Should Know About Menopause Symptoms
  50. What Is Menopause? [+ Video]

Last Updated: 25 July 2023 – Last Revised: 25 July 2023
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