Menopause is usually confirmed when a woman misses her period naturally for 12 consecutive months. Some may think, “Yay! Freedom!” but unfortunately, menopause can come with a whole set of problems that one isn’t prepared for.
What age can you start menopause?
The average age for menopause is around fifty-one, though it can even occur around forty. Sometimes it can happen sooner if a woman’s had her ovaries removed.
What are the symptoms of menopause?
Symptoms of menopause can be very uncomfortable and sometimes painful. They can include flushing, sweating, changes in sexual drive, dryness, poor concentration and ‘mental fog,’ anxiety, sleepless nights, frequent urination, incontinence, urinary tract infections, skin and hair changes, and mood swings.
While each of these symptoms is uncomfortable, one of the most difficult ones to deal with can be depression. Women are most susceptible to depression during and around menopause due to hormone imbalances.
If you’re feeling an intense sadness, loss of interest in the things you normally love, or you withdraw from people that you usually enjoy being around, and symptoms like these have lasted more than two weeks, you could be suffering from major depression.
Estrogen levels play a large part in regulating brain functions, especially with the chemicals that influence the mood, such as serotonin and cortisol. Among the many unhealthy symptoms of too much cortisol is your tummy getting rounder and sleeping habits changing.
What can too much cortisol do? Check out this interesting blog post by Lissa Rankin that explains it quite thoroughly.
What can you do for menopause and menopausal related depression?
Well, taking medication is always an option, but not exactly one of the healthiest ones. Medications can make you develop symptoms that aggravate the issues you are already going through. Even regular painkillers have the potential to be hazardous to your health.
So, is there a way to reduce these distressing symptoms without resorting to something that’s going to harm you?
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine do not have the numerous complications that medications can provide, and fortunately you won’t overdose on it.
Working by boosting the production of endorphins, acupuncture and Chinese medicine have the happy talent of helping your body to manage all your symptoms to give you the relief you need.
Traditional Chinese beliefs consider depression a circulation problem. Qi (healing fluids and energy) isn’t moving around freely like it should.
Acupuncture addresses the mind, body, and spirit. If any of these three are out of order, the others can easily slip out of place making recovery quite difficult. Since acupuncture doesn’t just work as a Band-Aid to cover up a symptom of a deeper issue, it can have a lasting effect.
If you have any questions or are unsure if acupuncture could help you with what you are going through, please give us a call!
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