Managing anxiety in menopause – some basics

In terms of food the headline info is – eat regularly, no skipping of meals – you want to keep your blood sugar levels in a comfortable range – this will give a steady stream of energy and stop any kind of recourse to our stress response if our blood sugar starts to dip.

Further, eat wholefoods – try to avoid sugary snacks or refined white flour products. So wholegrains, veggies, whole fruits not juices. Remember your protein with each meal – this will slow the pace of digestion of your overall meal. This will all be familiar to you people with a focus on your blood sugar.

Keeping your blood sugar balanced reduces stress on the body. & if we’re mentally stressed we don’t want to exacerbate that through food choices.

In addition, eating wholegrains & lots of veggies provides us with loads of dietary fibre – the stuff that we can’t digest but our gut bacteria absolutely love. Eat loads of fibre to support your gut bacterial population & by extension support a healthy gut. Why do we want to support a healthy gut – because 90% of our serotonin – our happy hormone – is produced there. So happy gut equals lots of happy hormones.

In terms of managing in the moment breath work can help us reconnect with our bodies when we’re struggling with spiralling thoughts. So find a quiet spot and breathe slowly & purposefully. Be conscious of the air travelling in though your nose, down into the chest & feel the expansion of your belly. Enjoy that quiet, still moment following the inhalation then slowly let it go.

Having a longer exhalation than inhalation calms the central nervous system & puts us into ‘rest & repair’ rather than ‘fight or flight’.  You could try several rounds of inhalation for the count of 3, holding for 4 & exhaling for 5. If you do that 5 or 6 times you should feel a lot calmer & centred.