About The Menopause

Most women, will, at some point in their life, be affected by some symptoms caused by the menopause. The menopause is a necessary consequence of the female reproductive system in human beings i.e. women become fertile at puberty, then, at a variable age, cease to be fertile.

The Menopause is defined as "... the permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from the loss of ovarian follicular activity…" W.H.O. (World Health Organisation). The onset of the menopause is calculated retrospectively following a full-year with an absence of menstrual periods.

About 85% to 90% of women are likely to encounter some troublesome symptoms for between 1 and 9 years (the mean being 4 to 5 years). Both the symptoms and the severity of symptoms vary greatly. When the menopause happens naturally, it usually occurs between the ages of 37 and 55. It has been suggested that the onset of the menopause could be slightly accelerated by smoking, low body weight or a vegetarian diet.

The menstrual cycle, to put it very simply, is a sequence of bio-chemical events. The natural reduction of a woman’s egg-production leads to lower levels of Oestrogen being produced. This causes an imbalance in this bio-chemical cycle. In turn, this disrupts the endocrine system leading to a destabilising of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The ANS, through its sub divisions, is responsible for maintaining and regulating many automatic bodily functions e.g. heart rate, increased blood flow saliva production and sweating etc.

Oestrogen is the most important factor/hormone effecting the menopause. The ovaries produce 90% of the female body’s requirements prior to the menopause. Many women have been helped by HRT to replace the missing hormones. However, some women are uncomfortable using this treatment because of the reported increased risk of other medical problems.

Having survived the menopause, most women, 65% to 75%, between the ages of 50 and 65 report being relieved by the menopause. Many experience a ‘new lease of life’, no longer having to endure the pre-menstrual symptoms or worry about becoming pregnant.

However, those that have to endure some of the negative aspects of the menopause e.g. flushes, sweats and shivers, sleeplessness, headaches or moodiness etc, may like to consider how hypnotherapy could reduce those symptoms. Please click here.

Important Note: - Any reported symptoms must have been medically investigated.

Hypnotherapy and the Menopause