How to do Menopause holistically and naturopathically
You've probably gathered by now I'm doing my menopause naturally. This doesn't mean I'm against hormone supplementation (HRT). I'm against synthetic hormones yes but bio-identical hormone supplementation is available.
I'm not choosing this option as yet. I'm also not ruling it out but my expertise, joy and success is in the holistic naturopathic approach of which I have 30 years knowledge, training and experience.
My holistic approach addresses the mental, emotional and physical impact of peri-menopause.
We go beyond hormones to the root of your discomfort which I've discovered lies in 5 areas - stress (emotional trauma), diet, lifestyle, environment and family history.
Hormones are chemical messengers whose levels get stirred up during this change. Their fluctuating levels trigger a series of what can be extremely unpleasant symptoms for eg;
Hot flushes
Night sweats
Anxiety
Depression
Heavy painful irregular periods
Weight gain
Vaginal dryness
Brain fog...
The hormones themselves do not cause these symptoms. They reveal the underlying toxic load which may have been building up under the surface for many years for eg; overworking, unresolved grief, unhealthy habits such as too much alcohol or chocolate etc.
Just to say when you work with me, your unhealthy habits are not judged. We actually discover the positive reason why you're indulging in them.
Surprise surprise!! Yes there's always a positive reason so we remove the judgement and we get to the root of why you're doing it and how you can gently step by step reduce and replace them with a different positive action that benefits your health.
This is the emotional and mindset piece behind the dietary change
One of the most important actions required by the body each day is to rid us of these toxins via liver and bowel. The 5 factors above will impede that. If we don't we will feel sluggish, tired and increase inflammation which exists in most dis-ease states.
Let's relate this to your menopausal symptoms for a moment.
If toxins can't get out of bowel via liver 'cos we're dehydrated for eg, (causes poor bowel function) then liver will seek other ways to shift those toxins away from the essential organs (heart, brain..).
It might use the skin (hot flushes, rashes + night sweats).
It might use the womb (painful, heavy + irregular periods) or the problem may move deeper to the mental/emotional level with anxiety and depression.
These are just a few examples of how the body works holistically to try to restore balance.
Your body never ever works against you.
It is always seeking to restore balance and the work I do is to highlight this and to show you how you create change:
through releasing emotional 'stuff' that doesn't serve you like limiting beliefs from childhood (which cause stress because they don't align with your Soul)
by teaching you how to disarm your inner critic (who is stopping you from feeling good and going for it in your life)
to develop mindfulness through consistent daily practices so you can rewire your thoughts and blast through your limitations
PLUS do all the work around dietary and lifestyle change so your symptoms smooth out and you feel energised, happier, more balanced and motivated.
Learn everything from how to detoxify and eliminate effectively through diet and naturopathic techniques such as hot and cold therapy, juicing, castor oil packing and even coffee enemas to intermittent fasting and specific foods to eat to enhance your health.
Plus learn the fundamental principles of how to avoid high cholesterol, heart disease and osteoporosis, common in post-menopause which is really simple to understand I promise. Implementing them may be another matter of course!!
Ready to up-level your health? Contact me here.
Now if you do want to go down the route of testing and want to consider taking bio-identical hormones, I recently discovered a lovely company called Happy Hormones for Life. You can find them here. Just to say I am not affiliated with them and have not used their services but they offer a very comprehensive testing service which a simple blood test with your GP does not.
Much love and a huge hug during this tumultuous time on the planet.
Sophie xox
p.s. Our hormonal system is stress-sensitive so you may find you are particularly negatively affected by the current tragic world events taking place. Please take time for yourself to rest and be self-kind.