"Though research is still sparse regarding the direct benefits of mindfulness on menopause, there is plenty of evidence demonstrating its positive impacts on common symptoms of perimenopause, such as anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance. Perhaps most importantly, mindfulness positively influences how we experience the symptoms themselves. By increasing self-awareness, we are more able to recognize when we're caught in an unpleasant cycle of thinking/feeling/behaving, thereby lessening rumination and offering us the opportunity to change our way of automatically reacting."
"For example, when I find myself involuntarily wide awake again at 2 am, there are two possible ways to relate to the situation. Option 1: Repeatedly bang head against the wall. Remain stuck in a worry loop of life details, bemoan my inability to fall back asleep, fruitlessly imagine how exhausted I will be in the morning, listen begrudgingly to my partner snoring soundly. Curse him and wish I could be him (blissfully, obliviously unconscious). Toss, turn, toss, turn. Kick, thrash. Repeat."
Perimenopause symptoms can negatively affect physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning. Mindfulness practices alongside healthy lifestyle changes can adequately manage mild symptoms for many people. Mindfulness decreases symptom severity, duration, and intensity while improving anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance. Increased self-awareness helps recognize and interrupt cycles of reactive thinking, feeling, and behavior, thereby reducing rumination and enabling different responses. Mindfulness skills apply to heart palpitations, hot flashes, irritability, and brain fog through steps of noticing, naming, getting curious, and allowing rather than resisting. Mindful responses can replace unhelpful reactions, such as nighttime worry loops, with softening, relaxation, and curiosity.
Read at Psychology Today
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