Managing Menopause Symptoms with Meditation

If you’ve been feeling like you don’t know whether to laugh or cry because you’re unable to find the right solution for managing menopausal or perimenopausal symptoms, then this is for you. Someday every woman will experience menopause and when that day comes, you’ll want to be prepared.

Menopause marks the period in a woman’s life when she’s transitioning from child-bearing years and her period has been absent for 12 consecutive months. In essence, she is going into mid-life while handling other major changes from marriage to divorce and empty-nesting.

The arrival of menopause isn’t always grand nor is it linear. Many factors determine when a woman will enter this phase in her life from family genetics to lifestyle as well as how you manage stress.

Studies show Black women begin experiencing menopausal symptoms around age 49, about two years earlier than the median age in the U.S. which is 51 years.

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Some women start experiencing vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes or night sweats in their mid-30s which is perimenopause. The intensity, length and frequency can vary. The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) found Black women to have the highest prevalence, the longest duration and experience more discomfort during perimenopause and the menopausal phase than Hispanic or White women. For instance, SWAN also reports Black women experience hot flashes for 10 years, Latinas 8.9 years and White women around 6.5 years.

While research and statistics state Black women are on the shorter end of the stick when it comes to the severity of menopausal symptoms; meditation and mindfulness can help manage the symptoms and help to make the best of this natural transition.

How does meditation help menopause symptoms?

Mindfulness is the practice of slowing down to pay attention to the Self. The most popular pathway to this is through meditation and the benefits are endless. Allowing yourself to reconnect, re-center and recharge is essential to stress management and for rest and relaxation.