Where's the surprise? (An update on menopause symptoms)

So Anyway.

January was a practice run, and February is really when the new year started, well that’s how it’s working out for me anyway.

I have noticed over the last few months, since about November ish, that my frequent menopause symptoms have been amplifying themselves again, and really, I am NOT surprised.

When you know better you do better. I know that excessive carbohydrates can set things off for me, but it’s been so bloody cold and recently, that I have been craving butter soaked toast, and Greggs sausage rolls, and I know that it’s because I have been indulging regularly, that’s the reason that things are kicking off again.

Slight bloating, not as bad as it was, but the hot sweats have now been accompanied by a new pal, the COLD sweats. My hands and the back of my neck for some reason go icy cold and I am sweating as well.

So here I am having a word with myself about how to look after myself better, and stop literally saying F**k it to food groups that, when eaten daily, really do make my body react in unpleasant ways.

Menopause sweats equals stress, which equals cortisol levels increasing, which then brings on weight gain, which then makes me feel like crap, and makes me reach for the carbs to comfort eat.

Yes I am health coach, and yes I literally do still have to have a stern word with myself.

Just a short post today but the message is, yes if you make a 1% improvement in your life it can snowball into something amazing by the end of the week/month.

It’s the same the other way.

If you are consistently 1% rubbish with food, movement, sleep patterns, stress, it will also snowball into something bigger after one week or month.

Ooft.

Onward!

Groundhog day/month/year.

Oh boy. Here we go again.

That’s what it feels like a wee bit doesn’t it? I’ve said it before and yup, I’m about to repeat myself, August started off feeling so positive, then the OMG news cycle started with Afghanistan and what that nation was having to cope with, and it just felt we were all on a slip slide with them.

So here we are again, coming up for Christmas, and we have a new bloody variant of this b**tarding virus, as i call it, going about, and our news cycle is full of it. Now, more than ever, it’s important to stand guard to your mind, and not let feelings of hopelessness take over.

So, here is my action plan to help out during this trying time.

Create healthy news habits

Notice how many times you are picking up your phone during the day, and if you are simply doom scrolling, I choose to get my news (I’m a poet and I don’t know it), from listening to the radio in the morning, and then at lunchtime have a quick scroll on Twitter, and then I watch the 10pm news at night, if I feel like it. That’s it. Oh, and speaking to my Mum.

I’m not really on Facebook that much, so thankfully I am not getting targeted by others with either adverts or their content, but what I would say, with kindness, is, if you have people in your life who share a lot of content about covid 19 on their social media, and you find it triggering, maybe try muting it for a while.

Focus on the present

Sounds easy doesn’t it? Focusing on the present really does mean having a word with yourself and putting down your phone. Today, I have made a list of things I’d like to get done, this blog post being one of them, and I don’t know what’s going on in this mornings news yet, I am choosing to focus on my writing this morning. And coffee.

I am such a fan of a list. I made a one a couple of nights ago of all the things I keep forgetting to do, and also a list of Christmas stuff to get through and I’m feeling productive AF. For me, the more organised I am, the less stressed I am. That also includes leaving the house a lot earlier if I need to go out, it really makes difference.

Continue with your self care

Oh wow. It’s that self care phrase again. Whatever yours is, do it. I KNOW I feel heaps better when I have done a pilates or barre class online, and I always feel better after my cycling commute to work, unless it’s Thursday, because Thursday is ‘drive like a bam’ day in Glasgow. I have NO idea why, but if I get a close pass or someone who is literally just off my back wheel, way too close, it’s a Thursday.

What is your go to feel good stuff to do? Here is mine.

Facial massage when I cleanse my face

Chamomile tea with a splash of apple cider vinegar

Going to bed early with a book

Making an effort to moisturise my hands, especially with all the handwashing we are doing

Pilates and barre for the win. Sarah Gorman is a favourite

And, of late, making a hot chocolate with a slug of Baileys in it.

Keep yourself safe.

I am doing all that I can to keep myself safe. I do all that I can and stay away from others who are maybe not so bothered. I can’t police the world.

It really is down to just doing everything that we have been doing over the last 18 months or so.

Good ventilation has always been our first line of defence, then face covers, and hand washing. I don’t think i’ll get back to the stage mentally where i was disinfecting my shopping and my outdoor shoes (please tell me I wasn’t the only one), but I must admit I still do my steering wheel when I get back from the shops. I have no idea why. There are effective hygiene measures, then there is hygiene theatre. I just stick with the sensible basics. A definite hygiene theatre moment for me, was , last year, when i got back from the shops, I would undress at my front door and stick everything in washing machine.

We really don’t know what we were dealing with, but why was I acting like I was Karen Silkwood. It made me feel better.

Try to avoid worst case scenario thinking.

This is pretty rich coming from me. I have really had to work on this. I must admit though, my catastrophic thinking is greatly influenced by other people in my life. If someone continuously is doom gloom despair and despondency when they are around you, you can get pulled into that line of thinking.

I used to have someone in my life like that until recently, when I just decided pommes des terre, sur la cotes. Tatties over the side. I feel so much better about life now. I have breathing space.

It all goes back to controlling what you can control, and being present in the NOW instead of trying to forecast what will happen. Here is a good website for you, if you feel that covid 19 is taking up way too much space in your head.

Also, remember to talk to your friends and family, and keep an ear out for anyone who is being a bit quiet.

Anyway, I hope you found this useful.

What we are going through now, can’t be any worse than what we experienced last March 2020 when we really really didn’t know what on earth was going on. Now we kind of do. Ish.

Stand guard to your mind.

Elizabeth x

Can life get any worse? (A short blog about coping)

Nothing like a cheery headline to grab your attention!

So here we are. Can life get any worse?

Whats bad? One thing? Several things? Or absolutely everything. It’s tempting to saying EVERYTHING right now isn’t it?

I’m sitting writing this looking out onto my garden, and I can see a few things that are good. My plants, a lovely pink glow in the sky from sunset, a cat sitting on my shed eying me up. If you take a deep breath, there are small, but good things around us.

My car works when I turn it on, win.

I feel like I have hay fever, not so good, but fixable with a piriton.

I got a lovely new book from a pal for my birthday to get stuck into, win.

I’ve had mini birthday celebrations over the last week including cheese and biscuits and immense cake, WIN.

The little GOOD things mount up.

At the risk of sounding like a complete bumper sticker, you can always find the good, somewhere.

I can remember all the passwords for my computer and debit cards, another win.

There is no getting away from it right now though, life in general in challenging. I have had clients coming in to see me this week feeling scunnered. it’s like there are normal ish life stresses through illness, family illness, job worries, job hunting, and watching the news just now (July 2021) seems to put an extra layer of woe ontop of life.

I am convinced we will all get good news soon, I have NO idea what that will be, but lets just make sure we are getting out basics right, starting from scratch.

Get a good nights sleep

Drink water (and reaaaallly good coffee)

Speak to a best pal - some people just need a really good listening to (that’s a Kirsty Mac ism, I use it a lot)

If you are working from home, set a timer for 45 minutes and do interruption free work for that time, and see what you get done.

Remember to eat fruit and vegetables.

Watch a feel good movie, sorry but mine is Pretty in Pink. I'm about to have a late evening Brat Pack binge when i’ve finished this.

That’s it.

G’night John-Boy.

x