Why Your Nervous System Can Feel Turned Up
Oestrogen and progesterone do far more than run the menstrual cycle. They also play a part in sleep, mood, body temperature and how we respond to stress. As they rise and fall through perimenopause and menopause, many women find their stress response is quicker to fire and slower to settle.
That can look like waking at three in the morning with your heart going, feeling anxious out of nowhere, snapping at the people you love, and aching in places that never used to ache. It is common, it is real, and there is plenty that can help.
Sleep First
When sleep goes, everything else gets harder, so it is where I usually start. A slow breath with a long out breath is one of the simplest ways to help your body shift towards rest. Here is a link to my breathing tool (opens in a new tab), which you are welcome to try… but if breath holds feel stressful and too much for you right now, then perhaps stick with trying to focus on exhaling for longer than you inhale. That is always a great place to start.
You are not imagining it, and you do not have to white knuckle your way through it.
Liane
When Anxiety Arrives Out of Nowhere
Anxiety at this stage often has no story attached to it. Nothing has happened, and yet the body is braced. Talking it through can help, but it only goes so far when the feeling lives in the chest and stomach more than in a thought.
That is where breathwork and tremor therapy can come in. Breathwork can help a wired system settle and gives you a tool for when anxiety flares. Tremor therapy uses natural shaking to help release held tension. Many women do both in the same month.
Aches, Stiffness and a Body That Will Not Settle
Joint aches and stiffness are some of the things women mention most. Spinal Flow is very light touch along the spine, lying face down and fully clothed, and it is gentle enough to have every week. People often come for the stiffness and tell me afterwards that what they noticed most was feeling settled and at ease.
Working Alongside Your GP
None of this replaces the care of your GP or menopause specialist. It sits alongside it. Please talk to your GP about any symptoms, and always about bleeding after your periods have stopped, a heart that races often, or a low mood that will not lift. The NHS menopause pages (opens in a new tab) may be a helpful place to read about your options.
Then, if you would like support for your nervous system as well, come and see me: a group evening, a one to one in Olney, or send me a message first and I can advise you personally based on your individual circumstances.
Four Small Things to Try This Week
- When anxiety spikes, make the out breath longer than the in breath for a minute.
- Get outside in daylight in the morning, even for ten minutes.
- Keep caffeine to the morning.
- Tell someone how you are really feeling. You are not the only one.
Group breathwork evenings run at venues across the area for £35, and one to one sessions of breathwork, tremor therapy and Spinal Flow are at The Brave Studio in Olney. If you would like to talk it through first, message me on WhatsApp.