It's no secret that menopause can be a stressful time. Not only can it bring uncomfortable symptoms that can last for years, it can also be a time of broader life transitions. You might be dealing with major developmental shifts and changing relationships, such as:
Kids leaving the nest.
Kids "boomeranging" home after the nest was empty.
Changing marital status.
Caregiving for parents.
Taking on more responsibility at work.
Preparing to retire from work.
Coping with health concerns or chronic illness.
A deepening awareness of mortality or the mortality of aging loved ones.
On top of that, it might feel like everything that has worked in your life up until this point suddenly... doesn't. The exercise strategies you've tailored over 50 years don't give you to same results. Your favorite meals leave you with acid reflux. Your weight is changing, and your normal tools for weight management don't move the dial anymore.
Some sources of stress (i.e., stressors) are unavoidable. The good news is, you can develop the knowledge and tools you need to mount an effective stress response (and I can help!), which can make all the difference in the world. Importantly, it's not simply the presence of stressors that determines whether stress is productive or destructive - it's how well you can respond to it.
While distress is the bad type of stress associated with negative things, there's also eustress. Eustress is the good type of stress - the positive things in our lives. For example, taking on an interesting project at work, playing competitive sports, or going through an exciting life change, such as getting married or going back to school. A little bit of stress is a good thing - it can motivate us to reach our goals or take positive action or increase our alertness.
Nonetheless, while some stress can be caused by positive things, the stress response in the body is physiologically the same regardless of the source.
Stress can be chronic or acute.
Acute stress occurs in the short term and is related to specific demands of the recent past or near future. Examples include coming down with the flu, getting injured, attending a job interview, being in a minor car accident, or hosting a big party.
Chronic stress is often constant and ongoing over an extended period of time. Examples include ongoing relationship issues, ongoing career challenges, chronic health issues, childcare responsibilities, sexual harassment, racism, homophobia, and transphobia. Given that menopause can last for up to 20 years, it's safe to say it counts as a chronic stressor for women going through it - especially if they are having a harder time of things.
Humans have a limited capacity to deal with stressors from all sources, though some people can tolerate more stress than others.
Think of stress capacity as a bucket with a tap at the top and a spout at the base. Water starts flowing in from the tap - your life stressors start filling up the bucket. The spout at the bottom lets water out - it's releasing stress via stress management strategies.
All stressors (whether positive, negative, physical, emotional, mental, social, or anything else) add to your cumulative stress load - the summation of all the stressors, including severity and how long they last. It's more water in the bucket. If the spout at the bottom doesn't release enough water to keep up with the water flowing in, then the bucket overflows
For many women, as they age and go through the menopause transition, the bucket gets smaller and the spout shrinks. It becomes critical to:
Notice and manage the stressors going in.
Build skills and practices so stress can flow out.
For example, let's consider strength training. Strength training is a physical stressor, but it still adds to overall stress load. That said, it can also be a method of stress release. It's all about the balance - not too much, not too little. Physical exercise in the right dose can increase the bucket's capacity, but overdoing it might lead to an overflow. (Basically, it parallels the muscle's response to exercise too! Your muscles need stimulus and recovery. If you do it right, you'll get stronger. If you do it wrong or go too hard, you'll get weaker or get injured.)
Remember: The severity of stress and your current ability to cope with it matters. If you are equipped to handle stress (your spout is more like a massive waterfall of stress release), then you'll be able to tolerate more water in the bucket. If you don't have coping tools in place and the water levels are high, you might struggle to recover from even the most minor stressors.
STRESS OVERFLOW
As we just mentioned, the body has a limited capacity to deal with stress from all sources.
So, what happens when the bucket overflows?
When it gets out of control or becomes chronic, stress can exacerbate symptoms like anxiety, depression, hot flushes, brain fog, and more. This occurs because chronic stress creates a particular hormonal and immune environment.
For instance, in an acute stress response (let's say someone jumps out and yells "Boo!"), levels of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol spike up dramatically. The immune system prepares for an immediate threat, such as an injury. Our heart rate and blood pressure shoot up. Our digestion, bladder function, and other functions not involved in fight-flight slow down. (In extreme situations, we might see the opposite: Blood pressure drops suddenly leading to fainting and bladder and bowels void.)
This acute stress response is meant to be short lived, not much longer than it takes to yelp, "Don't jump out and scare mommy like that!" at your seven-year-old. However, if this response persists - as is the case in chronic, ongoing stress - these short-term adaptive responses become damaging. For instance, chronic stress can contribute to:
Loss of muscle and bone due to elevated cortisol, with an accompanying increase in body fat, particularly around the midsection
Anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders
Insomnia and disrupted sleep
Increased pain
High blood pressure and higher risk of cardiovascular disease
Metabolic disorders such as poor glucose control
A weakened immune system or "flare-ups" of autoimmune conditions
Gut issues (e.g., irritable bowel syndrome, constipation)
Skin issues (e.g., rashes) as well as accelerated skin aging
Reduced sex drive
Accelerated aging throughout the body
Add that on top of...
Decreased motivation to exercise
Feeling fatigued and low-energy
Decreased ability to focus (or over-focusing on potential threats and problems)
Increased risk of injury
Poorer recovery
Poorer sleep
...and the habits you are trying to work on - like getting to the gym or eating nutrient-dense meals - may feel virtually impossible.
Put simply, a chronic stress response can make you feel really crummy, and it can make reaching your goals very difficult.
Because stress is a part of life, and it's not always in your power to get rid of it entirely, the best thing you can do is build skills and regular practices to manage it.
At Moxie Members Online, you will find some recommended practices to help you manage stress.
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