Perimenopause

Just what is Peri- menopause anyway and why does it cause most women so much misery?

Menopause is simply the term used to signify the start of the beginning of menstruation in women. It refers to the time when a woman stops ovulating. Once this happens she ceases to have her period anymore.

In most women this natural occurrence happens between age 37 and 53. However some women have entered this in their mid-twenties. It seems to be more and more common to for today's woman to get it around 35.

This physical part of perimenopasue is very distressing for most women. Some females going through menopause only have mild symptoms but others are simply overwhelmed by anxiety, pain and mood swings. Just getting through the menopausal phase of life can feel like an uphill battle that must be fought every day.

I feel it is one of the most misunderstood conditions on earth. If you don't treat the symptoms you can make others absolutely miserable.

The bad moods and anxiety associated with premenopausal symptoms are contagious. It can be a baffling condition. Many women find themselves emotionally confused by the process and at the mercy of many different distressing symptoms at once.

It is just all so overwhelming and also for many women quite frightening. For some it feels like they are losing their beauty or their female identity in general.

Part of winning the battle against the symptoms of menopause is getting over your fear of going through it in the first place. Part of being able to do this is recognizing that this is a process that every woman goes through and being able to identify exactly what is going on in your body.

Normally a condition that causes the following symptoms might have you worried that you are suffering from a serious or even fatal disease–

• The cessation of the menstrual period

• Menstrual spotting

• Irregular or sporadic periods

• Increased incidence of yeast infections

• Increased incidence of bladder infections

• Headaches

• Hair loss

• Wrinkles

• Dry skin

• Vaginal dryness

• Painful intercourse

• Insomnia

• Incontinence

• Itchiness of the genitals

• Hot flashes

• Anxiety

• Disorientation

• Disassociation

• Panic attacks

• Weight gain

• Depression

• Decreased blood circulation

• Bone loss

• Mood swings

• Chest pains

• Lack of sex drive
Normally such a big list of symptoms might have you calling an ambulance!
However in this case it is not necessary because what you have just read above is simply all of the symptoms that can occur when a woman is about to go through menopause!

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Moms and Overeating

Many overweight people, especially women, eat to comfort themselves. This bad dietary habit is known as emotional overeating. Moms get overwhelmed by so much stress that this definitely becomes a big issue.

We eat certain foods to pacify negative feelings such as anger, grief and disappointment. Emotional overeating can also be classified as a reaction to stress.

Emotional overeating is not a crime but it can make you fat. These a stressful times we live in and when you were a kid your mom probably made you feel better about bad things by feeding something rich and laden with carbs like ice cream, cookies or potato chips. Sometimes I give this sort of thing to my kids and share it with them when I think they are under stress. It is a never ending vicious circle!

A nickname for emotional overeating is 'stuffing your anger.' This is form cave men days from a time when we felt very aggressive as we tore into our prey.

Often overeating in women is related to aggression or anger. Women are not allowed to display anger in this society as it is considered unattractive so they express it by biting into food instead. Moms are just expected to put up with everything and shut up.

They feel comforted but guilty for letting themselves down at the same time. Many women are not even really tasting what is in their mouths when they binge eat like this.

It is an act of rebellion that backfires and makes the person feel worse than before. This creates a condition where you can become angry at yourself and you want to eat even more. The worst case scenario is the development of a dangerous disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.

Carbs, fat and sugar can temporarily make you feel better emotionally because they have a way of fueling the feel good chemicals in the brain. The problem is that this is just a quick fix that wears off and has you craving yet more of the same comfort foods to feel good again.
The only way to stop emotional overeating is to figure out what life situations are triggering your bad feelings and then try to get rid of those situations in your life. You literally try to figure out 'what's eating you' so that you will stop eating every time you feel lonely, frustrated, angry or sad.

The good news is that this is a type of behavior that you can control. Once you recognize the situation that drives the emotion that in turn drives you to overeat you can stop emotional overeating just the same way you can stop any other bad habit.

Talk to your doctor if you think you eat too much because of depression or anxiety. You might be prescribed an antidepressant. However keep in mind that although the antidepressant might stop compulsive or obsessive eating, the ironic side effect of almost all of the brands of antidepressants on the market being even more weight gain

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