How I am navigating my biggest symptom of the Perimenopause!

Fatigue has well and truly been kicking me over the last few months and only now am I am starting to feel normal again. I'm not just talking about feeling tired, I'm talking about absolute exhaustion, the type where it's really hard to even walk up stairs and functioning like a normal human being. I know I will not be the only woman out there that suffers with this so I thought it might be helpful explain why you might be feeling this way and to let you know what I have been doing to help combat it.

During the perimenopause we are going through a complex transition which includes an interplay of hormonal, physiological, and psychological changes.

• Estrogen and progesterone levels swing unpredictably during perimenopause. These hormones influence energy, mood, and sleep.

• Lower estrogen can affect how your body regulates serotonin and melatonin, which are key to sleep quality and emotional balance.

• Cortisol, the stress hormone, may rise in response to hormonal instability, leading to increased fatigue and burnout.

• Sleep distruptions including sweats, fragmented sleep and insomnia can lead to you waking and feeling just as tired as the day before.

• Iron deficiency and thyroid dysfunction can appear at this phase in our lives which can lead to feeling exhausted.

• Mental and emotional strain can be rife at this time in our lives. Let's be honest, as women we have a lot going on! Whether it's bringing up children at whatever stage in their life they may be, managing ageing parents, working, illnesses, divorces or relationship changes and running a household. IT'S ALOT and the mental load is going to zap your energy levels.

• Nutrient deficiencies such as B12, magnesium and vitamin B can worsen energy levels.

So what have I done to help support my body and my brain during this time?..

SELF COMPASSION

Yes I know, we hear these words thrown around a lot and most of the time we just push past them. But I have made a really conscious effort to not mentally beat myself up. I've allowed myself to feel into the exhaustion whilst telling myself that this will pass. I've cried tears of frustration over the exhaustion and just not feeling myself but then I have remembered to tell myself that my body is going through a period of change and that's ok, it won't last forever. Too often we spend unnecessary energy berating ourselves and our bodies and that does us no good whatsoever.

BLOOD TESTS

I am a huge advocate of getting things checked by a professional. We can self diagnose or take the advice of some stranger off the internet but ultimately we have a responsibility to ourselves to get symptoms investigated. Love yourself enough to do this as you never know what it could show and then you can deal with it.

MEDITATION

Again, I know that this probably sounds pointless and another pressure by most of you. But this has been a game changer for my brain and my body. I have built it into my day to allow myself 5-10 minutes of daily guided meditation to give my brain and body a rest (sometimes even twice a day). It also allows me to focus on my breathing and allow my parasympathetic nervous system to kick in. The calming counterpart to our "fight or flight" response. I use the Insight Timer app which has hundreds of free mediations.

REST

I have listened to my body and rested when I can. We are so conditioned as women not to rest. We feel that it is seen as being lazy, not being productive or we have too much to do. But your body deserves rest, it needs rest to function so listen to it.

STOPPED RUNNING

Now I love running, I'm not very fast but I love it. So this has been a hard one but I realised that it was not the right time to be running. My brain and body was in a place whereby even running really slowly would put me into "fight or flight" which was exhaust me even more. So I've switched to walking. Not even power walking but keeping my heart rate down and focusing on nasal breathing as I've walked. Taking in my surroundings and really bringing myself into the present moment. I've even hugged the occasional tree!

SHORT STRENGTH TRAINING SESSIONS

When we are in that period of exhaustion the last thing we want to do is long hard strength sessions. Continuing my workouts with the GIRLFIT community has allowed me to retain and grow muscles, helped me feel empowered and confident and supported my mental health. I have left a workout feeling totally depleted and the short workouts have allowed me to remain consistent with lifting weights. I know for sure that if I was meant to be doing 30 minute plus workouts I wouldn't have had the mental strength and energy to even begin them which would have left me feeling useless, inadequate and basically a failure, Short workouts make everything easier and more achievable!

SUPPLEMENTS

There is an overwhelming supplement market out there and they are all coming for us perimenopausal women! They can be expensive and a lot don't actually have any evidence that they work. But, I have been taking iron, B vitamins and vitamin D religiously over the last month. I have them out on my kitchen worktop to remind me to take them and was so desperate to feel better that I have made a conscious effort to take them every day.

NUTRITION

Believe it or not this has been a hard one for me! I'm a single mum and that in itself can be hard work. So at the end of the day when it comes to making dinner, when I can be at my most exhausted, tear inducing tiredness, having the energy to make multiple meals can leave me not bothering with myself. My kids won't eat what I tend to eat and I don't eat what they tend to eat (sorry, my household is not like Joe Wick's where everyone perfectly eats the same meals). And even knowing how I should be fuelling myself, I've not. But over the last month or so I have pushed myself to make sure that I make adequate meals for myself. It doesn't have to be complicated with multiple ingredients, just protein, fibre and some fats. e.g pan fried fish, roasted veg (cooked in bulk) and then salad with extra virgin olive oil. We need to support our hormones at this time in our lives and adequate fuelling and goo nutrition should be a non-negotiable.

I would love to hear from other women who have experienced the fatigue and any recomendations you might have. I caveat everything in this article by saying that this is what I have found to help me and I would always encourage women to speak to a trained professional whether it be a Dr or nutritionist.

Sending you all lots of love x

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