I just don't feel like myself anymore.
This is something that I hear from my midlife clients every single day.
And in this video,
I want to share exactly what is going on and what you can do about it.
Hi,
I'm Dr.
Ellen,
The Midlife Whisperer.
I help midlife women go from surviving to thriving.
Let's talk about it.
So,
The first thing I want to say is not feeling like yourself anymore is totally normal.
In fact,
Research in the journal Metapause found that 63% of midlife women feel this way at least 50% of the time.
Your hormones are changing.
Your body is changing.
You can feel more stressed out,
Moodier,
Anxious,
Overwhelmed.
Comfortably numb.
Nothing is wrong with you.
It is a normal transition.
Just like we treat puberty and pregnancy as normal transitions that women go through,
Perimenopause and menopause are the same thing.
You're not supposed to feel like yourself.
You're going through a major transformation.
On the outside,
Things are changing too,
Which can contribute to this.
So maybe the job that you used to love doesn't let you up anymore.
You might be struggling with your primary partnership.
Perhaps you're going through empty nest or dealing with aging parents.
There's a lot going on both inside and outside.
So the first thing I want to say is it is normal.
Now here's what you can do about it.
Number one.
Practice self-compassion.
Treat yourself the way you would a good friend.
Number three,
Perhaps this is the most important one,
Is be mindful when you are stressed,
When you're suffering,
Give yourself what you need.
You are not a problem to fix,
You are someone to love.
After practicing self-compassion,
Take a look at your lifestyle.
There are so many lifestyle changes to support your body,
Your mind,
Your spirit as you are going through perimenopause and menopause.
What you want to do first of all is make sure that you are nourishing yourself with the right diet.
Eat a whole foods,
Plant-based diet,
Which means lots of produce,
Adequate protein,
I recommend 75 to 100 grams every single day,
And less processed foods.
Processed foods can actually increase inflammation,
Which can contribute to some of your perimenopausal symptoms.
So after you nourish yourself,
Make sure that you are getting seven to eight hours of quality sleep every single night.
This is so important in terms of resetting hormones and feeling your best.
After you deal with sleep and you're nourishing yourself,
Make sure you're moving your body.
Move your body every single day.
So try to take a walk,
Make sure that you're doing a little bit of strength training so that you are staying strong.
I always say strong over skinny.
And then also make sure that you are doing a little bit of stretching,
Some mind-body movement to keep your body flexible.
And then the last piece is learning to manage your stress.
You've got to learn how to regulate your nervous system,
Particularly as you're going through menopause because as estrogen drops,
It can make dealing with stress harder because estrogen actually mitigates stress.
So get a therapist or coach,
Talk to a good friend,
Do some journaling,
Practice breath work or techniques like heart math to learn how to manage your stress,
And also take a look at what you can control,
What you can't control,
And don't take yourself quite so seriously.
And a fifth thing is make sure you surround yourself with people who light you up.
It is so important to have that kind of connection.
So after you practice self-compassion,
You take better care of your body,
What you also want to do is think about what's next for you.
Truly make your second adulthood your next chapter,
Your best chapter.
