Are your yin and yang at war with each other? I don’t know about you, but when I got close to that “certain age,” I became someone else! I’d heard all about hormone balance and hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. I hadn’t heard about how you can essentially lose yourself. I’ve always been one of those women who is in control – thriving career, supportive wife, responsible stepmother and grandmother, friend, sister, daughter – a balanced house of cards. Then suddenly I became a mad woman; Always on edge and can barely drive to work. And when I got a job, I couldn’t make myself do anything! Who was this woman?
Come on ladies You know some of you have been there too; Or maybe you’re in that place right now. At a time in my life when I was nearing menopause, a surprise corporate layoff was off the cards. Maybe there was a traumatic trigger event for you too, maybe not. And severe hormone imbalance can happen at any age; A traumatic life event, illness, surgery, you name it, it can get the ball rolling.
Luckily my family is very supportive. I found a great therapist, we downsized our home to help offset the lost income, and more importantly, I learned a lot of invaluable information about natural products to help balance hormones, which I’m happy to share with you here. Of course, I’m not a doctor and this article certainly doesn’t qualify as medical advice. I’m just sharing with you what worked for me because I didn’t want to and thankfully I didn’t need to use conventional chemicals.
Let’s start with the hormone balance part. I found that over-the-counter wild yam cream was very helpful. Talk to your local health food store or natural grocer about the best options for you. In addition, the therapeutic essential oil clary sage is excellent for helping to regain hormonal balance. Clary sage oil contains phyto-hormones that will help stimulate your body to increase production of hormones it is lacking. Of course, whenever buying essential oils for this purpose, make sure you are buying from a reputable company and also make sure the oils are of therapeutic grade. Clary sage oil can be mixed with a carrier oil (such as jojoba or grapeseed) or a natural lotion and massaged into the body or inhaled using a diffuser or nebulizer.
And then there are hot flashes! As an herbal supplement, I have found black cohosh helpful in reducing hot flashes and night sweats. Again, make sure you’re buying a quality product from a reputable source. Also, as with any herbal supplement, be sure to be aware of potential side effects or allergic reactions. The essential oil ylang ylang, especially if combined with the use of clary sage and other therapeutic essential oils, which I’ll discuss in a moment, may help reduce hot flashes. As mentioned above, it can be used in massage or in the form of inhalation.
As far as mood swings and anxiety go, nothing can beat the restorative powers of lavender. Lavender is truly a miracle of nature. Neroli essential oil is also beneficial for anxiety but it can be quite expensive. These oils when used in a therapeutic essential oil blend are believed to help with hormone production balance and reduce symptoms such as hot flashes, mood changes, and anxiety.
There are also many other things you can do to help nature and the natural products I mentioned above. Avoiding caffeine, eating a low-fat diet, consuming frequent small meals instead of 2 or 3 large meals a day, avoiding hot tubs and hot showers or baths, using meditation, and many more. I continue to use those same aromatherapy and natural products to help whenever I feel stressed or blue. The good news is that “bad” times don’t last forever, but your knowledge of how to heal your body naturally will.
Source by Diane Hague
