There’s no two ways about it. If you’re a woman in your 40s, your life is stressful. Many of us are in the sandwich generation, raising teenagers and caring for aging parents. Our own health is critical because everyone else depends on us. That makes stress relief in perimenopause not a luxury, but an everyday necessity.

One of the emotional side effects to perimenopause is dealing with stress. Not only does perimenopause often bring with it physical side effects, but it can be hard to find relief for your stress. This endless cycle can be stopped with some natural remedies.

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7 Strategies for Stress Relief in Perimenopause

Honor Your Human Bandwidth

It is possible that a lot of your stress comes from simply trying to get too much done during the day. If you feel like you are always being asked to host parties, run errands, and do favors for people, it might be time to learn how to say no.

This can be really hard to do, but your stress can affect nearly every aspect of your life. Stress is linked to making perimenopausal symptoms worse, so it is important to control what you can.

Just be honest with people if they ask you to help out with something you simply don’t have time for right now. The good news is that the more you practice saying “no” the easier it is.

Ensuring that you aren’t stretched too thin is one of the best self-care practices you can have. Take a hard look at your calendar and obligations and see if there is anything you can offload. Is there anyone you can ask for help? Learning to reach out and connect with others supports you emotionally as well as in real, practical ways.

Do Something Good For Yourself

Many women find themselves overwhelmed with personal and work responsibilities, and rarely have time for themselves. Mastering saying “no” to requests and obligations that don’t inspire you is just the first step. After that you can relearn how to include more of you in your schedule.

Before you dismiss this idea because you think self-care has to be expensive, know that small no-cost gestures of self kindness are worth a lot. Maybe it’s just deep breathing or a few minutes of stretching. Some people rely on journaling or making gratitude lists to keep themselves centered. A simple phone call to a friend often does wonders for lowering your stress level, too.

Taking a walk outside is a free act of self-care that can reduce stress in perimenopause. So much of our lives takes place indoors that we forget how good it can feel to be outside. The warmth of the sun on our skin, the breeze in our hair, and earth beneath our feet. It is an easily accessible but powerful centering activity.

Rediscovering activities that you once loved is a wonderful way to reduce stress in perimenopause. Creativity as self-care allows you to support both your mental wellness and your spiritual wellness at the same time. Plus, finding a new creative outlet is just plain fun!

Reduce Your Caffeine and Alcohol Intake

Both caffeine and alcohol affect brain activity and the way messages are sent from the brain to other parts of your body. They have opposite effects on your body, but they are both altering.

Caffeine is a stimulant, which means that it can trigger the body’s stress response. Caffeine has also been linked to increasing the stress hormone cortisol. This means your daily cup of coffee feels is actually causing your body to react like an acute stress situation. (precision nutrition)

While caffeine and other stimulants might give you a short-term boost in your mood, when it wears off you feel even worse than you did before. That’s what has you going back for the second (or third or fourth) cup of coffee throughout the day.

Alcohol, on the other hand, is a depressant. It slows brain function. While many people choose alcohol precisely for this effect, once the initial relaxation subsides, your blood sugar is imbalanced. This imbalance throws your body through a rollercoaster of hormonal surges and dips that creates even more stress.

Plus, alcohol can affect the normal REM sleeping cycle. Often people who us wine as an evening relaxation tool wake in the middle of the night due to the blood sugar drop after the alcohol wears off.

If enjoy caffeine or alcohol, know how they can affect your ability to de-stress. Even worse, they may be contributing to your stress because of how they throw your body out of balance.

Improve Your Sleep

If you are dealing with high stress levels while going through perimenopause, focusing on getting better sleep should be a priority. Good sleep is necessary both for your body to repair the damage of daily life but also for clear mental function.

Insomnia is unfortunately a common side effect during menopause, so take your time and figure out what works best for you. It may be that you need to institute a bedtime routine. Teaching your body to prepare for sleep by leading it through a relaxing ritual is a natural and effective practice.

Other ways of enticing your body to sleep might be taking a relaxing bath with lavender essential oils, drinking a cup of herbal tea before bed, or doing your workout at night so that it can make you tired enough for adequate sleep before bed.

Take 10 Minutes to Meditate

Meditation is one of the very best strategies for stress relief in perimenopause. It can be done almost anywhere, doesn’t require any equipment or preparation, and it’s totally free!

If you’re brand new to meditation– or are really skeptical, check out my blog about what happened when I meditated for 10 minutes a day for 10 days straight. It really doesn’t take that big of a commitment to see meaningful changes in your life.

Stress relief isn’t the only reason to meditate. There are other reasons mediation for menopause can help you manage midlife symptoms.

Recognize That The Transition Can Be Difficult

While menopause is a completely normal phase of life that every woman will go through, that doesn’t mean it is easy. Similar to when you are a pre-teen and start your first menstrual cycle, it can be a tough transition to get through.

There are a lot of different changes that happen, including mental, emotional, and physical ones. The ending of fertile years is hard on some women. Being sandwiched between teenagers and aging parents is a struggle. This heightened stress often manifests as anxiety.  And then there are the physical changes of midlife that many women dread.

Night sweats, insomnia, headaches, and body pains are all frequently reported symptoms of perimenopause. With the shifting of your menstrual cycle, you might experience heightened PMS symptoms like cramps either more intensely or for a longer duration each cycle. These unpleasant physical changes can be hard to handle. There are natural ways to handle all of these common perimenopause experiences.

Furthermore, while these symptoms all affect your physical body, they often come with deep emotional baggage. Working through how you feel about your body as it ages—and showing yourself compassion—can reduce the stress these symptoms create.

Everyone Needs a Good Support System

The physiological and psychological changes of midlife are very real. You might be sad that a certain phase of your life is over, or you may notice that your stress is heightened due to the physical changes. These feelings are completely normal, but don’t let them get you down.

And most importantly, don’t assume you have to deal with it alone. Menopause is not something you need to be silent about or pretend like everything is okay. Reach out to your partner or spouse, family, and friends and talk to them when you need to.

Get that emotional support that you need during perimenopause. Talking with women who are the same age and stage you are is reassuring.

Why Stress Relief in Perimenopause is so Important

Stress relief in perimenopause is an important consideration for your overall wellness. Give one of these natural approaches a try and see how you feel. Most importantly, don’t suffer alone. If you are feeling stressed and unable to cope, please reach out to someone for help. While an increase in anxiety in perimenopause is quite common, it is not normal.

You’re worth seeking help!

The Well Balanced Women blog is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please discuss your health issues with a licensed medical practitioner.