Are your Yin & Yang at war with one another? I don't know about you, but when I approached that "certain age", I became, well, someone ELSE! I had heard all about hormone balancing and the hot flashes and the night sweats and the mood swings. What I hadn't heard about was how you could essentially lose yourself. I had always been one of those women in control of herself - thriving career, supportive wife, responsible step-mom and grandmother, friend, sister, daughter - a well balanced house of cards. Then suddenly I was a crazy woman; always on the edge and barely able to make herself to drive to her job. And when I did get to the 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 perhaps you are in that place right now. A surprise corporate lay-off at the time of life when I was approaching menopause was all it took to tumble the house of cards. Maybe there was a traumatic trigger event for you too, maybe not. And a severe hormone imbalance can occur at any age; a traumatic life event, illness, surgery, you name it can get the ball rolling.
Fortunately I have a very supportive family. I found a good therapist, we downsized our home to help compensate for the lost income and more importantly I uncovered lots of invaluable information about natural products to help with hormone balance which I am happy to share with you here. Of course, I am not a doctor and this article certainly doesn't qualify as medical advice. I am simply sharing with you what worked for me as I did not want to nor thankfully did not need to use traditional chemicals.
Let's start with the hormone balance part. I found that over-the-counter Wild Yam Creme was very helpful. Talk to your local health food store or natural grocer about the best choice for you. Also, the therapeutic essential oil Clary Sage is excellent for helping to achieve hormonal balance. Clary Sage oil contains phyto-hormones that will help to stimulate your own body to increase the production of whatever hormones you are lacking. Of course whenever purchasing essential oils for this purpose, be sure you are buying from a reputable company and be sure as well that the oils are of therapeutic grade. Clary Sage oil can be blended 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 the hot flashes! As an herbal supplement, I found Black Cohosh to be helpful in minimizing hot flashes and night sweats. Again, be sure you are purchasing quality products 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 I will discuss in a moment, can help to minimize hot flashes. It can be used in massage or inhaled as described above.
As for mood swings and anxiety, nothing can beat the restorative powers of lavender. Lavender is truly Mother Nature's miracle. The essential oil Neroli is beneficial for anxiety as well but can be quite expensive. Using these oils combined in a therapeutic essential oil blend is believed to help create hormone BALANCE and minimize symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings and anxiety.
There are many other things you can do as well to help Mother Nature and the natural products I've described above. Avoiding caffeine, eating a low fat diet, consuming more frequent small meals rather than 2 or 3 large ones a day, avoiding hot tubs and hot showers or baths, using meditation and much more. I continue to use many of the same aromatherapy and natural products to help me whenever I'm feeling stressed or blue. The good news is that the "bad" times don't last forever but your knowledge of how to heal your body naturally will.
Live an Essential Life!
Diane Hague
Visit our web site at http://natural-essentials-nw.com to learn more about our PUR ESSENTIALS Natural Aromatherapy product line
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