Menopause can be extremely distressing for women and can cause several symptoms and side effects that are hard to deal with. Yet, despite being so common and insufferable, it is not often spoken about as much as it should be.
Plus, coping with menopause can be even harder when trying to put your family members first. Many people who are struggling with menopause are in the sandwich generation, wherein they have to juggle the needs of both younger and older family members.
Ultimately, menopause is difficult to cope with, but there are a few things you can do to help you deal with it – especially if you’re caring for family members.
Consider Menopause Treatments
Many women decide to go through menopause without any intervention, as is often the case if their symptoms are manageable. However, many others decide that the right option for them is to look at treatments, such as HRT, which gives the body the oestrogen that it is missing during menopause.
Although HRT can have side effects and increase your risk of health issues like cancer, HRT can allow you to live a normal life throughout menopause without interruption from debilitating symptoms, such as night sweats, insomnia, and irritability.
If you’re interested in going down this route, you should consider speaking to a doctor about whether HRT is right for you and your situation, as well as discussing any alternatives that you could try.
However, once you are on this medication, you may find that you can better focus on caring for your family and that you do not quickly become burned out and ill when trying to do so.
Look At Care Homes For Elderly Loved Ones
Sometimes, menopause can completely take it out of you. Along with working and looking after any children you have, you may struggle to take on more responsibility, especially when it comes to aging parents.
If this is the case, you might consider looking at whether a care home is a good option for your family and whether your family member will be better suited to living in this environment. Living in a care home can be a great option, as it allows your loved one to be looked after by trained professionals who ensure they live their golden years in comfort, safety, and good health.
You will also be able to rest easy in the knowledge that your loved ones have a superb life and are being properly cared for without having to battle your menopause symptoms, which might impact them too on the days you’re suffering a lot.
If your menopause symptoms are becoming too much for you to handle at the same time as caring for your elderly relatives, you could consider specialist care, like these care homes in London, which grant your older family members exceptional levels of care and an enriching lifestyle throughout their golden years.
Split Care
Even if you are the head of your family, you have the spare time to care for your relatives, or you are the most ideally situated nearest to those who need looking after, it cannot be expected of you to take on the entirety of their care yourself – especially if you are struggling with your health issues.
Ideally, you should reach out to your other relatives, such as any siblings and cousins you may have, and ask them to take on some of the responsibility. This may be difficult to ask, yet having a frank discussion with your family can often yield good results and ensure you will be able to take some time to yourself to nurture your health.
You may even need to tell your relatives about your menopause struggles for them to take you seriously or help you come up with a solution for caring for your other loved ones. Hopefully, they will be understanding and considerate and will agree to help spread the burden of care so that it doesn’t all fall to you.
Also, it’s not just your family you need to speak with in order to get the support you crave; you should also consider speaking to your boss or workplace to ensure that you are fully supported throughout this trying time of balancing your health woes with family care.
Take A Break
When you are going through menopause, it is crucial to take time out to look after yourself instead of focusing every single bit of your energy on your family members. You should make sure that you take regular breaks when it comes to their care and consider looking at options that will allow you to go on vacations and take a few days off from your responsibilities.
A break is essential on the days when your menopause symptoms are worse than others and when you feel too ill to consider pouring time and energy into your loved ones’ care. Ideally, you should spend your break time away from it all as you see fit so that you can get as healthy as possible, recuperate and get your energy back, which will enable you to return to caring for your family as your best, true self.
