Mindfulness and Menopause- A Review

Abstract

Mind-body therapies hold several advantages from the viewpoint of security, fulfilment, implementation and possible ancillary social and psychological health benefits. Side effects and risks of mind-body practice are generally nominal, implementation costs are little and most mind-body therapies can be performed by a broad range of populations, including overweight and sedentary menopausal women. The use of mind-body therapies for the alleviation of a menopausal symptoms is becoming increasingly common because of the perceived therapeutic benefits. The practice of mindfulness allows the participants to be aware of the present moment without concern for past or future consequences. Several researchers have discovered that being mindful may be helpful for menopausal women struggling with irritability, anxiety and depression. The purpose of this article aimed at reviewing the literature which studies the impact of the mindfulness-based training on menopausal symptoms among women during their climacteric period. Many midlife women try out practices like relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and yoga to help them get through these difficult times during their transitional period of life. Although these daily practices probably do not relieve symptoms such as hot flashes, they might improve overall wellbeing and help them sleep better. The literature was searched using databases such as CINAHL, Pub Med, Pro-Quest and Google scholar. The search terms used were: menopause, menopausal symptoms, mindfulness, quality of life and midlife transition. In India, the practice of mindfulness is not very well known among the menopausal women, so the aim of this review was to show a pathway to the primary health care workers like physicians, counsellors and the nurses, who can guide them about the practice of mindfulness thereby improving the quality of life.