Menopause, one of the most important periods of a woman's life, can occur before the age of 40 for different reasons. Stating that women with a family history of early menopause and women who have undergone surgical intervention can enter early menopause, experts emphasize that early menopause is not a disease. Experts point out that factors such as smoking and alcohol use, excessive stress, unhealthy diet can lead to early menopause.
NPISTANBUL Hospital Specialist Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva made evaluations regarding early menopause.
Stating that women go through five periods throughout their lives: childhood, adolescence, sexual maturity, menopause and old age, Gülçin Şenyuva said that physical, mental and hormonal differences are seen in women in all periods.
In early menopause, menstruation stops before the age of 40
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), menopause is the permanent cessation of the menstrual (menstruation) cycle as a result of the loss of activity of the ovaries, said Specialist Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva, "Natural menopause, from country to country, although different from society to society, usually occurs at the age of 45-55, an average of 47-49 years in Turkey. It is defined as premenopausal period (premenopausal period) 2-6 years before menopause and postmenopausal period (postmenopausal period) 6-8 years after menopause. Early menopause is the cessation of menstruation before the age of 40."
Noting that early menopause occurs for different reasons, Specialist Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva listed these factors as follows:
Family History: The age at which the woman's mother and first-degree relatives entered menopause is important. If there is a family history of early menopause, there is a risk of early menopause.
Surgical Interventions: If a woman has her ovaries removed for any reason, early menopause is seen.
Autoimmune Diseases: Autoimmune diseases develop when a person's immune system mistakenly attacks normal tissues or organs of the body. If these organs are the ovaries, early menopause occurs.
Cancer: Treatments received during cancer treatment (radiotherapy, chemotherapy) can damage the ovaries and cause early menopause.
Chromosome Disorders: Problems such as Turner Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome can cause early menopause.
Lifestyle: Factors such as smoking and alcohol use, excessive stress, unhealthy diet can cause early menopause.
Pay attention to these symptoms in early menopause!
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva pointed out the importance of consulting a gynecologist and performing the necessary tests and examinations in case of the following symptoms:
- Frequent menstruation
- Changes in mood
- Vaginal dryness
- Sexual aversion
- Sleep problems
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Difficulty in urinary retention
- Try to keep the room temperature at 18ºC and avoid hot environments
- Clothing should be easy to remove during hot flashes
- Avoid stress
- Spicy foods, caffeine and alcohol should be avoided
- Learn to control hot flashes
- During hot flashes, cooling techniques such as using a fan and taking a shower should be used to make it easier to overcome this situation.
- At the time of a hot flash, choose a comfortable place, sit down and breathe slowly and deeply several times.
- List and solve the situations that cause problems for him/her
- Establishment of hobby/occupation areas
- Regular physical activity
- Paying attention to personal care and hygiene
- Use of stress coping techniques
- Ensuring sleep patterns
Early menopause affects mental health
Gülçin Şenyuva noted that it is thought that hormonal changes in menopause may lead to some mental changes through the central nervous system and affect mood and behavior, and said, "Some of the complaints encountered are; feeling bad, sad, tearful, reluctance, change in mood, irritability, tension, feeling of quick anger, restlessness, feeling of panic, decrease in general performance, weakening in memory, difficulty in concentration and forgetfulness."
It is necessary to recognize menopause
Noting that it is seen that physical and mental problems experienced during menopause negatively affect the quality of life of women, Specialist Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva said, "Recognizing menopause, having information about menopause, and having information sources about improving the quality of life will reduce the negativities experienced by women. For this reason, menopause is not a disease, but a period in a woman's life. It is important for society to be informed about this issue. Regular sports will contribute positively to the quality of life."
Specialist support should be sought for sexual problems
Pointing out that sexuality during menopause is affected by many reasons such as individual, interpersonal relationships, hormonal, Specialist Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva said, "Healthy sexuality is one of the main factors in the well-being of women's mental health. During this period, sexual problems may occur due to women not finding themselves attractive, sexual reluctance, vaginal dryness, decreased sexual pleasure, medical-physical diseases, false beliefs about sexuality and mental distress. In such cases, it will be useful to get support from a specialist."
Listen to these suggestions against hot flashes
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva, who also made suggestions on how to cope with hot flashes that occur during menopause, listed her recommendations as follows:
It is possible to cope with emotional changes
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva suggested the following to cope with emotional changes:
Problems can be overcome with treatment
Gülçin Şenyuva, who also mentioned the treatment approaches for the problems experienced during menopause, said, "Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is applied for problems such as mental distress and vaginal dryness experienced during menopause. Treatment approaches such as exercise, relaxation techniques and diet help to reduce the problems of this period."
