Self-compassion may help ease burden of menopause symptoms
Women who are kind to themselves in tough situations may have an easier time dealing with hot flashes during menopause, a recent study from Australia found.
Women who ranked higher on a measure of self-compassion reported that hot flashes interfered less with their daily lives than women who were harder on themselves.
Many women experience hot flashes during menopause. The sudden fluctuations in the body’s perceived temperature can interfere with sleep and concentration.
Practicing self-compassion could be a free, simple way to combat the disruption these symptoms often cause, the study’s authors say.
“It isn’t just the physiology of a hot flash that can be stressful. It is also the thoughts, feelings and interpretations that surround the experience,” said Lydia Brown. She led the study at the University of Melbourne in Australia, where she is a doctoral candidate in psychology.
During a hot flash or any other unpleasant event, thoughts can easily begin to spiral downward. Yet, “If a woman can treat herself with tenderness and friendliness in the moment of suffering from a hot flash, the negative whirlwind cannot get a foothold,” Brown states.
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