Healthspan more than Lifespan
I remember in my early teens my mother came home from the doctor in tears . There are two unusual things in that sentence, one, we lived in a rural village without any medical provision, where a surgery was held in the village hall for half a day a week. If you wanted to see the doctor ( which most of us didn’t) you just sat and waited your turn. The queue was often longer than the three hours he was there for. The second unusual thing was the only other time I saw my mother cry was when her mother died. Dr Smith had said to her
‘Oh you women and your women’s troubles and sent her packing with nothing.
At the time I didn’t know what she or he meant, but through my teenage years it was obvious even to a self-involved teenager that she wasn’t at all well. Now of course its obvious that she was going through a really difficult menopause and was getting no help at all. Her’s was the generation who were expected not to talk about it, but to just grin and bear it . That conspiracy of silence probably did as much harm to her as her misogynist, negligent doctor.
Thankfully, menopause is talked about much more openly now..
and many celebrities have taken up the cause and its all over social media. As with anything available virtually it can be a minefield to navigate the reliable, from the woo-woo. There are plenty of well-researched books on the subject and lots of feel-good, relatable stories about women who have transformed their lives post menopause. HRT is now available as a standard treatment for all those who want or can tolerate it.
The UK government relaunched the ‘The Revised Women’s Health Strategy’ this year.
It states that there is still a significant shortfall in funding for research into women’s health and that there remains within the NHS institutional misogyny. Unfortunately, there appears to be no ring-fenced money for research or provision for menopause so it remains to be seen if any additional funding will make its way into women’s health.
( Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales – guiding each other in La Gomera)
On average women live longer than men , however they live more of those years in poor health. What we all want I assume , is to live longer and healthier lives – that is to lengthen our healthspan, not necessarily our lifespan. Interestingly, very few female mammals live beyond their reproductive years , one of the exceptions to this are whales; older female whales seem to take on the role of guiding the whale community and leading the pod. Oh, if only that were true in the world today. Imagine if the world were in the care and leadership of older, white-haired females. Sigh. But perhaps if we improved our healthspans , that would be possible.
The theme for WW over the past few months has been ‘Still In You’,
that is the notion that we can rediscover and enjoy something that due to the pressures of life, work, family, health and caring responsibilities we hadn’t realised that we had lost.
It’s very easy during the years of peri-menopause and menopause to feel like you have lost your sense of self altogether – your body seems to spiraling down in the strangest of ways, sleep eludes us, energy hits an all-time low, brain fog loses us the ability to put sentences together and remember to feed the cat .
We asked WalkingWomen who have walked with us through the years how they had navigated these years , what helped , and what they would recommend to other women.
Ten Tried and Tested Top Tips for improving your HealthSpan
1. Talking About It:
Bring it into the open with friends, share what you are going through – knowing that you are not alone really helps. Find a doctor who is trained in menopause and who hears and believes you.
2. Carve out time for yourself
even if that means making hard decisions, such as finding respite care for a loved one, so that you can walk for a week with WalkingWomen!
3. Women used to, for politeness sake, call menopause ‘The Change’.
Perhaps we should re-adopt this as a positive statement, instead of a euphemism. It’s an opportunity for you to change the things in your life that are not working for you and put into your life more of the things you enjoy and want to do more of. It’s a chance to stop being sad and start being angry. To stop being a doormat and start being a flying carpet. To start only doing your fair share of caring and carrying the emotional load. Stop apologizing – its exhausting- instead celebrate your strengths.
4. Treat other adults as responsible adults
who can share the burden of care and the emotional load – even if they’ll have to learn to step up to do that! Be clear headed on what is your ‘stuff’ and what is not.
5. Spend time in nature.
Again, we don’t need research to tell us that its good for us- but plenty of studies agree that it is. Enjoy the trees, the birds, the rivers and forests – they make us feel better.
6. Look after your body –
Strength training is vital for healthy muscles and bones – if you are worried about getting ‘bulky’ you are worrying about the wrong thing . Worry about muscles atrophying and bones weakening. You won’t get bulky from strength training, but you might well avoid musculoskeletal problems as you get older and stay fit and well into older age if you lift some weights. The stronger you are the fewer bones you will break and the more likely you are to live independently for longer.
Try WalkingWomen’s Get Goat Fit Plan
7. Seek help when you need it.
The more agency you have in your life, the better you will feel.
8. Try something new , even if you think it’s not for you.
It’s always good to learn something new about yourself!
9. Pursue your dreams – its not too late ! Remember it is ‘The Change of Life’ which gives you permission to well – make changes!
10. Walk, Walk and Walk,
we know that its good for our physical and mental well-being and there is plenty of evidence to support this. Look at where WalkingWomen are off to and book now! You can guarantee that you will be in the company of other women who can relate to how you are feeling. You’ll probably have a whole load of fun too!
Thank you to Jay Courtney, writer of Juicy Crones and WalkingWomen’s Story gatherer .
