Living Well Through The Menopause: An evidence-based cognitive behavioural guide

by Myra Hunter, Melanie Smith

An essential book to help women journey through menopause with the confidence and skills to cope effectively with menopause symptoms using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)CBT is proven as an effective alternative for women who are looking for non-medical approaches for challenging menopause symptoms, and for those who do not want or are unable to use hormone therapy (HT). Written in an accessible and interactive style, with case examples and quotes, this guide will empower you to take control of your menopause. It Taking a bio-psycho-social approach to understand the range of factors that might influence your experience of the menopause- Preparing for the menopause - no need to expect the worst!- Using interactive questions and tasks to help you understand the links between menopause symptoms, thoughts, feeling and coping behaviours- Helping you to implement your key goals for this important stage of your life, whether your menopause is early or 'on time' or a consequence of surgery or breast cancer treatment- Enhancing your self-esteem through behaviour change and a compassionate mindset- Helping partners and loved ones to support you through the menopauseLiving Well Through the Menopause is based on a wealth of psychological research, including randomised controlled trials of the MENOS CBT intervention with over 1000 women, that has demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach hot flushes, night sweats, low mood, insomnia and their impact on daily life.Living Well self-help guides use clinically proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions, both psychological and physical.Series Professor Kate Harvey and Emeritus Professor Peter Cooper

251 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2021

Reviews

[Iola Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd seen very positive comments about this book and I know CBT has a good evidence base around it in helping tackle quite a few things. What I hadn't realised was that in the beginning of the book it would take such a negative view of HRT. Or that it would feel very much like "if you aren't getting hot flushes then really what you call menopause symptoms aren't and you are being a bit of a snowflake" for a fair chunk of the book. As my menopause symptoms started with Anger management and brain fog being really obvious initially, then a bit of night sweats and some Anxiety I felt somewhat dismissed. Also as it happens I found HRT to have been phenomenally helpful but wanted to know I have something to help with the bits it wasn't quite touching and if, as so many people threaten, the Dr decides to stop prescribing it and my body isn't quite ready for that I thought it might be useful.
So if it was retitled "Avoiding HRT, managing hot flushes and other menopause symtoms with CBT techniques" I'd probably feel warmer towards it. I did like how reading this helped clarify that CBT is not rocket science, but it is about using the same techniques in different situations and most of all it is all about using the techniques, practice and practice - much like meditation you don't do it for 3 weeks and stop and it's all fixed. So if you want a clear no nonsense intro to calming yourself with a simple breathing exercise in pretty much every situation and the principles of CBT in an easy to apply package this is your book - just skip part 1 or maybe read it after you've read the rest!

[Salma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at how CBT can be a tool for managing menopause

[Sarah Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

An interesting read with some good ideas to try