by Bettina Falkenberg
Every year World Menopause Awareness Day is on Oct 18th. Isn’t it sad that something that affects 50% of the world population needs so much more awareness, understanding, and education? And boy, does it need education.
I, a woman in my 50s, really knew nothing about the menopause and what it would mean for my body. A few years ago, I decided to visit my GP to get some advice. I wasn’t sure whether I had hit the menopause and whether the niggles that bothered me had anything to do with it. The male GP, otherwise lovely, turned to Google.
Shouldn’t something that concerns half of all humans on the planet be part of standard GP training? I swiftly made an appointment with a female GP in her 60s. She had been there, I figured, and she would know. A slap in the face with a wet fish couldn’t have taken me aback more than what came next.
Clearly irritated and impatient, the female doctor didn’t listen to my questions but declared emphatically: ‘Women like you want answers.’ ‘Erm, yes I do, don’t know about the others.’
She went on to inform me that ‘most women sail through the menopause!’ ‘Really? Not the women I had talked to.’ She finished with: ’You can have HRT if you want it!’ I didn’t want HRT. I wanted advice. I wanted options. I wanted to get some clarity in my confusion. I’m glad to say that after changing my GP surgery, I feel much better looked after but I still don’t know enough about ‘the change’. But we do learn by doing and sharing and being curious.
In my job as an EFT Practitioner for the Breast Cancer Haven, I support women through the emotional and physical onslaught of the diagnosis, side effects of treatments, and with moving on after cancer. 70-80% of Breast Cancers are hormone driven, and these patients often struggle with the effects of a sudden onset of the menopause, – debilitating hot flushes being one of them. One would think that hot flushes are not a big deal in the grand scheme of all things cancer related, but what I heard was different.
‘I can’t think because I am so exhausted after waking 6 times a night in a wet puddle.’
‘I am so tense when I have a business meeting because I never know when the next one is coming.’
‘It’s so embarrassing because I get all flustered and red in the face and the harder I fight it the worse it gets.’
‘I feel like a hot, flustered mess!’ One client gave up a high-powered job she loved because she couldn’t take that pressure anymore.
‘I was sceptical that tapping could help with the hot flushes, but I did persevere. Over a few weeks with Bettina’s guidance, I began tapping whenever I felt a hot flush coming and could feel the improvement. Now I have fewer hot flushes and when they do come they don’t last as long. I am no longer frustrated with the feeling. I just tap and breathe. Thank you for teaching me EFT!’ JM
My clients were surprised to find that Tapping can stop hot flushes when done at the first tingling of heat rising, and considerably reduces their intensity and frequency. Soon they no longer felt like helpless victims of a bothersome but common physical process; instead, they had a remedy to release the heat as well as the related emotions literally at their fingertips.
In a world where women spend millions on natural and not so natural remedies that sometimes work and often don’t, it’s good to know that you are not helpless. You can be in charge. Without side effects. After all, if a man sitting in a business meeting felt an asthma attack coming on, he’d take out his inhaler and would use it. There wouldn’t be an accompanying embarrassment.
EFT (short for Emotional Freedom Techniques and also known as ‘Tapping’) is a combination of modern psychology and the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is sometimes called ‘acupuncture without the needles’. It is easy to learn and can be used by anyone in the moment when painful or overwhelming emotions come up for a quick and gentle release.
Bettina runs regular courses: “Menopause – Take Back Control: Learn To Release Hot Flushes With EFT”.
The next one starts on 25 October 2022. Book here
And to give you a flavour of her work, and how she you can support yourself with hot flushes, here’s a short video:
Taptoflow – Coping with cancer holistically
EFT Therapy and Training, Hypnotherapy, resilience building
T: 00447913342533
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