International Stress Awareness Week: balance resource collection

Hand-picked articles to help you de-stress and look after your mental health

This week is International Stress Awareness Week, which aims to raise awareness about stress prevention.

The perimenopause and menopause can be a stressful time: you may be dealing with the impact of both physical and psychological symptoms, in addition to the everyday stresses and strains at work and in your personal life.

To mark this occasion, the balance team have compiled a resource collection to provide support, guidance and practical tools to help you de-stress.

Mental health and emotional wellbeing in the perimenopause and menopause booklet

If you are experiencing perimenopause or menopause and have started to think, feel or do things that are different to before, this booklet is for you. Psychological and emotional changes are extremely common when your hormones start to change and decline, and this booklet will show you what to look out for, help you understand why these changes happen, and give you the options and information to decide how to get help.

Read our mental health and emotional wellbeing in the perimenopause and menopause booklet here.

Mindfulness and menopause: podcast with yoga teacher Claudia Brown

In this episode, balance founder Dr Louise Newson is joined by yoga teacher Claudia Brown, who runs workshops at Newson Health Menopause and Wellbeing Centre. Together they discuss mindfulness, what it is and what it isn’t, and why compassion and embodied cognition are so important during your menopause journey.

Listen to our mindfulness and menopause podcast with yoga teacher Claudia Brown here.

Menopause in the Workplace: Top Tips for Women article

The workplace can be a stressful place at the best of times and can be even more so during your perimenopause and menopause. A 2021 survey by Newson Health of nearly 4,000 women found 59% had taken time off work due to their menopause symptoms, with one in five (18%) were off more than eight weeks.

This article looks at how you can advocate for yourself in the workplace.

Read our Menopause in the workplace: Top tips for women article here.

Video: Well-woman yoga with Lucy Holtom

In this video, Newson Health’s resident yoga practitioner, Lucy Holtom, guides you through a taster of her Well-Woman Yoga class, looking at the holistic benefits of yoga during the perimenopause and menopause.

Watch well-woman yoga with Lucy Holtom here.

Exercise and the menopause podcast

Exercise increases your heart rate and gets the blood flowing around your body. In response to any perceived stress or pain, the brain releases chemicals called endorphins, which have a positive effect on your mood and helping you feel more relaxed and positive.

In this episode of the Dr Louise Newson Podcast, Dr Newson is joined by online personal trainer, life coach and corporate wellbeing trainer Janette Cardy. The pair discuss the physical and mental benefits of exercise, and ways to build regular exercise into your daily life.

Listen to our exercise and the menopause podcast here.