Hot and flustered mess? Tap away Hot Flushes
Every year the 18th October is World Menopause Awareness Day. Isn’t it sad that something that affects 50% of the world population needs more awareness, understanding, and education? And boy, does it need education.
I, a woman in my 50s, knew nothing about it but rumours, when, a few years ago, I decided to visit my GP to get some advice. I wasn’t sure whether I had hit the Menopause yet and whether some of 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 wondered, and swiftly made an appointment with a female GP in her 60’s. 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 lady 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) and closed 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. Here’s what I found out:
In my job as EFT Practitioner for the Breast Cancer Haven, I support women through the emotional and physical onslaught of the cancer diagnosis, treatments, and their aftermaths. 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 will be honest, 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 my hot flushes don’t last as long when they do come, and I am no longer frustrated with the feeling. I just tap and breathe. Thank you for teaching me EFT!” JM
My intention was to help women manage and release the anxiety, stress, and overwhelm they felt at being helplessly subjected to hot flushes. It worked, but my clients were rather gobsmacked to find that tapping can stop a hot flush when done at the first tingling of heat, and considerably reduces their intensity and frequency. Soon they felt no longer like helpless victims of a bothersome but common physical process; instead they had a remedy to release the heat as well as their 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 nice 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 be getting on with it. Nothing to be embarrassed about, is it?
EFT (short for Emotional Freedom Techniques and also known as Tapping) is a combination of modern psychology and ancient TCM wisdom. It is sometimes called “acupuncture without the needles”. One brilliant thing about EFT is that it works on different levels. When working with an experienced Therapist it is possible to go deep and gently and safely release old trauma, limiting beliefs, chronic pain, phobias, addictions, and more. Yet the Tapping sequence itself 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. Powerful stuff.
I run regular courses “Menopause? Learn to release hot flushes with EFT”. The next one starts on 6th November 2020. Sign up at Eventbrite