Living Well Through The Menopause

Book excerpt: 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 covers: - 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 menopause Living 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 Editors: Professor Kate Harvey and Emeritus Professor Peter Cooper