The Hot Years Quote
My Menopause Magazine
Lower Your Odds Of Heart Disease
Sandra Dee Robinson
Learn to Tap Into Your Best Day
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N 36 o
Ways to Put Sizzle in Your Sex Life
Walk This Way!
Benefits of Walking Meditation
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Dr. Mache’s Top Book Picks
Is it Brain Fog… Or Something Else?
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The Hot Years
No 36
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My Menopause Magazine
In this Issue: Learn to tap into your best day Actress and Radio Show Host Sandra Dee Robinson Lower Your Odds Of Heart Disease
Dr. Mache’s Top Book Picks
5 Ways to Put Sizzle in Your Sex Life
Walk This Way!
Is it Brain Fog… Or Something Else?
Stop and Go Versus Stop or Go
Benefits of Walking Meditation
Editorial
The Hot Years
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My Menopause Magazine
And Then Along Came
MENOPAUSE
W
as your life a challenge but still in control, juggling kids, work and family…until you hit menopause? Does menopause kind of spin life out of control or have you thinking, “This can’t be me?” If you’re like 6,000 other women a day, it is you? And the information about it is often confusing, contradictory and sometimes scary. That’s why I created the Hot Years magazine. When my wife went into early menopause just after the infamous Women’s Health Initiative study reported (incorrectly) that estrogen caused breast cancer, heart disease and more, I had to know the truth. And I want to share it with as many women as I can so they won’t have to “tough it out.” You can figure it out with the right information. Each issue of The Hot Years brings you the latest information, traditional and alternative treatments, exercises, recipes, and real discussions about many of the things that too often don’t get talked about. It’s a light and easy way to keep up with heavy and complicated advancements.
This issue of The Hot Years will help you discover how to tap into your best day, how to lower your risk of heart disease, 5 ways to put more sizzle in your sex life, understand whether you have brain fog or something more serious, a meditation to do while walking, info you must know about soy, recipes, exercises and more. Let us hear from you! Would you like more information on early menopause? Do you want more recipes? Do you want more help losing weight? Improving your sex life? Let us know at info@MyMenopauseMagazine.com. Do you have a story you want to share? Send it to the email above. Let us hear from you and if you have friends that would benefit from The Hot Years, please share! It’s free at www.HotYearsMag.com. Yours in good health, Dr. Mache Mache Seibel, MD
Feature Article
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Sandra Dee Robinson
“LEARN TO TAP INTO YOUR BEST DAY”
S
andra Dee Robinson is an actress, a TV and radio show host, an author, and a passionate equestrienne. She’s also the founder of Charisma on Camera, a coaching business focused on equipping people with communication and on-camera skills through workshops, seminars, and private coaching. Here she shares her thoughts with Dr. Seibel about life after forty, the true meaning of beautiful, and a brilliant way to discover what your gifts are. Dr. Mache Seibel: What are some things that are important for women to think about when they hit forty? They’re moving forward with so much wisdom and experience and so much
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to offer. Yet for many women this can be a time of concern or worry. I’m wondering if you can offer some insights and tips about navigating this stage of life. Sandra Dee: Because of my background in television, looking at the aging process is a little twisted for me. One of the reasons I’m not pursuing acting so much anymore is because I started my own company six years ago. I help brilliant people gain the skills and abilities they need in situations where they feel uncomfortable, such as public speaking or being in front of a camera on television or in video. In each of those circumstances, if you have any insecurity, if you second-guess yourself in any way, or you feel self-conscious, it definitely can rattle you and throw you. I work with women of all ages, from early twenties on up. I think the oldest client in my business was probably eighty.
We see older faces as spokespersons for beauty products and we see older actresses carrying films.
Dr. Mache: You’ve spent a lifetime in front of a camera, so you’ve had the responsibility to always be on, to feel that you always have to look your best and project your best. Of course even the most attractive person has an off day or a time when she doesn’t feel that’s the persona they want to put out: She just wants to stay in her PJs, and not do her hair or makeup. She wants to just be. For some women I find there’s a total loss of self-esteem as they age, as though they don’t value themselves very much. Do you find that as well? Sandra Dee: That’s the perception of the industry I worked in and what we witness all the time when we’re watching television or looking at magazines. When the media puts out faces for Estee Lauder, those ads are geared towards women who are forty-plus for the most part. It’s all about anti-aging. Instantly we have that sense of, “Well, I’m not as good as I should be. I don’t look like that.” Fortunately some things are starting to change. We see older faces as spokespersons for beauty products and we see older actresses carrying films. Dame Judi Dench is one of the first older women people regaled. Now we can see the beauty of women who are over forty and acknowledge it. I’m really happy to see that change.
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For me, as soon as I hit, I think thirty-six, they were calling me in to read for characters who were supposed to be fifty. Now just put that time in perspective: I’m thirty-six. I don’t feel like what I think fifty should feel like, and I don’t know how to act fifty. And they don’t want me to act fifty. They want to put out the perception that women in their fifties look like they’re thirty-five or thirty-six. It’s not healthy for anybody. It’s not healthy for us to think that’s how it’s going to be when we do reach fifty, and it’s not healthy for the women who actually are fifty. This actually is the magic year I’m turning fifty. Last night I was with some friends. We’re all about the same age. We were talking about how our perception of other women, of situations, of life is in a way so much more beautiful now than when we were younger. One friend said, “I don’t know if the lord is preparing me to leave...” We’re like, “Shut up. What are you talking about?” She said, “… but I’m okay with things in my life. I have a different perception. When I was younger I fretted and worried and tried to control things.” She said, “There’s something really beautiful about hitting the point where you realize, “I’m not in control.” Dr. Mache : The truth is you’re never in control. You just think you are. Sandra Dee: Yes. I think knowing that is part of the wisdom and the beau-
ty that comes with age. I remember looking at some of my mentors when I was in my twenties and thirties and that’s what I was so in awe of: There I was striving to be in control of things, and the women who had already been through it were such a calming force for me. I was just looking at them and going, “Oh. There’s a different way to be.” It was beautiful. Beautiful.
“There’s something really beautiful about hitting the point where you realize, “I’m not in control.” Dr. Mache : It’s so important people embrace and appreciate who they are, because every person has special qualities that no one else possesses. The thing is, we want to help people emanate those things, to project them out into the universe, because basically it’s the beauty within that people really are being identified as being beautiful for. If by traditional standards someone is less attractive, but an amazing human being, that counts a lot. Are there things you can
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Beauty comes in many different forms, and I think real beauty is from the inside out. suggest to help women in this transition keep themselves looking better, feeling better? Sandra Dee: Absolutely. First, I want to address the term beautiful. I started with modeling, and I did a lot of soap operas in which the focus was on the outward beauty of the character. When I was 17 I went to the Miss USA Pageant. It was all about comparing myself to other women. No matter what age you are, doing that is going to derail you. Beauty comes in many different forms, and I think real beauty is from the inside out. That sounds so hokey, and it sounded hokey to me when I was in the pageant. I didn’t get it. Now I do get it, because that’s actually how I work with women. I help them be able to tap into who they are on their best day. When you’re doing a presentation, whether it’s on camera, speaking in public, even something
like this, doing an interview, you have to be able to tap into you on your best day, even if you don’t feel like it. You may feel you’ve gained some weight. Your clothes don’t fit the same. Even so, you have to adjust. Speaking of clothing, here’s something I’ve learned from one of my good friends and partners when she talks about women reaching a certain age and having to change their style,
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Get the clothes that don’t fit out of your closet and give it away. Buy stuff that makes you feel great. even if it just means buying a different size or a different line: Don’t get upset about it! Get the clothes that don’t fit out of your closet and give it away. Buy stuff that makes you feel great. I remember getting clothing from a woman who was in her sixties. It was gorgeous, fantastic—vintage for me at that point. It was her way of purging. She said, “I’m making room for the next part of my life. I want to feel beautiful as I am.” Embrace who you are today. Embrace what you can give to others. You have such riches to give and to share with people—male, female, young, old. Never stop giving that. Part of the beauty of life is to be able to affect other people. Sometimes even when you’re feeling down, helping somebody else cheer up is just what you need to do. Dr. Mache : Really, every stage of life is a cocoon we live in for that time until we morph into a new butterfly and become the beauty of that new point in our lives. Actually, we’re all on cam-
era all the time. Every time you go in a store they’re filming you. Sandra Dee: We’re going to make people paranoid! Dr. Mache : You know what I mean. When you go shopping, when you go out to meet your friends, every time you go forward is an opportunity to feel good about yourself, because if you feel good, other people see you in a positive way. Sandra Dee: It’s true. It makes you feel better. After we lost a dear family dog, I went through a couple of days when I was not feeling so stellar. I took personal days, and it was rough. There are going to be those setbacks. Whether it’s loss of a family member or it’s a health issue, there will be things that pop up. I think that to heal yourself, whether you’re in mental or physical pain, a positive state of mind is so important. Surround yourself with friends, with positive people.
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And if you need to have a pity party, give yourself a limit for it. If there’s something you’re feeling really crabby about, it’s okay. Give yourself some time to do it. I gave myself eleven minutes to feel depressed in a certain situation. Eleven minutes. For some people it’s half a day, it’s a couple of hours, whatever it is. Then call a friend, but not someone who’s going to keep you in that negative space. Call a friend who’s going to say, “You’re beautiful. You’re wonderful. I’m blessed to have a spouse who’ll say that. Find those people who will build you up. You’re going to need them. It’s totally fine to reach out and take that help. It’s important for women to support each other. Dr. Mache: You have to have a posse, a group of women you can call on so that you’re not isolated. Sandra Dee: Right! There’s something else I wanted to touch on. When I’m working with people, especially women over 40, 50, 60, I see that sometimes as they’re going through physical changes there’s also a change in their environment. They’re getting divorced, maybe they lost their husband, so they’re suddenly single. Maybe they’re leaving the business they were in, or they’re starting a new business, or they are empty nesters. I think it’s very important for them to
realize they need to reconnect with who they are. I’ve worked with women going through that sort of change. They’re trying to do videos for their businesses, they’re trying to stand up and show up, but they’re at a loss, because they’ve forgotten what their natural gifts are. A great thing to do—I have this in my book actually—is what I call that “aha exercise.” Go back and revisit your life. Realize what you were doing when you were a kid. Was it playing with a
Find those people who will build you up. It’s totally fine to reach out and take that help. It’s important for women to support each other. bunch of other people? Was it writing something? Was it teaching other kids how to draw? Was it a sports thing? Was it music? Was it singing? That’s what I call an aha moment. Then do that same activity from your young life in your adult life. You’ll see there’s a theme in there. A lot of times we forget. It just puts you on top of the world.
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I remember speaking to a group of women and I asked them that question. One woman almost started to cry. She said, “When I was a teenager I sang. I thought I was going to be a singer.” I said, “Are you still singing?” She realized that the depression hit her when nothing musical was feeding her currently. Dr. Mache: She had lost her voice in a way. Sandra Dee: She had. She had a job that was very corporate. She had family obligations, and she had lost touch with music. I’m not saying you should quit your current day job and try to be a singer, but if there is something in you that you have had since you were a kid that lit you up, whether it was hanging with friends, whether it was doing something creative, do that. Find a way to feed your soul. It will change the way you feel. It’ll give you a little something, a little extra boost in your life to be reconnected with what
your gifts are in the first place. So often women tend to think about other people so much that they forget those gifts that God gave them inside. I think it’s really, really important to connect with that. Dr. Mache: I call it nurturing the nurturer. Many times women are so invested in other people and things and organizations they forget to put the oxygen mask on themselves first so they can better assist the people around them. Is there anything else you’d like to say about the post-40 years for women? Sandra Dee: We’re constantly evolving, and that’s a really beautiful thing. For more insight from Sandra Dee Robinson,visit her website, where you can also find out how to connect with her on social media. To learn about her business, Charisma on Camera, go to charismaoncamera.com, where she offers a lot of free training and support.
If there is something in you that you have had since you were a kid that lit you up, do that. Find a way to feed your soul.
The Hot Years Quote
The Hot Years
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The Hot Years – Mental Health
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Is it Brain Fog? Or Something Else? You may be losing your car keys, but you aren’t losing your mind
F
orget much? If you’re frequently misplacing your car keys or forgetting things like your best friend’s birthday, the name of that restaurant where you had that amazing cheese plate, or the word for the whatchamacallit that measures the mileage on
The Hot Years – Mental Health
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your car, menopause may have something to do with such memory mishaps. But it definitely isn’t the whole story, according to Cynthia Green, Ph.D., a leading brain health expert. “This has been a hot issue of research in the dementia and cognition field,” says Dr. Green, president of Memory Arts LLC and creator of Total Brain Health. “The interest in how menopause, and specifically changes in
Women who were surgically menopausal had memory complaints that subsided when they were treated with estrogen.
estrogen levels, affect memory dates back to when hormone replacement therapy was more commonplace. In 1988, for example, research by Barbara Sherwin, a psychologist at McGill University, found women who were surgically menopausal had memory complaints that subsided when they were treated with estrogen. That was groundbreaking work at the time.” There’s no doubt estrogen plays an important role in brain function. Research has found estrogen protects neurons from oxidative stress, reduced blood flow, low blood sugar, and damage from amyloid protein, believed to be a factor in Alzheimer’s disease. So it logically follows that as a woman’s estrogen levels decline, she may be at higher risk of cognitive problems and even dementia. This doesn’t mean, however, that the fact that you weren’t able to remember where you parked the car the last time you were at the mall is a sign your estrogen levels have dipped so low you’re losing your ability to think straight. It’s true such memory lapses could be related to menopause, but it’s just as true age plays a part, says Dr. Green. And ultimately, she adds, “the important thing to remember is there’s a lot we can do to impact brain health.” Follow-
The Hot Years – Mental Health
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ing a nutritious and varied diet, regular exercise, a robust social life, among other basic lifestyle factors, will go a long way to keeping an aging brain as vibrant and youthful as possible.
complicated: You really will have to work hard to stay in the lines. Find a coloring book that appeals to you, grab some colored pencils, crayons, or markers, and go to town.
Teaching an old brain new tricks
Have a ball. Crazy as it sounds, juggling—or rather, learning to juggle— has been shown in research studies to increase the size of the brain and improve everyday memory performance. See if you can find a local class, or teach yourself: Start slow, by juggling a couple of scarves (they’re easier to snatch in midair), and build from there.
All that said you still may want to play some mind games in order to exercise your brain cells in order to keep them strong and resilient. And if that sounds like work, never fear: Many of the methods Dr. Green has found to boost brain health and improve cognition and memory are actually fun. Here are some you try right away: Race the clock. Timed activities—for example, games that force you to try to reach a goal in a limited amount of time—are a great way to challenge those brain cells. And you only have to look as far as your smart phone, tablet, or laptop to find them. Just google a search term such as “timed games,” and dozens of options will pop up. Find a few you enjoy and then spend at least 10 (guilt-free!) minutes playing them. Show your true colors. Coloring books for grown-ups have taken off in the past couple of years as a method for encouraging mindfulness. Most feature images that are intricate and
A nutritious and varied diet, regular exercise, a robust social life, among other basic lifestyle factors, helps keep an aging brain as vibrant and youthful as possible.
The Hot Years Q&A
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Got Questions? Ask Dr. Mache!
Tune in for the monthly AskDrMache.com HouseCallÂŽ The Third Thursday of Every Month Bring your friends, ask your questions, get your answers. Go to AskDrMache.com for call in information and to submit your questions.
The Hot Years – Heart Health
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LOWER YOUR ODDS OF HEART DISEASE
H
Turns out, it’s a numbers game. A heart doctor explains how to play
ere’s some hard-hearted truth: After menopause, once estrogen production goes down, the risk for cardiovascular disease goes up. That’s because estrogen may help prevent the build-up of calcium (one of the components of the plaque that collects on the walls of arteries, blocking blood flow). But less estrogen isn’t the only thing that can tick up the risk of heart attack. Believe it or not, that’s good news! The other risk factors are largely preventable, meaning you have a lot of control over them. Here, Anita Kelsey, M.D., a cardiologist at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, shares with
Dr. Mache Seibel need-to-know facts about taking control of heart health during menopause.
Less estrogen isn’t the only thing that can tick up the risk of heart attack. The other risk factors are largely preventable, meaning you have a lot of control over them.
The Hot Years – Heart Health
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MS: How big a deal is heart disease for women? AK: Heart disease accounts for one-third of all deaths for women. In fact, women are more likely to die or suffer life-long consequences from heart attack, stroke, and congestive heart failure than they are to die from breast cancer. It’s a much bigger problem than they and even the health care community realize. We do a good job of alerting women to the risk of breast cancer and the importance of mammograms and breast exams but don’t do as good a job screening for heart disease. MS: How is that done, and when? AK: Every woman over twenty should be screened for cardiovascular risk factors, then evaluated every three to five years after that.
We do a good job of alerting women to the risk of breast cancer and the importance of mammograms and breast exams but don’t do as good a job screening for heart disease.
“I know my numbers. Now what?” If your risk for cardiovascular disease is high, use your numbers to guide making lifestyle changes that will drive it down. If it’s low, keep on doing what you’re doing (but don’t stop getting regular screenings). Bonus: By making these changes, you also are also likely to lower your risk of breast cancer. Snuff out that cigarette. Smokers have two to six times the risk of heart attack as nonsmokers. As soon as you kick the habit, your heart attack risk drops quickly Get off the couch and on your feet. It’s never too late to start exercising, and you don’t have to break a heavy sweat or camp out at the gym to boost heart health. Walking briskly for a total of 20 to 30 minutes every day (you can break that up into 10 or 15 minute segments throughout the day) and lifting light weights two to three times per week will help you lose weight, lower
The Hot Years – Heart Health
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The most important ones are high blood pressure, smoking, being physically inactive, eating a diet that’s low in fruits and vegetables, and having high cholesterol. MS: How high would blood pressure need to be to ratchet up the risk of heart problems during menopause? AK: Normal blood pressure is <120/80. We don’t treat hypertension until the first number goes over 140. But if your blood pressure is in the range between 120 and 140 it’s important to be cautious and do things to lower blood pressure. MS: Like exercising more and lowering stress. What about about cholesterol? How do fluctuations in estrogen affect that? AK: As estrogen levels decrease, a woman’s lipid profile becomes inappropriately elevated. HDL (good cholesterol) levels go down while LDL (lousy or bad cholesterol) and triglyceride (also bad) levels go up.
Every woman over twenty should be screened for cardiovascular risk
blood pressure, and lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels. Address stress. Chronic stress causes increased production of adrenaline, which causes blood pressure to rise, heart rate to speed up, and breathing to become heavy. Stress also can increase the release of sugar into your bloodstream. Meditation, yoga, or simply taking time to relax can help lower stress (as can getting regular exercise). Treating depression is important too, if that’s an issue for you. Eat healthy. Fill your plate with leafy greens, beans, vegetables, berries, nuts, and seeds, and go easy on packaged and processed foods, and those high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat—keeping in mind the fat in some foods, such as salmon and other cold-water fish and avocadoes, can actually improve heart health. Step on the scale. Maintaining a healthy weight lowers heart disease risk by 35 to 45 percent. Pop a pill — maybe. Ask your doctor if taking 81 milligrams of aspirin each day might be helpful for you. Do not take aspirin if you have liver disease or bleed or bruise easily.
The Hot Years – Heart Health
The Hot Years
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As estrogen levels decrease, HDL (good cholesterol) levels go down while LDL (lousy or bad cholesterol) and triglyceride (also bad) levels go up
cular disease. You can find it on the ACC website or in the app store on your phone. It’s really simple to use: You just plug in your age, weight, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and so forth, and you’ll find out how at risk you are for heart disease so you can start doing things to lower it.
MS: In other words, with less estrogen, the good stuff goes down, and the bad stuff goes up. AK: Exactly. At menopause, women also may find it harder to maintain a healthy weight. MS: And of course being overweight is a risk factor for heart disease. What’s the bottom line here for taking control of heart health during menopause? AK: I recommend women empower themselves by talking to their doctors about these things and learning their own risk factors—their cholesterol levels, blood pressure. The American College of Cardiologists and the American Heart Association have a free tool for using those numbers to assess your heart disease risk— the ASCVD Risk Calculator. ASCVD stands for atherosclerotic cardiovas-
The Numbers You Need to Know You’re at increased risk of heart problems if any one of these apply to you and increases with each additional bullet point: • Your total cholesterol is 170 mg/dL or higher • Your HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol is below 40 mg/dL • Your systolic BP is over 110 mm Hg • You take medication to treat high blood pressure • You have diabetes • You smoke
Menopause Quiz:
Your personal menopause assessment
Find out how much your menopause symptoms impact your health, your happiness and your life.
Visit MenopauseQuiz.com to take the free Menopause Quiz. It only takes a minute, then watch your email for your results and some suggestions on next steps to support you. Your menopause mentor, Mache Seibel, MD
5
The Hot Years Sexuality
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Ways to Put Some Sizzle in Your Sex Life
If your mojo is a no-show, you’re not alone. Starting as early as in their 30s, lack of desire is the most common sexual problem women report…
O
ne possible solution for a woman with low libido is a little pink pill called Addyi (flibanserin) that’s getting mixed reviews from both women and their doctors. The drug has some distinct disadvantages: You must take it daily and you can’t drink alcohol while you’re on it. But a downturn in desire isn’t the only possible aspect of changes in sexuality, and meds aren’t the only answer. Here are five of the most common reasons women may be thinking, “Not tonight, dear,” and some specific ways to deal with them.
Sex hurts. Consider: A lubricant, a moisturizer, or low-dose estrogen Vaginal dryness and thinning of the tissues begins in perimenopause and tends to worsen beyond menopause. It’s this lack of lubrication that causes friction, which in turn can cause pain. There are three safe and effective ways to make sex comfortable again which you can use alone or in conjunction with each other, depending on the degree of relief you get from each.
The Hot Years Sexuality
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1. Lubricants. These are used during sex to reduce friction when feeling juicy can take a while.
Your mood meds are putting out your flame.
2. Moisturizers. These are used in an ongoing way to improve vaginal dryness and reduce any discomforts. Even if a moisturizer is used, many women still use a lubricant at the time of intimacy.
Consider: A non-SSRI antidepressant—or exercise
3. Vaginal estrogen. You’ll need a prescription for this, which comes in the form of creams, tablets, or rings, but it’s highly effective. Although a little estrogen weeps into the bloodstream, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently published a Committee Opinion that even women with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer can take vaginal estrogen safely–it doesn’t increase the risk for recurrence or worsen the outcome. But here’s the thing: Most doctors don’t ask their patients about vaginal pain so you’ll need to speak up if you want relief.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly used to treat symptoms of menopause such as depression and anxiety. While they do this effectively, many women who take them also experiences sexual side effects: cooling desire and arousal, fewer or less intense orgasms. In that case, there are other antidepressants, such as bupropion (Wellbutrin) and duloxetine (Cymbalta), which work through a different mechanism and are less likely to affect libido. If your doctor thinks switching meds is a bad idea for you, another option is to pump up the amount of physical activity you get (which isn’t a bad idea in general). Thirty minutes of exercise just before sex has been shown to improve libido and sexual functioning for women on anti-
The Hot Years Sexuality
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depressants. Regular activity also has been found to improve libido in women who are not on antidepressants.
Your mind is wondering instead of wanting. Consider: Being more “mindful” Women often find that although their body is in the bedroom, their minds are on work, kids, parents, or some other non-sexy topic—and that can go for women who haven’t yet entered menopause. If you’re given to distraction, it’s important to tune out those thoughts and tune in to your immediate experience. Tell your partner what you experience when you’re being touched and listen when your partner talks to you, whether the touching is in a sexual or non-sexual way. It helps you stay “in the moment.”
You’re never in the mood .
Consider: Low-dose testosterone After age 30, women’s testosterone levels decrease., and some will benefit from testosterone treatment. Unfortunately, there are no FDA-approved prescriptions for testosterone for women with low desire. But your doctor can still prescribe it for you off-label. It’s important to keep the dose low—about a fifth of what men use. Be sure to have your blood levels tested periodically to avoid side effects.
Sex just isn’t as hot as you remember. Consider: Adjusting expectations Over the years, sex simply may not be as thrilling as it once was. This doesn’t mean things aren’t going well or that they aren’t enjoyable. With aging people can’t run as fast or as far, but running a little slower you can enjoy the view more. It’s not settling, it’s setting expectations.
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The Hot Years – Meditation
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WALK THIS WAY!
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Getting the benefits of meditation while on the move
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here’s no question meditating does a body good. Otherwise it’s unlikely the practice wouldn’t have persisted in so many cultures for such a long time. (Some scholars say the first mention of meditation dates back 5,000 years, to the time of the Vedas in ancient Indian.) In recent years, science has revealed myriad health benefits of meditation. According to the National Institutes of Health, studies have found these range from easing pain and lowering blood pressure to reducing symptoms of chronic conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis. Meditation also is a proven remedy for conditions that often accompany
The Hot Years – Meditation
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menopause, including depression, anxiety, and insomnia. But although meditation is clearly beneficial for just about everyone, not everyone finds it easy to master. They find it tough to be still for extended periods of time, for example, or aren’t able to stay focused on their breath. If these are challenges for you, here’s good news: You don’t have to take your meditation sitting down. There are many different meditation techniques, and one of them is practiced while on your feet and walking. This approach involves focusing on the physical experience of walking, which for some people is much easier to do than keeping the mind trained on their breath. You can do a walking meditation indoors or out. Here are the steps to take (no pun intended), adapted from the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at the University of California, Berkeley:
1
Find an area with room for you take 10 to 15 steps back and forth—a long hallway in your home, for example, or a stretch of backyard
or driveway. You’ll be moving slowly, so pick a place that’s peaceful and where you won’t be disturbed.
2
Become familiar with the components of each step you’ll take. While doing a walking meditation, you’ll deliberately pay attention to the components of each one. Here’s one way of breaking it down. With each step, notice: a) the lifting of one foot; b) the movement of the foot a bit forward; c) the placing of t he foot on the floor, heel first; d) the shifting of body weight onto the forward leg as the back heel lifts, while the toes of that foot remain touching the floor or the ground. Then the cycle continues, as you: a) lift your back foot totally off the ground;
CLICK HERE to hear Dr. Mache narrate an original walking meditation over his original meditation music
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b) observe the back foot as it swings forward and lowers; c) observe the back foot as it makes contact with the ground, heel first; d) feel the weight shift onto that foot as the body moves forward.
3
Take your first 10 to 15 steps. Go slowly and take small steps, but don’t go so slowly that your movements feel unnatural or exaggerated. When you reach the end of your path, pause and breathe for as long as you
like. When you’re ready, turn and walk back in the opposite direction. Pause, breathe, then turn around and walk back again when you’re ready.
4
Clasp your hands behind your back or in front of you, or you let them hang at your side—whatever feels most comfortable and natural.
5
When your mind wanders— which it will—simply acknowledge that your thoughts have strayed and go back to focusing on your walk.
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Stop and Go versus Stop or Go Mache Seibel, MD
I
sn’t being in traffic the worst?! Stop and go; stop and go; stop and go. One foot is on the accelerator and the other is on the brake. You know what it’s like. You move intensely forward a short distance, slam on the brakes firmly, and repeat. Intersections are particularly intense. The person in front of you wants to turn left, the person on the right side of the intersection wants to turn onto the street in front of you, and you have to decide, “Do I see that person and let them in or speed up and go around the person in front of me?” The stop and go ride to your destination becomes a strategic battle with
the world around you that never really stops. Stop and go isn’t really stop and go—it’s stop’ngo. Tense; steering wheel gripping; racetrack ready for pedal to the metal. There is no “stop” in stop and go.
The stop and go ride to your destination becomes a strategic battle with the world around you that never really stops
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I learned a long time ago that the faster I go, the longer it take What would it feel like to change your perception of this process? Instead of stop and go traffic, what if you think of it as “stop or go.” Suddenly there’s no rush. Drive a little, let a few people onto the street in front of you and, occasionally, stop. No hurry; no intensity; no misconception that stop and go would get you there any faster. Many people I know live their entire lives like they’re in stop and go traf-
fic—eyes always darting for their next move, thoughts always focused on what they didn’t do or what they still must do. Never really living in the moment. I learned a long time ago that the faster I go, the longer it takes. Going fast is how accidents happen and the experience leaves me feeling drained, stressed, and unfocused. Doing surgery, I never try to be the fastest surgeon. I just keep a steady pace and usually complete the case in the same amount of time as some of my “faster” colleagues. I virtually never have to stop to fix things along the way. What are you doing today? How will you approach it? Stop and Go, or Stop or Go?
CLICK HERE to hear Dr. Mache narrate this over his original music performed by Ben Schwendener.
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