Managing Hot Flushes and Night Sweats: A cognitive behavioural self-help guide to the menopause

by Myra Hunter

The menopause is still a taboo topic and a source of uncertainty and embarrassment for many women. In Managing Hot Flushes and Night Sweats Myra Hunter and Melanie Smith aim to provide women with up to date and balanced information about menopause and a self-help guide to reduce the impact of hot flushes and night sweats in just four weeks.
This book sets out an interactive four-week programme using cognitive behavioural therapy, with exercises and worksheets designed to enable women to develop strategies for managing menopausal symptoms. This approach is based on the authors’ research and has been shown to be effective in recent clinical research trials. This guide can help you


Understand the biological as well as the psychological and cultural influences on menopause



Understand and manage hot flushes in social situations



Learn to modify triggers and use paced breathing to reduce the impact of hot flushes



Reduce stress and improve well-being



Develop strategies to help if night sweats disturb your sleep


With a companion audio exercise and downloadable resources available online, Managing Hot Flushes and Night Sweats offers a complete and effective framework to approach menopause with confidence and to manage symptoms without the use of medication. The book is ideal for women approaching or going through the menopause, for women having menopausal symptoms following treatment for breast cancer, for their friends and relatives, and healthcare professionals working with women.

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic! Using the approach in this book, I dealt with insomnia and hot flushes that were affecting my daily life. I am at higher risk with HRT, so have chosen not to use it, at this point, although I do use topical oestrogen cream (this was life-changing for me), as I had genito-urinary issues.

The CBT was not a quick fix for me - I did have to persevere and particularly with the sleep issues, it did take a few months of persevering. I did also use an additional body scan relaxation method before I went to sleep (Another thing that helped with the insomnia was stopping taking herbal remedies, which I think I had been relying on, but weren't actually helping me sleep, but were giving me brain fog the next day! That was due to a great podcast I listened to on Sliced Bread, BBC sounds, on whether herbal sleep remedies help. :-) )

I think this book would be a helpful addition alongside HRT, and it is great for helping reframe the negativity around menopause.

It is very matter-of-fact and I think that you need to bear in mind that just because CBT does work - it doesn't mean or imply that menopause symptoms are all pyschological. CBT works, the same way it does for chronic pain, it is about trying to minimise the impact of symptoms - not to imply that the symptoms are all in your head, that is obviously not true at all.

I find now, if I have a hot flush, it is more bearable, because of the techniques I've learned, and I don't avoid doing things because of them. Also, I have noticed, for instance, that no-one can actually tell that I am having a hot flush (I know, because I asked), other than me taking a layer off.

Also a reminder, if you are in the UK, you can get a course of CBT on the NHS. Internet search 'talking therapies' or 'IAPT' services, in your area, and you can self-refer to get help from a professional. I do need to add, I didn't need to use this, for me I used the book, as well as a body scan relaxation method I found on-line, which I do each night before I go to sleep (also use it if I wake up in the night and this helps me get back off to sleep quickly.)

Finally, if you have suffered menopause because of breast cancer, the book caters specifically for breast cancer sufferers, who cannot have HRT, which I think is fab.

[Julie R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic understanding of CBT for hot flashes.