PLEASURE
Meno matters
Author Kate Codrington shares why life can be better with a healthy dose of pleasure at any age – but especially after menopause.
WHAT IF I TOLD YOU there was a magic pill that could improve every area of your health and even make you live longer? I call this pill vitamin P. It’s free, has only beneficial side effects, has no environmental impact and is accessible to you right now. The P is for pleasure, and refers to simple, mindful moments you can give yourself everyday to counteract the stresses of life and improve your health.
Focusing only on problems as we get older can end up becoming a negative mental spiral. For although we live in ageing bodies, choosing to live with a youthful mindset and in a way that increases the pleasure you experience will help make you healthier and happier.
Our culture tends to value women who look after others and are productive, so it can be hard to put yourself first. But if you don’t, you’re missing out on a host of benefits, and won’t be able to help your loved ones as well as you’d like. Remember the saying: “You can’t fill from an empty cup”.
GUILTY PLEASURES?
Imagine you were to stop working through your to-do list and go find something pleasurable to do right now. How does that thought make you feel? Does it spark tension or unease? Feelings of guilt or shame? Perhaps thoughts arise such as: “I’m too old, too tired, have no time, not enough money”, etc? These thoughts and feelings usually originate from childhood experiences, but may no longer be relevant or helpful for you. Another misconception is that pleasure should be expensive, which is far from the truth. Being present in the moment and fully engaging your senses brings about the possibilities of admiring a newly opened flower – go seek snowdrops as they’ll soon be emerging – feeling the sun or a gentle breeze on your skin, or laughing at a funny film, all of which count as pleasure.
As Michelle Obama once said, if you don’t prioritise yourself, you constantly start falling lower and lower on your list.
GOOD FOR YOUR HORMONES`
In terms of how pleasure works to improve your health, it reduces the stress hormone cortisol and activates the “rest and digest” part of your nervous system. These stress-reducing benefits not only help calm anxiety and depression, but also help improve your heart health, bone health, your capacity to heal from operations and wounds, and support your immune system, making you more resistant to viruses. In other words, all the stuff we tend to worry about as we get older and pass menopause.
Remember, though, it can take seven years after your last period for your hormones to settle again, and pleasure will help with this process. Pleasurable experiences trigger oxytocin, known as t
