How do you cope DAILY... with the RELENTLESS symptoms of perimenopause & menopause?

You have to narrow your time horizon. When it gets super bad for me, I just focus on getting through the next hour. When it's critical, I just focus on the next few moments. Also, I try to get out of my head by connecting to my body and my breath. What has been key for me has been to stay busy and get my tasks done, no matter how debilitating the symptoms are. I have a list of tasks on my Google calendar every day, and I always complete them, no matter what. When it all becomes too much, I scream, throw things, go berserk, cry; I do whatever it takes to take things down a notch, so that I can go back to coping. You must be brutally honest with your loved ones and lean on them for support; my boyfriend, mother, and best friend have been lifelines for me; I often wonder if I would have been able to survive it all without them.

Distraction is my number one weapon. During the day I distract myself with work and home projects. I find that when I start feeling ill or uneasy, focusing on an involved project helps steer my mind away from feeling terrible. It also helps me sometimes to do things outside of the house, like going for a walk, shopping, or exercising at the gym. In the evenings I like to have the TV on in the background (classic movies or low-key TV shows) and color in my coloring books. I have been doing this for about a year now and it really helps me emotionally. I haven't found anything to distract me yet when I wake up in the middle of the night with a feeling of doom or like I'm choking. Hard to find something to do at 3:00 AM. But I always make sure that I don't go to bed before I'm really tired (like, eyes closing kind of tired) and I take melatonin every night. That seems to help most nights.

Last but not least, my boyfriend is so supportive and understanding and he helps me so much. I don't know what I would do without him. It is so important for us ladies to have a solid support system during this difficult time. That is also why I am so glad to have discovered this blog. We are all in the same boat and try to help each other the best we can.

In my case i pray morning, night and praise the lord when im healthy but when the wired symptoms of peri starts honestly i feel down i scared to death and feel hopeless , reading this forum helps me to ease my worry knowing about those pains and aches are part of peri the rest , time will tell my dear hoping tomorrow will be better lets support one another most of us are in this together .

Beth

I honestly don't know how I make it through the day most of the time. I just put one foot in front of the other! I have felt super ill for the past week and a half. I don't remember almost anything:( I am having really hard time.