Menopause relief sometimes is how a woman might view this time of life and mentally, some toughness in this area is required. There's either two ways menopause can be viewed; as a disease or as a natural stage in a woman's life. Choosing the latter means coping with it will become a heck of a lot easier.

In a nutshell, menopause means a woman's body is slowing down estrogen production while the reproductive system begins to close it's doors. There's nothing sinister about that. It's just nature doing her job but looking at it as from a perspective of it being the end of the world will do nothing for one's ability to fully cope with the symptoms. So preparing mentally is part of the menopause relief equation.

Menopause Relief

In the US alone, close to 4 million women enter the early stages of menopause each year. It's a natural stage in a woman's life but despite any physical symptoms associated with it, mentally, a woman must not only handle menopause but also be prepared. Preparation may be anything from understanding what it is and how it will effect them. The problem is, when confronted with it at an earlier age, the general reaction will usually be one of..."don't want to talk about it!"

What is Hormone Replacement Therapy?

It has created a lot of discussion. HRT can certainly get the "hackles up" with some women determined there are better alternatives to menopause relief. Maybe there are but until it's officially determined by the powers that be it's probably still the most effective solution to combating the symptoms So what is it?

Hrt is basically a substitute for the declining hormones in a woman's body. When menopause sets in, a lot of changes take place and the production of estrogen and progesterone begins to slow down. This can lead to issues such as osteoporosis in the post menopausal stage.

The benefits include reducing the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease but research indicates prolonged use over several years may also increase the risk of other complications such as breast cancer. So what do you do? Your doctor is best qualified to point out the benefits and pitfalls of HRT as a menopause relief option but at least look at it rather than taking the naysayers opinions as gospel.

Other Menopause Relief Options

One of the best relief options is to talk to someone who has been through menopause and had success using solutions to alleviate symptoms. Someone like a parent or grandparent. Let's face it, before modern technology was available what did women use as relief for menopause. "Granny's remedies" so don't dismiss these as as a viable option.

Undoubtedly these remedies would have included lots of natural-based products which leads to the question..."Is natural a better alternative to HRT?" It's a loaded question but there is a growing amount of support for natural therapies and that support is growing stronger by the day.