Women's Health Week 2023

Day 1: Check her out!

See that women standing in the mirror looking back at you? It's time to check her out.

It's time to consider the care that she deserves and remind her of the important person she is. It's time to move her up the priority list and put the things in place that will support her.

In a recent survey* of over 11,000 women 43% said they're physical health had declined since 2020, 46% reported their mental health declining in the same 2 year period and around 58% had missed some form of appointment or check-up (including 8% who missed their mammograms).

It's women's health week this week and given the stats above, we're kicking off by encouraging you to get checked out.

Book in the appointments you've been putting off - whether it's a physical check up or a psychological check up, it's time to go and do it, because you are worth the effort and it's okay for you to feel good.

*Jean Hailes National Women's Health Survey 2022

Day 2 - Chronic Pain

There are lots of women who experience pain regularly which can impact how we experience the world.

So, what is pain?

"Pain is a protection system to keep us safe. It’s how our brain signals to our body that there is potential danger. Pain makes us act in a way that protects us from further harm." Jean Hailes, 2023

Whether it's pelvic pain, joint pain, period pain, endometriosis or other chronic pain, living with it can have a huge impact on we live. Here are some things that might help us cope:

- Keep a pain/symptom diary so you can ask for support when you speak to a GP.

- Breathwork can help down regulate the Central Nervous System (CNS).

- Ensure you have positive sleep habits (i.e limit caffeine, engage in supportive movement, set up a quality sleep environment, eat nutritious food.)

- Retrain your brain; our thoughts & beliefs about pain can impact how we experience it.

For more resources about pain & ways to cope, head to jeanhailes.org.au

Day 3 - Hormones

As Women, we go through some very significant hormonal changes throughout our life. From puberty, pregnancy & postpartum through to peri-menopause & menopause. Not to mention our monthly menstrual cycle.

Our bodies are supported by our hormones which are chemical messengers delivered to different parts of the body that ask it to act in a certain way. When our hormones become out of balance or our sensitivity to a hormone decreases, we can experience things like Amenorrhea, PCOS, fatigue, irritability, spikes in body temperature, changes in appetite & sex drive plus a bunch more. Let's just say hormones impact every cell of our bodies.

The great news is, exercise along with other health promoting behaviours such as aiming for quality sleep, eating nutritious food & reducing stress can support our hormones & our sensitivity to them too. Of course, getting to a GP and discovering the source of any symptoms you have is really important, but remember to pop these in your toolbox to help too.

As we get to know ourselves and take time to learn about how our bodies work & feel, we become empowered to make decisions, seek help and speak up in ways we never have before.

🥙 Nutrition 🥗

The food we eat provides so much to us.

When we include a rich variety of different foods our bodies get a beautiful range of nutrients that help us stay alive & thrive - how amazing is that?!

It has been noted that as a society we're probably not getting as many vegetables per day as recommended (that's at least 5 serves) so, maybe we could look at adding a few extra vegies in per day and see how that feels?

I'm not here to provide dietary advice (out of my scope - we refer our nutrition out to our amazing local contacts), but what I will say is this; Maybe we could start to see the food we eat as an opportunity to enhance our lives (both physically, emotionally & mentally.) I reckon this would be a helpful way of removing stigma, guilt & shame around food and allowing it to get the credit it deserves.

Head over to jeanhailes.org.au for handouts, information and keeping up to date with all women's health!