Women’s Health & Mental Health

There are a number of resources including websites, videos and apps which can help you better understand how you are feeling and provide you with strategies for managing your difficulties. These can be useful to look at and work through before, during or after your contact with our service.

**This page is being updated.**
Books
  • Managing Hot Flushes and Night Sweats
    A Cognitive Behavioural Self-help Guide to the Menopause [2nd Edition] By Myra Hunter and Melanie Smith
  • Menopause The One-Stop Guide: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Dealing with the Menopause By Kathy Abernethy
  • Managing the Menopause: 2nd edition By Nicholas Panay, Paula Briggs and Gabor T. Kovacs

You may also find it helpful to visit the Reading Well website. The website lists several self-help books for mental health that are available to borrow from your local library.

Apps

Balance (iOS & Android): an app by Dr Louise Newson, a GP specialising in menopause. The app is free to download and is a resource for understanding and managing perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms – it allows the tracking of symptoms, as well as access to personalised expert content, a health report, and sharing stories in the community.

mySysters (iOS): a social and self-care app for managing perimenopause and menopause through tracking symptoms, printing charts of tracked symptoms and sharing advice with others in discussion forums.

FoodSwitch (iOS & Android): an app to support making healthy food choices

Other mental health apps:

These resources support general mental health and may not be specific to health problems.

NHS Apps Library provides a general list of digital tools to help you manage and improve your mental and physical health.

UCL Positive app for students – an app to support your wellbeing.

iCope Mental Health Apps Review 2017 – this is a list of free, recommended mental health apps. Recommendations come from NHS Talking Therapies clinicians, online app reviews, published studies and feedback from NHS Talking Therapies service users.

Websites & Workbooks

Women’s Health Concern: an arm of the British Menopause Society, this charitable service aims to provide independent advice to inform and reassure women of all ages about their gynaecological and sexual health, wellbeing and lifestyle concerns.

They have created a series of factsheets on menopause and other gynaecological and sexual health issues and have a menopause wellness hub filled with nutrition and lifestyle tips.

The British Menopause Society: educates, guides & informs healthcare professionals on menopause and post reproductive health.

Understanding Menopause: a guidance booklet produced by Menopause Support to help everyone to better understand and navigate menopause.

The Menopause Charity: a charity that aims to educate everybody so that perimenopause and menopause are properly understood.

Positive Coping with Health Conditions: a self-care workbook written by health professionals that provides strategies to help individuals living with health challenges to cope

 

General mental health websites and workbooks

These resources support general mental health and may not be specific to health problems.

Northumberland NHS self-help
Brief self-help leaflets on: Abuse, Alcohol, Anxiety, Domestic Violence, Self Harm, Panic, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress, Postnatal Depression, Obsessions and Compulsions

Centre for Clinical Interventions
Detailed workbooks on: panic, worrying, assertiveness, disordered eating, low self-esteem, managing distress, depression.

Talk Plus
This website has a range of booklets and videos explaining step by step how to use some of the key cognitive behavioural therapy techniques, for example behavioural activation, problem-solving, worry management and graded exposure. These may be used alongside some of the therapy sessions you attend in our service.

Good Thinking
Tools and resources to help yourself and others to feel better.

Mind
Mental health charity with lots of useful information.

Podcasts & Sounds

Cycle of Change – a short animated film about understanding menopause: produced by Menopause Support

Bournemouth University Women’s Health Podcast Series: this podcast features episodes on pelvic floor dysfunction, women’s sexual health and menopause and exercise.

BBC Women’s Hour:
The Menopause Series exploring the impact of menopause on work and relationships, and potential treatments

Positive Coping with Health ConditionsRelaxation Method Audio resource that goes through exercises to release tension and promote relaxation. Accompanies a self-care workbook written by health professionals that provides strategies to help individuals living with health problems to cope

 

General mental health audio resources:

These resources support general mental health and may not be specific to health problems.

Let’s talk about CBT – audio podcast by Dr Lucy Maddox, BABCP

NHS Moodzone – a range of audio guides and podcasts to boost your mood including low mood and depression, overcoming sleep problems, unhelpful thinking, and low confidence and assertiveness

Exercise and mental health – podcast by the Mental Health Foundation

Glasgow Wellbeing Service – a range of audio resources on topics such as anxiety, relaxation, panic, sleep and stress

Videos

Watch this short animated film about understanding menopause in which individuals describe their experiences of menopausal symptoms, the impact on daily life and what they did to get help (source: MenopauseSupport.co.uk):

If you would like to know more about how our service and help for managing the physical and psychological effects of women’s health issues such as menopause or other gynaecological sexual health issues, please book an appointment with us. Alternatively, you may wish to speak to your GP or physical health team about how to access help with the impact of physical symptoms on your life.

 

General mental health videos:

These resources support general mental health and may not be specific to health problems.

What is CBT – Mind

Depression – I had a Black Dog

Depression & Low Mood – British Sign Language version

Glasgow Wellbeing Service – videos on anxiety, low mood, stress, sleep, panic and anger

Talk Plus – videos on a range of cognitive behavioural therapy techniques including behavioural activation, problem-solving, graded exposure and worry management

Understanding and managing stress – video by the Mental Health Foundation

Self-management Courses

For mental health awareness week, our service developed a short, bite-size version of our ‘Menopause & Mental Health’ workshop.

Slides for the webinar are available below.

Note that a full recording of this webinar will become available on our website in due course.

If you are interested in attending a full 2-hour, face-to-face workshop on Menopause & Mental Health, please contact us and ask to be added to our contact list for next available workshop.