Menopause is a natural passage, not an illness.

It make most women anxious, but only some suffer discomforts requiring treatment.

When women learn more about menopause, they stress less, and suffer fewer and less severe discomforts..

Estrogen replacement works, but non-drug alternatives are safer.

Every woman who lives beyond age 45 experiences menopause, which is normal and natural. Menopause brings many changes. Women’s menstrual periods become irregular then end, and many experience mood swings, hot flashes, decreased sexual desire and pleasure, vaginal dryness, and vaginal tissue thinning (atrophy).

Many women heading into menopause are poorly informed about it. Their ignorance causes stress and often aggravates symptoms, particularly mood changes, and sexual issues.

Recently, researchers in Portugal performed a meta-analysis on the effects of education and counseling programs on menopausal women’s sexuality. Meta-analysis is a statistical technique that combines the results of small studies as if they were all part of one big study. Study size matters. The larger the studied population, the more credible the findings. The meta-analysis showed that education and counseling significantly relieved menopausal sexual complaints.

The investigators reviewed eight studies that enrolled 619 women, aged 39 to 75. The studies included a variety of menopause-education programs involving four to 10 sessions that lasted 45 to 60 minutes per session. Topics covered included: menopausal physiological changes, its possible sexual effects, and the many myths that surround it, for example, the idea that menopause can be psychologically devastating, causing extreme irritability, disorienting mood swings, and total libido collapse. Such severe symptoms are possible—but rare.

In addition to education, three of the studies included mindfulness meditation. Five included cognitive behavioral therapy. Both reduce stress and........

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