Hot Flash Havoc Newsletter

Volume 3, Issue 5

May 2013

 

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Dear Flashers, 
 

HERE'S TO ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE WHO HAVE HELPED SHAPE THE FUTURE OF TOMORROW! 

 

May is the month of a number of celebrations; National Teachers Day, the U.S. Senate recognizes teachers and thanks them for their service, National Nurses week, celebrated to recognize the contributions that nurses and nursing makes to our communities, and Mother's Day honoring mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds and the influence of mothers in society.

 

It occurs to me that mothers today are multi-taskers.  You may be a nurse or a teacher or a professional person but you are a mother too.  Now, add hot flashes into that all ready busy combination and you will be primed to read Randy Hoder's article "Adolescence and Menopause:  When Hormones Collide".

 

Once you become a mother, you have joined a sisterhood that is very special.  Can you remember a time that any of your children were not in your lives and hearts?  So let's take care of them keep them informed about life and aging so they are prepared to understand what happens to us and ready to support us as we change. It is not only our responsibility to educate them about the changes that they will go through, but our responsibility to educate them about the changes we will go through.

 

We of course want to be revered much like the native tribes give their older women a place of dignity, wisdom and love as they age. So if you want your children around and not hiding from you, educate them about how we change during perimenopause, menopause and post menopause.  It can save your relationship with your children, your husband or partner as well as yourself.

 

We know just how wonderful and hard it can be to be a mom, just don't forget to take care of yourself in the process.

 

Heidi
Heidi HoustonHeidi Houston
 

Executive Producer Hot Flash Havoc
PO Box 1188
Aspen, CO 81612
970-920-4848 office
970-920-2260 fax

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Click on the poster above to watch the trailer, rent the film, or buy the DVD.


What Your Mother Never Told You!

A Continuing Series of Articles by the Experts  

 

By Kathy Cagney - Mojovational Speaker, Author and Consultant. Kathy's website www.hotflashionista.com is devoted to the millions of women who want to make fun of menopause and laugh their flash off. Don't be a hot mess, be a Hot Flashionista!

 

Stop running comparathons.

 

Isn't it exhausting? We endlessly compare ourselves to each other. It stops us in our tracks on our way to finishing what we started. I don't know about you, but I am not only competitive, I am comparative. If it were a medal event, I would win hands down in the Comparathon Marathon. I love and admire the movers, shakers and difference makers of the world. In fact, I strive to be among them. And, I do okay until I start running the race in my mind and comparing my journey, my progress, my wit and my wisdom with theirs. Not a pretty picture to paint nor a relevant race to run.

           

We are each born with unique gifts and talents to share with the world that no one else has. No one else can share our stories but us. We are designed and destined to be one singular sensation. Each of us a magnificent original work of art meant to stand on our own. We are all on this joyful journey together and we are all alone in our thoughts. That is the delicious dichotomy of our dazzling life! So, choose your thoughts wisely and your beliefs divinely. Quit the comparathon. Throw out your old running shoes, strap on some stilettos and step into your greatness!

 

Hot Flashionista Cool Insights

  • Comparison kills creativity.
  • Being comparative and competitive is double-dipping in a pool of foolishness.
  • You are one SuperCoolHotFlashLoveThing! Oh yes, you are!

Buy Your DVD Now:Buy the DVD

 

DVDGet yours ordered today! In case you can't get to one of the Hot Flash Havoc screenings, you can order the DVD online at: www.hotflashhavoc.com.
 
Special Offer! Just $14.99 plus S&H.
 
We will ship it out to you in a FLASH!.....

Adolescence and Menopause:

     When Hormones Collide!     

 

By RANDYE HODERparent child
 

Until recently, an unexpected time bomb sat in my house, waiting to explode. A modern Molotov cocktail, this volatile mix involved my grumpy, grunting adolescent son and me - his irritable, short-fused, menopausal mom.

 

When I was in my mid-30s, trying to get pregnant for the first time, I worried about a lot of things: Would my husband and I be able to conceive? Would it take a long time? Was there a greater chance at my "advanced maternal age" (a technical term used to describe pregnant women who are 35 and older) that I'd miscarry or give birth to an underweight or otherwise unhealthy child?

 

I'm a worrier, and I worried about it all. But the one thing that never occurred to me was that I'd be navigating my child's prickly teenage years while managing the crazy mood swings of my own menopause.

 

Lucky for her, my 20-year-old daughter, Emma, mostly escaped my "change of life" and all its inherent symptoms: in my case, everything from night sweats to fatigue to memory loss to depression. But my 15-year-old son, Nathaniel, is not so blessed. He's arrived at the height of adolescence smack in the middle of my menopausal years. Poor kid. Poor me.

 

I'm not alone. Many women of my generation - in an attempt to strike a balance between building our careers and our families - didn't start having children until relatively late in life. In fact, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, the birthrate for women ages 35 through 39 rose steadily from 1979 to 2007 (though that number has slipped some since). Meanwhile, the birthrate in 2010 (the latest data available) for women ages 40 through 44 was 10.2 births per 1,000 women, the highest rate reported in more than three decades.

 

Add it all up, and you get a volatile mix: grumpy, grunting adolescents and short-tempered, irritable mothers. With the onset of menopause between 45 and 55, women like me are stepping onto a big emotional roller coaster at the same time that our children are reaching the emotional tilt-a-whirl that comes with being a teenager. In other words, when we are least able to cope, the most is required of us.

 

I have one friend who started her menopause at 49, when her daughter was 14. My friend suffered from anxiety, mood swings and depression. All the while, amid attempting to control her own erratic emotions, she had the added stress of trying to help her daughter get through the minefield that is middle school.

 

Desperate for answers and utterly exhausted, she tried cognitive behavioral therapy, antidepressants, a better diet, increased exercise, acupuncture, hormone replacement therapy and meditation. Mostly, she worked very hard to understand and communicate with her ever-moody teenage daughter. Results were mixed.

 

My own menopausal symptoms began more gradually, lulling me into thinking that I could manage them on my own. Then, one day last fall, during some minor quarrel with Nathaniel, he turned to me and asked, "Why are you so angry all the time?"

 

That's when I decided to do something about the way I was feeling. Now, I'm eating healthier and spending more time outdoors, hiking and walking. I've also started hormone replacement therapy, a regimen of estrogen and progesterone.

 

It took a little more than a month to notice any change. But slowly, the tension in my house began to ease. I've found myself increasingly less angry and more patient with Nathaniel (and my husband). My fuse has grown longer.

 

Of course, not everyone's symptoms or experiences are the same, and certainly no one magic solution exists. But as more women face this phenomenon, it's good to know that there are options to avert at least some of the fireworks - ours, anyway.

 

From all I can tell, the teenage drama is here to stay.

 

Randy Hoder is a Los Angeles -based freelance writer


Heidi's Book of the Month Review:

  

The Ultimate Guide to Prostate Pleasure:

Erotic Exploration for Men and Their Partners

Written by Ph.D. Charlie Glickman, Aislinn Emirzian,

Carol Queen wrote the foreword and Debby Herbenick wrote the afterword. book cover
 

Yes, Hot Flash Havoc celebrates women in every aspect of their lives and I am grateful when we have a chance to celebrate the men in our lives and to recommend a book that addresses how to pleasure them.

 

After talking with over 200 men and their partners, asking urologists and medical experts for feedback Charlie Glickman acclaimed sexuality educator and Aislinn Emizian a workshop instructor and sex coach have written a remarkable book.

 

There is a wealth of information in the book combined with interviews conducted of hundreds of men and their partners to create an amazingly comprehensive guide. They cover clinical detail, helpful advice and friendly encouragement.

 

The book starts out with a series of frequently asked questions with detailed and carefully thought out answer. It especially covers the misconceptions and concerns about the prostrate and sexual pleasure.

 

The book strives to dispel myths so readers can move forward and explore in a safe and comfortable manner. Giving many options and helping the reader to better understand how their body, or their partner's body, might respond will help to get past any discouragement that might occur during your initial attempts. The book also gives you mental techniques to enhance your experience. Authors

  • Charlie Glickman PhD has been a sexuality educator for over twenty years. He teaches workshops on a wide range of topics, Charlie is certified as a sexuality educator by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists and he regularly presents at conferences and community events, offers trainings on sexuality for medical professionals, therapists, and clergy.
  • Aislinn Emirzian, Sex educator, writer and workshop instructor attended Smith College and lives in San Francisco

The Ultimate Guide to Prostate Pleasure is available on www.amazon.com/ and at sex-positive stores everywhere. www.prostatepleasureguide.net


Upcoming HotFlashHavoc Events:

 

June 19, London, Ontariohfh-poster-border

Cocktails at 6 pm, Movie at 7 pm

Aeolian Hall, 795 Dundas Street, London Ontario

Reserve Tickets at www.menopausechicks.com/events

June 20, Bayfield, Ontario

Reserve Tickets at www.menopausechicks.com/events


September: Port Townsend, WA 
October: St Paul, MN
October: Norway and Sweden


HOT FLASH HAVOC
WISHES YOU A HAPPY, HEALTHY, and SEXY SUMMER!Hot Flash Havoc