Menopause: A natural transition that marks the end of a woman’s childbearing years. It’s preceded by perimenopause, the first step in the process, characterised by a gradual decline in reproductive hormones, oestrogen and progesterone. This decline is responsible for the symptoms commonly experienced by women in perimenopause:
- Hot flashes
- Brain fog and cognitive changes
- Irregular and/or abnormally heavy periods
- Disrupted sleep
- Weight gain.
Some women glide through this transition, with very few symptoms. However, 75-80% do experience discomfort, of varying levels and degrees (1). From the outside, it seems like menopause is just a biological change, but we now know that it’s also neurological, psychological and metabolic. Extending from that, it’s also an emotional and spiritual shift. Just like puberty, menopause signals a dynamic shift in identity.
A Natural, yet Transformative Process.
Just like other transformative processes that occur throughout the lifespan, menopause is something that’s meant to happen. The problem is that symptoms can be troubling, and in some cases, debilitating. This causes many women to seek desperately for relief, either by natural means or by way of mainstream medicine. Which route is the right one to take? Well, there’s no straight answer to that. It depends on a whole load of factors; symptom intensity, genetics, metabolism, lifestyle, diet and personal preference. And sometimes, whether we like it or not, finding the right fix is just a matter of trial and error.
I will cover off some of the natural approaches to navigate perimenopause and menopause throughout this blog series: Reclaiming the Transition. For now though, I’d like to dive a little deeper into the emotional psychology of menopause, because it’s not something that is often discussed in polite company…but it absolutely should be.
Navigating the Emotional Impact of Menopause
Whether or not we realise it, there is a sense of loss that accompanies the menopausal transition. And if you think about it, it makes sense. Our whole identity changes – just like it did when we moved from a child to an adolescent. With the cessation of the menstrual cycle, a whole new way of being emerges. We’ve moved through the first half of our life successfully, so what comes next? We have to re-align our purpose, because we are moving away from being primary caregivers. This is difficult for many women (including me); finding a way to redirect and separate our own personal goals away from our children, because now they are able to chase their own dreams. It should come as no surprise that the menopausal transition is associated with an increase in depressive symptoms (2).
However, rather than viewing menopause as a time of loss, why not reframe it? It can be grounding and stabilising to think of it as a time of empowerment; of stepping into our wisdom and making use of all the lessons we have learnt along the way. Don’t give up trying new ways to re-invent yourself; in fact, you don’t have slow down your pace at all. This could well be the time to try something new and explore those ideas that you’ve put aside for years, in the hope that you’ll eventually get the opportunity to explore them.
Reclaiming the Transition – What Comes Next?
If you are reading this post, I feel that I can assume that either you, or someone dear to you is going through this change. Over a series of blog posts with this theme, I will give you some hints, tips and ideas to assist with navigating menopause. Some of them may be right for you, some might not; but my aim is to give you the confidence to know that there is a way for you to navigate this, that you’re not alone, and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Your body was designed to do this, and support is available. So, stay tuned for the next post of Reclaiming the Transition – Beating the Brain Fog.
(1) Erdélyi, A., Pálfi, E., Tűű, L., Nas, K., Szűcs, Z., Török, M., Jakab, A., & VárbÃró, S. (2024). The Importance of Nutrition in Menopause and Perimenopause—A Review. In Nutrients (Vol. 16, Issue 1). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16010027
(2) Badawy, Y., Spector, A., Li, Z., & Desai, R. (2024). The risk of depression in the menopausal stages: A systematic review and meta-analysis. In Journal of Affective Disorders (Vol. 357, pp. 126–133). Elsevier B.V. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.04.041