Do you fear menopause symptoms? If you do, you are not alone! Most women do.
But why?
After helping thousands of women as they transition from trying to have babies (or trying not to) into trying not to be sidelined by symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause, there seems to be one overarching emotion…
Fear…
…The beginning of the end;
…More like their mother every day.
…A time of loss…
Loss of reproduction; loss of youth; loss of sexuality; loss of beauty; loss of vibrancy; loss of job security; loss, loss, loss…The list goes on and on…
And oh those terrible menopause symptoms: Hot Flashes, Dryness, Sensitive Bladder, Brain Fog, Hair Changes, Belly Fat…
If all that were definitely going to be true, who wouldn’t fear menopause symptoms! A recent study found less than 20 percent of premenopausal women have moderate knowledge of the biologic changes that occur in menopause.
The real truth is very different from “the beginning of the end.”
Perimenopause and menopause are more accurately, to paraphrase Winston Churchill,
“…The end of the beginning.”
The next phase…
And like puberty takes you into your reproduction years, perimenopause transitions you out of your reproduction years and into your “post reproduction” years.
And here is the key you need to unlock the bounty of this next phase…
- Accurate information to know what to really expect, and
- A blueprint to minimize those symptoms you do get, and control or prevent any symptoms you might get.
For instance…
- Don’t want more kids? Congratulations! In menopause you can quit worrying about procreation and focus on recreation.
- Want kids and you are going to be thrown into early menopause due to surgery or other treatments? You can freeze embryos if you have a partner, or freeze eggs for later fertilization if you haven’t yet found your mate.
You don’t have to tough out all those symptoms. You can figure them out.
- Estrogen is now known to be safe for the majority of women if taken correctly. You can read about this in clear, easy detail in The Estrogen Fix.
- Can’t or don’t want to take estrogen? No worries. There are lots of alternative treatments and lifestyle changes. I explain these to women I treat as patients and women I coach through menopause coaching. If you have a plan to follow and guidance throughout, it’s possible to find relief and even prevention of some symptoms.
We are all going to age and none of us is going to live forever. That part is true.
But fighting it won’t help. So don’t spend time banging on a wall hoping to transform it into a door as Coco Chanel warned. With insight, information and inspiration, you can experience perimenopause and menopause for what it is; just opening the door to the next exciting phase of your life. A time of more wisdom and experience. A time of new experiences. A time to enjoy life more fully.
The truth is much like Franklin Roosevelt said in his inauguration speech, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
