Did you know there is an International Menopause Day? Until recently, I didn’t even though it has been around since 2009. This is not a hallmark holiday. It was established by the International Menopause Society and the World Health Organization to raise awareness about menopause and the support options to improve women’s health and wellbeing. Amen to that!
Though this year’s theme is hormone therapy, that is but one resource to help us ride the menopause wave. Diet, stress management (because we know there is much more happening at the same time), cognitive-behavioral therapy, and mindfulness are also helpful. In fact, my whole embracing journey began by the relief I felt from mindfully managing my hot flashes.
Here is a summary of what I learned about menopause from the women in my research:
- There are tremendous individual variations in terms of our menopausal symptoms and their respective impact on our lives.
- Menopausal symptoms are far more extensive than hot flashes. There are a host of additional possible physical, cognitive, and emotional ramifications of lower hormone levels that are less known to many women and not addressed by most medical providers.
- Common (and often temporary) symptoms, such as memory decline, brain fog, and anxiety are unexpected and seldom appreciated as possibly due to menopause. This causes some women to fear they have unique, unrelated medical problems.
- Many women feel diminished, unheard, and even pathologized by their medical providers (in particular male practitioners) which causes additional emotional pain.
- Hormone therapy has pros and cons and is an individual decision. The advances in the benefits of hormone replacement therapy are not widely circulated or known by the majority of doctors (thus, the theme of this year’s day).
If you are not yet in menopause, do not despair. Regardless of the degree of any symptoms, you will be much more informed and, as a result, prepared than prior generations. There is way more communication, research, and treatment options than ever before.
Let’s continue the trend by getting educated and talking about menopause – not only for ourselves but for our daughters, nieces, cousins, and generations of women to come.
Wishing you ease as you navigate this aspect of the middle.