Reclaiming Menopause
While I haven’t had the pleasure of going through menopause just yet, I know that sometimes it seems like a death sentence to even speak of the word. The purpose of this article will be to discuss the misconceptions about menopause, and hopefully give you more hope if you’re approaching (or currently experiencing) this phase of life.
That is where I’d like to begin – by stating this is a PHASE of life and not a disease. Calling it a disease or illness would assume that this is a pathological process on the body that causes harm. Menopause is a natural progression for the female body as it gets ready to move out of the fertile window and settle into the next stage in life. A stage where your body is not focusing its efforts on reproduction, giving time to invest in deepening your relationship with yourself and other people. Other cultures view menopause positively as a rite of passage or time of maturation and transformation. This is the time of growing internal power as opposed to the Western attachments of loss of youth and physical/mental decline to menopause. The onset of menopause usually ranges between 41-58 years old. The life expectancy used to be in your 50s, so really, you should be celebrating that you made it (yay!).
At this stage in life, you usually have less responsibilities/moving parts, decreased uncertainty in the direction of your life, and enough stability so you don’t feel like a plastic bag in the wind (hopefully). This can mean a whole new world of possibilities and focus that wasn’t imaginable before. As the denoted “nurturers” and “caregivers” of society, maybe you’ve dedicated most of your life to serving and pleasing others. But I say now is the time of re-focusing on you and what nourishes your soul. This time of transition is a great way to re-connect with yourself, allow some deep introspection as to what you’ve achieved in life so far, and what more you want from life. As your body enters the next chapter in your story, ask yourself, what is the next chapter for your life? As the autumn saying goes: “The leaves are showing you how beautiful it is to let things go”. I encourage you to let go of the negative beliefs around going through this next stage in life.
That being said, sometimes it sucks to go through. In fact, from the huge selection of movies, stories passed down from generation to generation, and online/offline support communities around menopause, a lot of the time, it sucks. Because your hormones are all out of whack, which means your body probably isn’t too happy. So you experience the dreaded hot flashes you’ve been hearing so much about, you gain weight in all the wrong places, your sex life is not like it used to be, and you feel like you have little to no control over your emotions.
There are many options when it comes to menopause. 1) Embrace the beauty of change and transition, and know that this will pass (does this stand out enough?), 2) Seek conventional hormone replacement treatment, AND/OR 3) Incorporate naturopathic medicine into your life to decrease symptoms, help with disease prevention, and increase quality of life. Want to know more? Let’s chat.
P.s. check out my recipe for “No Bake Hormone Balls” to help balance your hormones the tasty way.
