Trying to embrace emotional and physical changes

For women, when it comes to ‘the change’ I got through by trying to embrace emotional and physical changes. I think that perimenopause is a term many women hear but don’t fully understand until they experience it firsthand. In reality, we all think that menopause just happens one day and then we are done. But actually perimenopause is a whole thing that can take maybe 5 years, or it did for me at least. With the benefit of hindsight – I am 67 – it was a time that brought about huge emotional and physical changes that can be both confusing and challenging.

For me when perimenopause started, I had unpredictable mood swings, varying energy levels, and even unexpected emotional responses to everyday things. The infamous hot flashes are just the tip of the iceberg. There was also waves of insomnia, self-doubt, and a sense of feeling lost.

One significant challenge during this phase is the sense of isolation. Given that I’m older, this just wasn’t something that we spoke about in my day. Even with nearly every woman experiencing perimenopause at some point in her life, I find that even today it can be something that stays shrouded in silence. That lack of open conversation can make those going through it feel isolated and misunderstood.

This website is great as well as other forums that are popping up like it. I think that if we can be open and honest about what we are experiencing not only will we realise we are not alone but we can also begin to advocate for a change in the research done on women’s health. For me, I got through by trying to embrace the emotional and physical changes in myself. I thought of perimenopause as a metamorphosis.

JW, United Kingdom

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