5 Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know About Being a Woman in Your 40’s Because of Taboo

It’s taboo. The scourge of women. The robber of youth and beauty. The beginning of the end…well that’s if you buy into our culture’s belief that your only value as a woman is being young and beautiful. What is it? The menopause. No wonder most women know so little about menopause. Why would they want to know until they absolutely have to? It has such a bad press. And yet this fear, ignorance and denial is the cause of a lot of unnecessary distress, especially for women in their 40’s, who don’t know what they don’t know about the lead up to menopause, clinically known as peri-menopause.

It is my mission to educate women in their 40’s not just about what to expect, but also about how to prepare so that they can have an easier ride through peri-menopause and beyond. So here goes…

#1 Peri-menopause can start up to 14 years before your periods stop  

i.e. as early as your mid-30’s or early 40’s. Peri-menopause is the phase leading up to menopause when your ovaries start to wind down, but when you may still have regular periods.

#2 One of the biggest causes of peri-menopausal symptoms is stress

This is because your overworked adrenal glands, (the ones that produce stress hormones), cannot pick up the slack from the ovaries in the production of sex hormones, creating hormonal imbalance.

#3 Many women in their 40’s are blindsided by peri-menopausal symptoms

Lack of knowledge coupled with regular periods, lead them to believe their symptoms cannot possibly be linked to the menopause. A study found that 56% of women believed they were too young for their symptoms to be linked to menopause. 

#4 Peri / menopause is not just about hot flushes and mood swings

Symptoms can include anxiety, depression, chronic insomnia, menstrual flooding, aching joints, dry skin, palpitations, loss of libido, brain fog, poor memory, digestive issues, and much more. This is because 12 different organs and tissues in your body, beyond your reproductive system, are oestrogen-dependent.

#5 Burnout is very common in peri-menopause.

It happened to me at 46 – before I knew what I know now. And like many women, I just thought I had too much on my plate and wasn’t coping as well as I usually do. And like many women who go through burnout at this age, it led me to a better life: It’s the whole reason I am now a homeopath. So it’s not all bad. But better to make those changes without crashing.

So what can you do about all this? A lot. You can really get your stress levels under control. Say no more often. Take time out for yourself. Leave work early. Care less. Listen to those inner promptings that you have been ignoring about your job / marriage / children / self-care. See a health practitioner – ideally a nutritionist, homeopath or acupuncturist, as doctors do not recognise the existence of adrenal fatigue. 

Contrary to common belief, menopause is a time of transition in more ways than one. It’s a rite of passage, that prompts us to re-evaluate our life, and step into our truth. So the Japanese don’t call it Second Spring for nothing.