Through history, women have shared their experiences and solutions to pass along information they couldn’t get anywhere else. It’s not all that different today. Almost half of doctors admit they aren’t up to date on ways to ease the uncomfortable aspects of menopause. But we can do something about that.
With a boost from the Internet, we honor the tradition of women learning through sharing; we are compiling a collection of menopause stories, updated every week. It’s a universal experience for women, but no two women go through menopause the same way. If you’d like to tell us about your menopause experience, please answer eight questions here and include a photo of yourself.
Our goal is to make menopause more mainstream, something we can talk about without whispering. Read about our menopause mission here.
Here we feature the story of a woman who moved across the country to find relief from her former, stressful life.
When did you go into menopause?
55
What did you know about menopause before you hit it?
Not much! I was shocked that older women in my life didn’t “warn” me, that there wasn’t more sharing going around about how to deal with menopause. The years leading up to not having a period were the worst.
Read More: Menopause and Beauty: The Dry, the Gray, and the Gorgeous
What you wish you had known?
That my period could get really heavy leading up to menopause, that hair grows in places it never did before, that hair on my head would thin, that as a women, I would become somewhat invisible in the work world and that young people would look at me, or comment that I am somewhat of an “antique.”
Most vexing aspect of menopause?
Feeling irrelevant at times/keeping up with the changing world. Brain fog!!
Best part?
No periods!! No PMS. Feeling free.
How do/did you treat the uncomfortable parts of menopause?
Awareness and kindness to myself. I am not taking any medications to deal with menopause.
Most memorable menopause story?
I quit my job as a well-paid research administrator, and traded in the very stressful work environment, and living in a big city, and moved across the country to train as a Montessori teacher. I now teach in a small mountain town in New Mexico at a private school. I hike whenever I like in a beautiful national forest that is my backyard. I can walk to work. I make the same amount of money that I did in 1999, and I live a peaceful, engaged, slow life. I feel like my work matters, and I enjoy the world again. I feel hope rather than dread about the world we live in, despite the challenging times.
Three words to describe your menopause experience?
Enlightening. Freeing, Hopeful.
