Today is World Menopause Day and what a lot of people don’t realise is perimenopause (the precursor to menopause) can start between 35 & 45 and is often where the real suffering starts!
The sudden crippling anxiety, the intense rage, the brain fog that leaves you forgetting your words in the middle of a sentence, a sudden decline in wanting sex due to lack of libido or pain, the overwhelm that replaces rational thinking, the feelings of worthlessness and thoughts of suicide.
One day you feel like you can take over the world, the next day you want to leave the world as our hormones swing faster than we can keep up.
Some women sail through the menopause, while others literally struggle as we try to juggle raising a family, building a career, or looking after elderly parents while our bodies go through major changes.
Nutrition can always help and is a great place to start. Getting adequate rest and sleep is essential and reducing stress and increasing our exercise is something we should all be aiming to do. HRT is a necessity for 25% of women who are unable to see enough of a difference through lifestyle alone. There are numerous supplements that can aid our journey, such as Magnesium Glycinate, Ashwagandha, Sage and many more. As always, be careful where you buy your supplements as “buy one get one free” offers often offer little to no real change as ingredients are cheap and hard to absorb.
There are 2.5 million women is Ireland and it’s time we start talking about the real side effects of these changes! Reach out to your friends, share your weird symptoms, compare stories and find out what works. Don’t be dismissed by your workplace, partner, friends or GP and told to just get on with it or take an antidepressant.
You’re not depressed, you’re not cracked, your body is transitioning into what the Japanese consider a natural life stage of renewal – Konenki.