Menopause: Becoming invisible or a new beginning?
The time of life when fertility ceases and hormones wane for women often brings with it several challenging symptoms. Some are mostly physiological such as hot flushes, migraines, sleep disturbances and chronic fatigue while others relate to disturbances in women's emotional well-being, ranging from a general sense of a loss of vitality and identity to more severe conditions such as anxiety and depression. However, this time can also bring up existential questions about who you are, what your role is in your family and work life and what you would like the next stage of your life to be like.
The stereotypical depiction of a ‘mid-life crisis’ in fiction is often characterised by the protagonist doing something compulsive such as buying an expensive fast car or having an affair. While these depictions might be seen as exaggerations, this age can certainly bring the feeling of ‘lets do it now, before it’s too late’ or ‘it’s my turn to do what I want to do’. If these, often strong and sometimes challenging feelings, can be held in awareness and worked through with care and attention, they can be transformed into yet undiscovered interests or even passions that can give birth to a new and more interesting stage of life. Getting the support of a counsellor or psychotherapist can be a great source of support to help navigate you through this bumpy time.
Isn’t it interesting that puberty, the time when fertility begins is seen as a celebration, a blossoming, life enhancing period, full of promise and excitement for the future? While menopause might be having a bit of a moment right now, with some famous faces coming out about being in this phase of their lives, it is still generally seen as a slightly shameful, life diminishing process for women. It can also be a time when women begin to feel they are becoming invisible, whether in relation to being desired by others or worthy of promotion at work. However, isn’t invisibility one of the most desired superpowers? Perhaps, this time can allow women the space to explore what they want in their lives, without being under the spotlight to reach some arbitrary goal by some arbitrary age.
It may require taking some time out or adapting your life to make space for the process to evolve as well as to take care of the more difficult physical symptoms. However, with some care and attention, it can bring forth aspects of your psyche that may not have had the space to be fully expressed in your younger years. So, while the menopause can be a challenging time, as puberty also was, it can be as fruitful and as life enhancing a process. This period can help women to spring clean their lives, getting rid of what is no longer useful or working for them to make space for what still needs to be expressed in their lives, even if it is running away with the circus on a motorbike.
The time of life when fertility ceases and hormones wane for women often brings with it several challenging symptoms. Some are mostly physiological such as hot flushes, migraines, sleep disturbances and chronic fatigue while others relate to disturbances in women's emotional well-being, ranging from a general sense of a loss of vitality and identity to more severe conditions such as anxiety and depression. However, this time can also bring up existential questions about who you are, what your role is in your family and work life and what you would like the next stage of your life to be like.
The stereotypical depiction of a ‘mid-life crisis’ in fiction is often characterised by the protagonist doing something compulsive such as buying an expensive fast car or having an affair. While these depictions might be seen as exaggerations, this age can certainly bring the feeling of ‘lets do it now, before it’s too late’ or ‘it’s my turn to do what I want to do’. If these, often strong and sometimes challenging feelings, can be held in awareness and worked through with care and attention, they can be transformed into yet undiscovered interests or even passions that can give birth to a new and more interesting stage of life. Getting the support of a counsellor or psychotherapist can be a great source of support to help navigate you through this bumpy time.
Isn’t it interesting that puberty, the time when fertility begins is seen as a celebration, a blossoming, life enhancing period, full of promise and excitement for the future? While menopause might be having a bit of a moment right now, with some famous faces coming out about being in this phase of their lives, it is still generally seen as a slightly shameful, life diminishing process for women. It can also be a time when women begin to feel they are becoming invisible, whether in relation to being desired by others or worthy of promotion at work. However, isn’t invisibility one of the most desired superpowers? Perhaps, this time can allow women the space to explore what they want in their lives, without being under the spotlight to reach some arbitrary goal by some arbitrary age.
It may require taking some time out or adapting your life to make space for the process to evolve as well as to take care of the more difficult physical symptoms. However, with some care and attention, it can bring forth aspects of your psyche that may not have had the space to be fully expressed in your younger years. So, while the menopause can be a challenging time, as puberty also was, it can be as fruitful and as life enhancing a process. This period can help women to spring clean their lives, getting rid of what is no longer useful or working for them to make space for what still needs to be expressed in their lives, even if it is running away with the circus on a motorbike.