Let’s Talk About Menopause
Menopause – a normal part a woman’s life and her health
Menopause, like puberty, is a normal season in a woman’s life. Unfortunately, many women report feeling caught off guard by menopause due to lack of resources. To make things harder, over half of women in Canada* believe menopause is a taboo. Between the stigma and the knowledge gap, it’s no wonder so many women feel they have to cope alone.
A survey conducted in 2022 by the Menopause Foundation of Canada found:
46% of women felt unprepared for perimenopause and menopause
54% said it was a taboo topic
38% (4 in 10) of women felt alone.
Menopause and physical symptoms
While many women can name a few physical symptoms such as hot flashes, period changes and night sweats, many are unprepared for the other symptoms that may occur. Symptoms affect each person differently and one woman’s combination of symptoms may be different from others.
Other physical symptoms a person going through perimenopause or menopause may experience include:
Problems with memory
Hair changes
Headaches/migraines
Libido changes
Vaginal dryness
Menopause and mental health
In addition to physical changes, menopause can trigger emotional symptoms such as mood swings and irritability. It is possible that some of this is due in part to lack of information and feeling like there is no one to turn to for support. Changes to ones body can come as a shock, especially if the woman has never heard anyone talk about it (e.g. it was never discussed at home while growing up).
There are also certain life challenges that may be more common in middle age.
A small list of life challenges women may experience during this time may include:
Being at the top their career
Supporting or coping with the death of aging parents
Supporting young adult children (feeling the pressures of being in the “sandwich generation”)
Considering retirement needs
Broken family/friends’ relationships (e.g. divorce or death of a partner)
Ill health
Each of these events, whether positive or negative, can be stressful. Pair the changes brought on by menopause with real life challenges and it is easy to understand why someone may feel overwhelmed.
Next steps:
What can be done about it? To start,
We need to normalize the topic of menopause and talk about what we’re going through. Be curious, ask questions, seek others online that are sharing their experience… or maybe share yours! We need to talk with our patients, our doctors, our friends and family. This is how we remove the stigma and close the knowledge gap.
On our HOPE Platform, we explore how menopause affected one woman’s self-esteem. We look at how this played out in both her family life and work life, as wife and mother and as a busy executive with high responsibility. Explore Priya’s story here.
Read about menopause experiences relating to vaginal dryness or irritability and its effects on relationships right here on the blog. These are real life menopause stories shared by members from our HOPE team.
We’re here to say that menopause is a normal part of a woman’s life and talking about it is the first step. Educating yourself can help you understand what you’re going through so you can find the help you need. We hope this comforts you, inspires you, and encourages you to self-advocate for your own physical and mental health. You are not alone!
*Research by The Menopause Foundation of Canada, 2022.
