5 things you might not know about the menopause

It’s time to reframe how we think about menopause. In celebration of World Menopause Day on October 18th, here are five facts about menopause you might not have heard before.

Menopause could be considered the final taboo when we talk about our health. It’s an unwelcome topic in the classroom, the workplace, and even among friends – and we’ve developed a vocabulary to help us avoid talking about it. We hide behind vague terms like “the change,” or the “autumn of our lives,” and we talk about children “flying the nest,” as though an empty nest is an adequate metaphor for a biological event.

But none of these phrases give us any detail on what to expect, how the symptoms might impact us individually, or empower us to talk more openly about what’s happening to our bodies.

It’s time to change this narrative. World Menopause Day, celebrated on October 18th, is an annual event dedicated to shining a light on this frequently misunderstood natural process – and to help reframe how we talk about it. This mission starts with generating awareness.

There’s a persistent misconception that menopause is just one event, and that estrogen production just switches off overnight. In fact, menopause comprises three biochemical stages: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause – and all three can come with their own symptoms, depending on the individual.

Perimenopause typically occurs eight to 10 years before menopause, as estrogen levels start to decline, and can result in more difficult-to-manage symptoms. Menopause follows perimenopause and is when the body ceases producing estrogen. As the name suggests, postmenopause is the final stage of the menopause transition.

This whole process can last eight to 12 years, and each individual will experience the different phases in a way that’s unique to them.

Search on the web for menopause symptoms, and one of the top ones you’ll find is the famed hot flashes. The symptoms of menopause are not only wide-ranging but are deeply individual – and new symptoms are still being reported in research. Some less-common symptoms include allergies, lapses in memory, insomnia, dry skin, and sore joints.

These changes can not only impact individuals physically but can also have a negative impact on mental health, too. A recent Harvard study found that depression doubles among perimenopausal individuals, showing that a decline in hormones can go hand-in-hand with mental ill health. However, when women reach out to medical professionals about their symptoms, they are commonly misdiagnosed with other conditions.

The physical symptoms of menopause are well-documented, but declining estrogen may also give rise to more serious medical conditions such as osteoporosis, high cholesterol, and urinary incontinence.

Research is only scratching the surface on how the way we live can play a role in improving these conditions – but it’s clear that making changes and evolving nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle habits in tandem with the biochemical changes may help alleviate their severity. For example, in one small-scale study, mindfulness was shown to have promising potential as a tool to help alleviate symptoms including hot flashes.

We’ve all heard the maxim that we’re supposed to leave our personal lives at the office door. Yet with menopausal individuals one of the fastest-growing workplace demographics, talking openly about menopause at work could serve up some benefits for both employees and employers.

In a recent report, 72% of women said they didn’t feel supported at work while undergoing menopause, while 90% reported feeling uncomfortable discussing their needs as a result of the symptoms they were experiencing. In another survey, 63% of women reported that menopause had negatively impacted their working life.

Encouraging a working environment where those undergoing menopause feel able to speak up about their changing needs and feelings without fear of stigma or shame will not only foster greater psychological safety but may also reduce absenteeism and increase retention.

Usually, when we think about menopause as a concept, we picture the stereotype: older women in a specific phase of their life with adult children. But stereotypes are detrimental to how we foster understanding about this transitional life phase.

The theme for this year’s World Menopause Day is centered around driving awareness on Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI). POI, sometimes referred to as premature menopause, is defined as a loss of ovarian activity under the age of 40. It can levy a heavy emotional and physical toll on those undergoing it – yet so little is understood about why it occurs and who it’s most likely to impact. To find out more about this condition, take a look at the International Menopause Society’s resources on the topic.

There’s no roadmap for menopause that describes what to expect or how to feel. And while science has a pretty good grasp on the “how” and “why,” stigma around menopause still persists. This stigma is embedded in the language we use, and the negative ways we frame it as a society.

We often think of menopause as something that only happens to women, excluding individuals who identify as non-binary, trans, or intersex. We talk about the “suffering” menopause causes, and we offer one-size-fits-all, reactive solutions that seek to control these important biochemical changes, rather than encouraging culture change, sensitivity, and understanding around the topic.

Awareness starts with events like World Menopause Day, but continues in talking openly, sharing experiences, and giving everyone the tools to take care of their own bodies and minds in the best way they see fit.