Second thoughts about talking about perimenopause

Okay, so I've been having really pronounced second thoughts about keeping this blog and podcasting about perimenopause. Something tells me it makes me look unstable and disqualifies me from participating in the "normal" world, because going through menopause is not the sort of thing that anybody cares to publicly face or deal with. And think of all the men whom I work with, who just do NOT want to know about this process... Plus, when I get going, I suspect I look a little insane, and at this point in my life, when I'm supposed to be finding and keeping work in the "normal" world, well, going off on little things and just being ME, is not the sort of activity that seems compatible with finding and keeping work.

Who wants to hire a perimenopausal woman? Isn't menopause a form of disability? Isn't it the kind of things that disqualifies a woman from fully participating in life? Isn't it the kind of "condition" that makes everyone (especially men) shy away and run for cover? It's so tremendously mysterious to most people, that it just plain scares them away.

I have a theory, however, that what makes (peri)menopause such a hydra-headed monster, is the level of ignorance and fear around it. I mean, millions and millions of women are going through this phase, but precious few of them know enough about it, to not fear it. When it comes down to it, once you learn about menopause and understand how it affects your own body (which is rarely exactly like other women's bodies), and you find ways to cope with the "condition", the horrors of it decrease exponentially. The stress gets less... which means the symptoms get less... which means it's actually less pronounced and your symptoms may even recede into the background and not come into play in your daily life nearly as much as when you hide from your symptoms, deny them, fear them, and get stressed about them.

The best cure for menopause is, well, menopause... Dealing with it. Facing it. Learning about it. Talking about it. Just being in it, and understanding its place in your life.

The more you hide from it, the worse it gets. The more distressing it is. The more taxing it can be to you and everyone around you. Stress exacerbates your symptoms, and not understanding what's going on with your body causes stress. And the more you hide from what's going on, the worse it is for you. The more you avoid it, the more traumatic it is.

There's actually a HUGE inverse relation between actively facing and dealing with menopause, and the symptomatic experience. At least, that's been my own experience. The more active you are, the more willing you are to deal with it, the less of a "deal" it becomes. The worst thing you can possibly do, is hide from it. It makes you crazy, it makes you insane, it makes your life miserable, and the people around you aren't helped by this, one bit.

There's only one thing to do: deal with it.