Perimenopause is a time of change, for the body… but mostly for the brain. It’s very much like a second (reverse) puberty. Some women experience uncomfortable symptoms while others sail through without much bother at all.

Importantly, perimenopause is a window of opportunity, a time to set your body up for good health for the other half of your life. It’s a chance to ensure strong bones, a healthy brain, heart and metabolic health, using protective hormones while you still have them. Sadly, most women are unaware of this opportunity. However, no matter what stage you are at you can still optimise your current and future health.

Perimenopause is the time (approx. 10-12 years) before your last period when a woman’s body and brain reconfigure for a new stage of life. Hormones start to fluctuate, and sometimes, that journey may get a bit bumpy, but it doesn’t have to be!

Yes, you read right! If the average woman’s last period is around 51-53 years old, that means perimenopause can start around 40!

Menopause starts officially 1 year after the last menstrual period, and in that 12 months you are in the ‘waiting room’ … i.e. waiting to graduate to menopause. Generally, when people think of menopausal symptoms they are actually referring to perimenopausal symptoms, usually subsiding completely after menopause.

Symptoms can include; fluctuation in cycle length, changes to pain, heavy bleeding, unexplained weight gain, mood instability (teariness, anger, frustration, low mood, anxiety), hot flushes, disrupted sleep, IBS and digestive change and low libido. But… it doesn’t have to be that way, and the earlier you start to prepare your body the better your health will be long-term.

While you still have some protective hormones, steps taken at this time can help reduce the chances of developing more serious conditions later in life, such as osteoporosis, muscle loss, pelvic floor problems (incontinence, prolapse), dementia and cardiovascular disease. I know that at this time, you’re probably more worried about other things, like changing metabolism, brain fog and hot flushes…but we can work on both.

Perimenopause is a normal transition, it’s not a disease or condition. Most of the uncomfortable symptoms are a sign of dysregulation in the body, and so much can be done to make it easier.

Regardless of whether you are yet to enter perimenopause, you are halfway through, or you have already graduated to menopause - there are always things that natural medicine can do to optimise health.

The first step is knowing where you are in the transition.

One of the main changes during perimenopause is a rewiring of the brain. It’s a bit like we’re downloading a new operating system and at least, temporarily, this can mean some ‘buffering’, or brain fog and memory issues. This new operating system also gives us a different focus of attention and a shift in priorities from before.

Interestingly, 5 species of whale also go through menopause, so it’s no accident of nature, there’s a good reason for it.

In our first puberty, we experienced a similar rewiring, preparing us for years of being fertile humans. It made us more in-tuned with our menstrual cycle, our fertility, choosing a mate, sex and, raising and caring for children (even, if that’s not what we chose/wanted). This rewiring wasn’t as noticeable simply because we expect puberty to be disruptive. We also didn’t have the same level of responsibility at that time. These days we don’t talk about what menopause is or what it means, and as a result women are scared of it. It’s not that scary, it’s just different.

Our new role means we lose all the ‘stuff’ of fertility - what we gain is a new perspective on life, new priorities, and with it, caring less about things that just aren’t that important.

In terms of human evolution, the grandmother is pivotal in the community, providing education, knowledge, care and protection, supporting the younger parents and children. In native American cultures, they are called Clan Mothers, they give advice and direction around important decisions.

It also means that we can survive longer without needing to drain the food resources of the community, as our metabolism changes to be more ‘efficient’. We need less food to survive, and we store the rest - this means we need higher protein, less carbs, and more downtime. This change in metabolism would be considered a survival advantage however, in our modern environment of endless abundance of food, this efficiency is no longer helpful (what is called an ‘evolutionary mismatch’)

The concept of this being a normal, beneficial stage of life is demonstrated by the fact that we are not the only species to experience menopause. Interestingly, killer whales (Orcas), false killer whales, short-fin pilot whales, belugas, and narwhals also live for decades in a non-fertile phase. It’s thought that they are the knowledge-holders of food sources and hunting practices, providing care to the young and supporting adult offspring. They have similar social groups to us, often living in close proximity to adult children for life, whereas in other species children may leave the group or compete for resources.

During perimenopause, however, we need to be mindful of what our bodies and our brains need. We actually need to be gentle with ourselves and get more rest during the perimenopausal transition. Most women are doing the opposite, which is one of the reasons we feel more anxious and stressed and gain weight during perimenopause. The superwoman-style hustle isn’t serving us at all and it’s setting us back.

Yes, that’s right…you’re just at the peak of your career, trying to catch up on lost time, maybe looking after both teenagers and elderly parents. Trying to train for a marathon, and claw back some youth…

…of course, that’s the time when you need to be resting more!

If you’d like to know how to make this transition easier, how to get some relief from symptoms and set up for a healthy ‘rest of your life’, then book a FREE 15-minute discovery call with me today by clicking the button below.

I really want to change the narrative about menopause! Getting older doesn’t mean becoming redundant. Menopause and aging are two separate things and I would love to see women embracing menopause as a time of finding freedom, strength and inner beauty.

There is a beautiful essay by Bonnie Mary Liston, called ‘The Wildness of Girlhood’ that talks about how when we are little girls at around 10 years old we are our most true, authentic selves. We recognise a deep connection to nature, we believe in fairies and magic. We make potions and connect with animals and we just know stuff.

When puberty starts our bodies and brains reconfigure for the changing roles of being a fertile human, meeting society’s ideals and cultural observances. This stage lasts for around 40 years.

In menopause, our intuition becomes stronger, we return to our ‘witchy ways’ along with a deepening of a spiritual connection to the earth. We reclaim our authentic selves, as described in research by Joanne Sienko Ott.

Our ancestors were women who knew which plants to cook and eat, to heal, and to provide comfort. They had the wisdom of years, and the confidence to express it, take control and be leaders. Their beauty was not that of youth but of wisdom, and strength.

On the other side of this is a new confidence in who you are, and deciding what you want for the rest of your life. We don’t necessarily have the same obligations, or responsibilities as our ancestors. So, we get to take stock and make some choices. It might be deciding what you don’t want, keeping some stuff and shedding some stuff that is no longer serving you, and/or taking on some new things - like a spring clean for the soul.

So who do you want to be when you grow up? What does your perfect life look like? Do you want to be a hands-on grandmother? A world traveller? Do you want a new career, a new dog, a new garden or a hobby? Will you write a book, lecture, or study?

If you’re lucky, you’ll have a good 40-50 years to cultivate that dream life and if you’ve planned well you’ll have the good health to enjoy that.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list for my masterclass program Menopause School - and learn how to be healthy for the rest of your life, then send me a message or hit the button below.

References:

Hoyt, L. T., & Falconi, A. M. (2015). Puberty and perimenopause: reproductive transitions and their implications for women's health. Social science & medicine (1982), 132, 103–112.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.03.031

Brent, Lauren J. N., Franks, Daniel W., Foster, Emma A., Balcomb, Kenneth C., Cant, Michael A., & Croft, Darren P. (2015). Ecological Knowledge, Leadership, and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales. Current Biology, 25(6), 746-750. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.01.037

Minkin, Mary Jane MD, NCMP1; Reiter, Suzanne RNC, NP, MM, MSN2; Maamari, Ricardo MD, NCMP3. Prevalence of postmenopausal symptoms in North America and Europe. Menopause 22(11):p 1231-1238, November 2015. | DOI: 10.1097/GME.0000000000000464

https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/beluga-whales-and-narwhals-go-through-menopause

Ellis, S., Franks, D.W., Nattrass, S. et al. Analyses of ovarian activity reveal repeated evolution of post-reproductive lifespans in toothed whales. Sci Rep 8, 12833 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31047-8

Kristen Hawkes, The Centrality of Ancestral Grandmothering in Human Evolution, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 60, Issue 3, September 2020, Pages 765–781, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa029