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Hormone Pandemonium – From Puberty to Menopause, which is harder?
Many of us at 50 plus are either just starting to enter into perimenopause or just swinging right into full menopause. A natural rite of passage all women will go through because that’s how Mother Nature built women. It’s a time of great reflection, self-evaluation, endings and new beginnings. There are lots of help groups, information, discussions and decisions to be made. I often find myself speaking to women about menopause as they are trying to get how it fits for them. So I often compare it to puberty but just backwards to give a sense of normalcy when one feels like their bodies are out of control. Just for fun I want to compare girls in puberty and women in menopause:
| Puberty | Symptom | Menopause | Symptom |
| Hormones Increase | Significant mood swings, Mild Depression, Cry easy, Cramping in arms, legsTrouble sleeping
Tired, sleeps more Sweating more Forgetful Menses starts
|
Hormones Decrease | Significant mood swings, Mild Depression, Cry easy, Hot flushesTrouble sleeping
Tired, sleepy Night sweats Forgetful Menses ends |
| Emotional changes | Lack of confidence, Confusion, Vulnerable, Stressed easilyMoody
|
Emotional changes | Confidence takes a hit, Confusion, Vulnerable, Stressed easilyMoody |
| Societal expectations | No longer a child, Role confusion, New responsibilities, Expectations to make something of yourselfGet a job | Societal expectations | No longer youthful, Role confusion, Changes in responsibility, Expectations to changeRetirement |
| Lifestyle changes | Changes in diet, eat more, Exercise more, Seek emotional support | Changes in diet eat less, Exercise more, Seek emotional support | |
| Personal Expectations | What shall I do with my life?
|
Personal Expectations | What shall I do with the remainder of my life?
|
Here is a point for you to ponder: Society accepts puberty as expected and necessary transition of becoming an adolescent into adulthood, a normal stage in life. Yet, we have not developed a pill to stop puberty and all its challenging symptoms that come along with it because we have no desire to, so why are we trying take a pill to stop menopause? Is it because we expect adolescents to buck up and put up? Or is menopause simply harder than going through puberty? This is my question to you.
Interestingly, some women who’ve had children later in life will often have daughters going through puberty at the same time Mom is going through perimenopause. The key to surviving the hormone pandemonium in the home (including for the man in the house)
- Learn to understand the changes happening to your bodies. Talk to your health care practitioner
- Communication, talk about these changes with each other so each side has a better appreciation of what is other is going through. Kids need to understand more about menopause, its okay to talk about menopause as it is about puberty
- Time-outs when it’s getting rough. It helps cool down hot tempers or hurt feelings.
- Keep a sense of humor because laughing releases the same endorphins as crying which relieves emotional stress and it’s way more fun for all.
- Healthy diets to nourish your bodies during significant change. If you don’t eat properly symptoms can become worse. Minimize drinking caffeine, alcohol; and consuming refined sugar, you know the drill.
- Exercise, adolescents build strong muscles, sleep better and spend off excess energy in healthy ways there by decreasing stress levels. Mature women, need exercise to maintain health body, strong bones, mobility, increase energy, sleep better and there by decrease stress.
These common sense things most of you know about because we are inundated with health messages constantly in the media, but are you doing it? Are you accommodating your body’s needs properly? Or will you become one of the statistics of people who are not motivated to be pro-active and thereby increase the risk of developing serious diseases or a mental illness? A very important point to keep in mind is that as the mature adult you are the role model. That in itself is a big responsibility.
It’s your life; it’s your choice.
