My Perimenopause Diaries: When midlife becomes medicine

Hey… shall we talk about the M word… as in menopause?

Do you know what… it can still make some people uncomfortable, but at the same time, we are having some brilliant conversations about it! I think we are slowly trending! Don’t you think?

I still remember how naively (and embarrassingly) little I knew about the topic before I could name the intensities, discomfort, and confusion of whatever was happening. Naming it was medicine for me.

I was reading books, attending seminars, listening to podcasts, and watching videos to understand more and I was learning so much, yet most of it was symptom-based management information, and while that’s important, and perfect for many, I knew I needed other answers and I kept thinking, “There must be another perspective to this.”

So I decided to apply my own philosophy and beliefs about life to this transition. I started by sitting with it all… feeling and deeply listening. Then I found the work of brilliant authors that felt yummy to my system! I remember thinking, “Wohooo, this is it! I knew it!”

This stage is powerful… and still feels like it’s an understatement, I don’t mean it in a “forties are the new twenties” kind of way. I am 47… I own it… I don’t want to be 25 again. What I mean is that this stage holds so much potential to liberate us from so much.

Many wise elders refer to this stage as a reclamation, holding the medicine we most need. For many of us, it is an opportunity to finally, wholeheartedly, love and respect ourselves once and for all.

Yes… to love and respect ourselves. Isn’t it about time? It is time. The time is now.

Through observation, I began to learn that Perimenopause actually carries a bespoke and personal map of empowerment through three particular energetic aspects that seem to guide the journey: the aspect of the Spirit, the aspect of the Culture, and the aspect of the Body.

● ✺ ● T H E   S P I R I T ● ✺ ●

This means remembering those forgotten or silenced parts, it means reconnecting to what is sacred, true, and alive within. It also means the level of authenticity and depth of the relationship we have, not only with ourselves, but with others and with the world.

I sat with myself, willing to know and face the truth. I began asking this one big question: What am I here to see, heal, feel, learn, or know that I’m not?

I became curious about the symptoms, which many times carried an answer beyond the obvious, and that’s how I began to be confronted by the truth… my truth.

● ✺ ● T H E   C U L T U R E ● ✺ ●

Healing the culture means unlearning the conditioning that told us our worth was dependent on our productivity, youth, desirability, and beauty, so that we can redefine power on our own terms.

It is about honouring our own timing and making peace with our rhythm… which is huge in a society that worships linearity, competition, and relentless productivity.

Healing the culture means speaking openly about it, not just normalising the symptoms, but the wisdom behind them… and I don’t recall how many “Really?” moments I had by doing this!

It is also about honouring the wisdom of our grandparents and elders, and their very well-lived experience.

● ✺ ● T H E   B O D Y ● ✺ ● 

Healing the body means making peace with it, listening and acting with kindness after potentially years of pushing, perfecting, neglecting, and, may I say, even punishing.

In my case, an intervention was needed to address the level of abandonment I had reached (all the diets, all the treatments, some of them quite aggressive) that I had put my body through in the name of all the wrong reasons… when in truth what it needed was acceptance, care, love and nourishment; so I had to go back to basics and work with a specialist to find the right food, exercise, and supplements for me.

Rest is non-negotiable, rest is non-negotiable, rest is non-negotiable… with or without menopause.

I am personally taking self-care to a whole new level… from magnesium butters rubbed on the soles of my feet to help me sleep, to long walks and grounding moments with nature, to installing a strict app that blocks access to socials, to red light bulbs in my bedroom, to bespoke flower essences, to nervous system regulation practices.

All this to say that yes, it might be a lot, but some call Menopause a “second spring” for a reason; it feels as if life and the body are giving us another opportunity to be more loving and respectful towards ourselves, and I like that.

It is a lot… so let’s take it one day at a time, sometimes one hour at a time… let’s be curious; why not!

That’s all for now…

Until next week,

 A loving note: I’m sharing my lived experience as a woman who menstruates, knowing that not all women do, and not everyone who menstruates identifies as a woman. This is not advice or a recommendation. If something here inspires you, please research, honour your intuition, check local laws, and seek qualified professional support. Any brands I mention are simply personal favourites; I’m not paid, gifted or affiliated. If that ever changes, I’ll label it clearly. 🧡