The Positives of Menopause
Lisa Mosconi, PhD
This week I wanted to share an article excerpted from Dr. Lisa Mosconi’s book, The Menopause Brain. In it, she directly addresses the positives of the menopause transition. Perimenopause—just like puberty and pregnancy—has a full complement of potentially uncomfortable physical, emotional, and mental tribulations.
However, unlike with puberty and pregnancy, we—our culture, our informational resources, our healthcare professionals, and our friends and family support systems—tend not to view the mood swings, brain hiccups, and hormonal derangement of the menopause transition with the tolerance, optimism, and compassion that is typically extended to an expectant mother or a young woman struggling to blossom and mature.
This generalized and pervasive negativity, doubt, and fear about the menopause transition interferes with our ability to see and cultivate the positive benefits of the changes we are experiencing.
Mosconi describes four specific benefits that research is showing tend to emerge from the menopause years:
· Greater happiness. According to multiple studies done in First World nations, a majority of postmenopausal women typically feel happier than they have ever been. Although she does not specifically define “happiness,” I think the quick key takeaway is that the menopause transition offers women an innate, embodied opportunity to reckon with and break with their past and do things differently moving forward. By consciously embracing this challenging time as a rite of passage, it is possible, even probable, that a person’s life satisfaction may increase.
· New Beginnings. Built into women’s maturation process is the chance for, as Mosconi puts it, “a second adulthood.” Once the symptoms of perimenopause subside and women are released from cyclic hormonal fluctuations and the risk of pregnancy, new horizons of possibility and priority open up for them. Previously unknown reserves of energy are released – what anthropologist Margaret Mead called "menopausal zest"– and aimed toward goals other than caretaking.
· Emotional Mastery. Interestingly, Mosconi’s own research has shown that in postmenopausal women, the amygdala (our emotion and fear processing center) tends to “become less reactive to negative emotional stimulation.” As a result, it is easier for us to connect to our prefrontal cortex (seat of reason) and cultivate space between our feelings and our actions. This gives us the pause we need to consider and choose how we wish to respond rather than being driven by overpowering or suppressed emotions.
· Greater Empathy. Not only do women tend to emerge from perimenopause with an increased capacity for empathy, but our facility for empathic concern continues to grow as we age. There are different types of empathy that Mosconi goes into, but the upshot is that women in mid-life and beyond seem to be increasingly wired to cultivate an interest in others’ perspectives and well-being, and to foster connection and communal well-being.
The 3 P's
During puberty we often experience pimples, body odor, increased vulnerability, and powerful mood swings. However, puberty also brings us new sensations, increased self-awareness and relational capacities, and the excitement of curiosity and exploration as our world expands.
During pregnancy women can experience intense nausea, powerful mood swings, swollen ankles, and hemorrhoids. Yet they can also feel excited and joyful, calm and confident, and powerful, in tune with Life itself.
It is no different in perimenopause. Women in perimenopause can be sweaty and exhausted, brain fogged and forgetful, anxious and achy. But we can also be pleasantly anticipating an end to periods and pregnancy risk, feeling more confident and less worried about what others are thinking, and discovering that we can surprise ourselves and start over when we need to without shame or excuse.
Puberty, Pregnancy, and Perimenopause. We go through genetically engineered periods of rewiring and remodeling that prepare us for what’s coming and what we’re needed for going forward.
Women are amazing because our brains and bodies initiate and manage studs-to-surface renovations repeatedly, naturally, and wisely at each life transition! We need to take care of ourselves and learn as much as we can to support ourselves as we traverse any of these intense years-long periods of our lives. But we can also learn to trust these passages. Under patriarchy, we have become alienated from ourselves and are likely to view what we might otherwise appreciate about our capabilities with suspicion.
I have had an incredibly difficult time coming to understand and appreciate this. But the more I learn about menopause, the more I seek out and embrace the creative and healing possibilities that are on offer, the more positive and excited I am about the future. And the more in awe I am of women, all the wisdom living in our cells and the potential that has for our future as a global community of beings.
Reference:
Mosconi, Lisa. (2024). The Menopause Brain. Penguin Random House.
Image Reference:
https://mangopublishinggroup.com/you-are-an-awesome-woman-secrets-of-highly-successful-women/