Red Hot Mamas In Charge of Change.
By: Red Hot Mamas
Published: September 6, 2019
Dear Red Hot Mamas,
The rite of passage we call menopause happens to every woman if they live long enough. Until the end of the 19th century, the average woman did not live beyond her fertile age and she didn’t live long enough to experience menopause. But today, with the average life expectancy of women going beyond eighty years of age, most women will live a substantial part of their lives beyond menopause which could be 30+ more years in post-menopause.
In our mother’s generation, they didn’t talk about it. They were even embarrassed to admit they were going through “The Change”. Even today women won’t talk about it because of the fact that we live in such a youth oriented culture. Thus, for those women, menopause is often anticipated with anxiety.
For other women in our generation, they want to know what to expect before they get into menopause. They like to have answers and are not shy about asking for the information which they need. These women realize that educating yourself about menopause is critically important because they need to be able to make critical decisions about to handle their menopause. Women who are educated about the subject of menopause may experience menopause with greater ease and less stress because they recognize what is happening to them and are not frightened by its sometimes disconcerting symptoms.
So, in closing, September is Menopause Awareness Month. It’s important for you to develop a plan to take charge of your menopause before it takes charge of you! Assemble your menopause resources. Be prepared to have discussions with your healthcare provider and look for a healthcare provider who has a level of expertise with menopause and is willing to work with you. I also hope you will utilize Red Hot Mamas educational and support channels for additional help.
Log onto www.redhotmamas.org and Red Hot Mamas community forum on www.inspire.com.
And, on a personal note, I am in my postmenopausal years so “Sayonara Menopause”! I’ve held onto my humor keeping a “twinkle in my wrinkles” and my life beyond menopause has become fuller and richer than before.
So, I hope you hold onto your spirit, and look forward to all the years to come.
Good Health to You All,
Karen Giblin
