A normal and yet difficult part of physical development for women is menopause. Even though all women experience the changes at sometime in their life, there are many myths and misconceptions surrounding the changes.
For starters, what is menopause? Menopause occurs in a woman's late forties and fifties when her ovaries no longer release eggs and the production of estrogen and progesterone comes to a hault. Menopause can be broken down into three stages: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause.
In perimenopause, symptoms of menopause may start to occur as estrogen and perimenopause levels drop off. Symptoms include: frequent periods, hot flashes, irritation in and around the vagina, and mood changes. "Menopause comes next, the end of your menstrual periods. After a full year without a period, you can say you have been “through menopause,” and perimenopause is over" (nia.nih.gov). Postmenopause is the rest of your life after menopause is over.
It is common for many women to fall into major depression during menopause. Menstruation is a sign of womanhood, so the end of menstruation can be viewed as the end of womanhood. With the decline of estrogen and progesterone, unwanted body hair can begin to grow on the chin and upper lip. It seems pretty self explanatory as to why women can feel uncomfortable in their own bodies once again. Another common side effect is a decline of a sex drive. Women no longer feel the want or need to have sex as often as they did before, so they subconsciously associate that feeling with being unattractive. These feelings are caused by the imbalance of hormones in the woman's body, and her overall outlook on menopause. "The meaning she applies to these changes has a determining effect on her emotional response" (Psychology: Concepts and Applications).
While menopause is a physical change, there are many things going on in a woman's mind as well. It is important for the woman to have strong emotional support during this time, otherwise it's easy for her to fall into depression. More than anything, women must slowly learn to accept that they are leaving one phase of their life. Just because they are experiencing menopause, that doesn't mean that they are any less of a woman. As much as possible, her loved ones must remind her of that constantly.
Sources Used:
Menopause. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/menopause
Psychology Today. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/menopause
Nevid, J. (2003). Psychology: Concepts and applications. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Living With: Menopause. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://www.psychguides.com/guides/living-with-menopause/
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