It's interesting when you try to find out things about Menopause, because all of the information is either really vague or really generic: you may experience this, you might find that, this other thing could be a symptom of menopause, but we don't know.
Being brutally honest, there's very little concrete information about menopause because we all experience different things at different times: there's no certainty about the age at which we'll start menopause, we have no idea how long it will last and no clue as to which possible symptoms will present and which ones we're going to avoid.
So I thought I'd talk to a few women to find out their experiences during peri-menopause (I didn't know that was an actual thing till I found myself in it!), menopause and post-menopause.
The one thing that is for sure is that the best way we can support ourselves is through conversation with other women who are going through or have gone through menopause to find out what happened for them and how they dealt with it, what they found useful and what was a waste of time.
In the first of this Menopause series, I chat with Maurya Rieder about her experiences, what she discovered in her research about menopause (she's a scientist so she was pretty thorough!) and how she (and her family!) survived the whole thing, especially (as Maurya says) on those days when you're “not fit for human consumption”!
How to cope with the sleepless nights
The impact of childbirth and menopause not being discussed by older women
Why it's so difficult to study menopause
Why there's no medical test that can tell you if you're in peri-menopause
How menopause isn't discussed or even considered by most women until the symptoms begin to show, and often, it's still not discussed then
Why getting support and discussing menopause is so important
Which supplements can help manage the symptoms of menopause
How menopause can lead you to unnecessarily ending relationships
Listen to the podcast to see how this compares to your experiences or to get a heads up on what life's like during this interesting time.
Join Us In The
Menopause, Marriage and Motherhood Facebook Group
Think of this group like going to a comfortable restaurant.
You walk in, there's music playing, the smell of fresh food and coffee is in the air, there's comfy furniture for you to take a seat on, the waitstaff asks you what you'd like to order.
You look around and everybody smiles and greets you warmly, and you realise you are surrounded by amazing, friendly, like-minded women.
You grab your drink, take a sip and sit down feeling very relaxed; somebody asks you what your name and story is.
You smile and introduce yourself, telling everyone who you are, where you're from, where you're at in your life, what you love most about it, and where you want to take things from here (if you know).
Everyone in the room is at a similar stage in life but with completely different experiences, and you realise that there is a wealth of knowledge and experience all in one place which everyone is extremely willing to share to help each other grow.
This is a safe space filled with amazing, positive minded, talented, kind and supportive women who are all on the same journey of trying to build the best life that they possibly can.
Today's Guest: Maurya Rieder
Wife, mother, IT Project Manager, avid personal growth devotee.
Maurya Rieder, oldest of 4 kids, parent of two, American by nature, Australian by choice.
She loves to pursue growth type activities, including participating in Landmark Education's programs for a number of years.
Reading personal growth books is one of her favourite pastimes.
Maurya has been in menopause for 3 years and is, on the whole, quite happy about that.
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