Beautiful writing on a difficult subject. The cognitive dissonance between reality and what my brain thought was real as I denied to myself that I was aging. I still go there sometimes - my head thinks I'm 25 and well, I'm not. I think you captured what women go through as they hit perimenopause and start obsessing everything in order to control something that can not be controlled. Thanks for directing me to this article. It enhanced my day since I struggle with this and I find other's perspectives very helpful. I'm your next new subscriber!
Thank you so much for this thoughtful response—I’m so glad the article spoke to you! That tension between how we feel inside and the reality of aging can be so real, and learning to let go of what we can’t control is a journey, isn’t it? I’m thrilled to have you as a new subscriber and to share in this conversation with you.
I love the quote "It's more about the attitude that we bring to whatever we're encountering in life that determines whether it's going to be suffering or an opportunity to wake up." It's so true - about everything.
Thank you! That idea has been such a guiding force for me—our mindset truly shapes how we experience life’s challenges. Whether it’s menopause or anything else, approaching it with the right attitude can turn it into an opportunity for growth and self-awareness. I’m so glad it resonated with you!
YES YES YES to everything you’ve written! Reframing all kinds of old narratives as I’ve approached menopause has been really liberating. I officially crossed over from peri to the ‘pause last Saturday and had a little celebration with my husband. It feels good to be on the other side and know that the grass is pretty green over here!
I love that you reframed those old narratives and embraced the transition with a celebration—that's beautiful! It’s so encouraging to hear that the other side of menopause feels liberating and that the grass is green over there. Your positivity is contagious!
Great article Kristi! Agree 💯 with your perspective on gracefully and gratefully aging, and all those practices you mention are spot on. I am also a proponent of intuitive eating and am done with diets. My body at 64 has settled into a weight I don’t always love (societal norms run deep) and yet I too feel more beautiful and more in possession of my body than ever before. It’s the best gift we can give ourselves. By the way, i am currently writing about the stigma around menopause in the workplace for an online media platform I write for. I was astounded to learn that 75% of women who experience menopause symptoms at work are too ashamed to talk about it. Some employers are however addressing menopause in wellness programs, benefits, and awareness raising.
Amy, it makes me so so so happy to hear that you feel beautiful and in possession of your body. It's such an amazing feeling, isn't it? And especially after a lifetime of not always being kind and loving to it.
Re: women in menopause and the workplace. This is a topic I'm interested in hearing more about, especially the types of accommodations and programs out there. We've only just begun talking about menopause outside the workplace, so it's not that surprising that women don't want to talk about it at work. I hope that will change!
Yes I am happy about it, too but of course there is still the lifelong struggle that rears its head now and then, all part of being a woman in this world. As for menopause and the workplace I will share the article with you when it is published. I hope that our conversation about menopause does start to infiltrate the workplace.
This is a great fresh perspective on leaning into the inevitably of our new life phase.
I'm the first to admit, I don't like change. Especially the can't ever go back kinda change.
But I know that regardless of how I initially handle changes, I slip into the thought process that says, whatever this is now will be forever, which helps me to accept the new change but then holds me to that space. Does that make sense?
Anyway, this article is a good reminder to keep my knees bent and accept my ever rapidly changing body.
I’m glad you resonated with the idea of “keeping your knees bent”! It can be challenging to accept changes, especially when they feel permanent. Your perspective on embracing the current moment while recognizing that change is a constant is so valuable.
Keep on bringing this important convo to the forefront Kristi. I appreciate the way you keep it straight and up (OK, I'm not sure what straight and up means but I think I mean you give us the real goods and keep it positive and real!! Maybe we need that printed on a T-shirt🤣 - Here's to keeping it straight and up!!)
Ha! I love the idea of a “straight and up” T-shirt—might be just the right reminder for all of us! 😊 Here’s to keeping things real and lifting each other up!
Everything you just wrote I came to the same conclusions about the changes my body is going through during perimenopause.
Perimenopause has been extremely difficult for me. I get depressed, heavily bloated, the emotions can change hour by hour and I bleed horrifically, all things I've never experienced in my 50+ years. And the first few times this happened I was extremely angry and terrified.
At one point during the 3rd cycle this happened I realized I cannot control this so had to roll with it. I began with accepting it. Then I've learned to live in the moment, especially when I'm not having symptoms because I never know when they'll be back. I also know this is temporary. It all could last years but it will end someday.
Perimenopause has actually made me a more patient woman. And I've realized how truly strong I can be mentally and physically. It's helped me feel empowered and grateful I'm a woman.
Thank you for sharing your journey! It’s incredible how we can feel so connected through these shared experiences. Your shift from fear to acceptance is inspiring, and I love how you've embraced the strength and resilience this process has revealed in you. Perimenopause is unpredictable, but your perspective of living in the moment and finding empowerment in it is truly powerful. I’m so glad my words resonated with you, and I appreciate you sharing this.
Kristi, thank you for this, your beautiful honesty and vulnerability, and these excellent five ways to accept ourselves just as are, which is certainly a challenge in our society and especially with menopause, and oh yes, very especially in this season. I am also feeling more at home in myself than ever before but am still struggling to accept my body just as it is. I am unpacking all the layers of that struggle, however, rather than pushing it away. I know that there is the reward of greater peace and acceptance at the end of that exploration.
Congrats on being post-menopausal and making the most of the gifts!!
I am just a few months into recognizing I’m in peri, and I’d wished I’d known what I know now years ago. I would have been so much more prepared and perhaps could have addressed the brain fog, anxiety and sleep issues sooner.
Beautiful writing on a difficult subject. The cognitive dissonance between reality and what my brain thought was real as I denied to myself that I was aging. I still go there sometimes - my head thinks I'm 25 and well, I'm not. I think you captured what women go through as they hit perimenopause and start obsessing everything in order to control something that can not be controlled. Thanks for directing me to this article. It enhanced my day since I struggle with this and I find other's perspectives very helpful. I'm your next new subscriber!
Thank you so much for this thoughtful response—I’m so glad the article spoke to you! That tension between how we feel inside and the reality of aging can be so real, and learning to let go of what we can’t control is a journey, isn’t it? I’m thrilled to have you as a new subscriber and to share in this conversation with you.
I love the quote "It's more about the attitude that we bring to whatever we're encountering in life that determines whether it's going to be suffering or an opportunity to wake up." It's so true - about everything.
Thank you! That idea has been such a guiding force for me—our mindset truly shapes how we experience life’s challenges. Whether it’s menopause or anything else, approaching it with the right attitude can turn it into an opportunity for growth and self-awareness. I’m so glad it resonated with you!
YES YES YES to everything you’ve written! Reframing all kinds of old narratives as I’ve approached menopause has been really liberating. I officially crossed over from peri to the ‘pause last Saturday and had a little celebration with my husband. It feels good to be on the other side and know that the grass is pretty green over here!
I love that you reframed those old narratives and embraced the transition with a celebration—that's beautiful! It’s so encouraging to hear that the other side of menopause feels liberating and that the grass is green over there. Your positivity is contagious!
Great article Kristi! Agree 💯 with your perspective on gracefully and gratefully aging, and all those practices you mention are spot on. I am also a proponent of intuitive eating and am done with diets. My body at 64 has settled into a weight I don’t always love (societal norms run deep) and yet I too feel more beautiful and more in possession of my body than ever before. It’s the best gift we can give ourselves. By the way, i am currently writing about the stigma around menopause in the workplace for an online media platform I write for. I was astounded to learn that 75% of women who experience menopause symptoms at work are too ashamed to talk about it. Some employers are however addressing menopause in wellness programs, benefits, and awareness raising.
Amy, it makes me so so so happy to hear that you feel beautiful and in possession of your body. It's such an amazing feeling, isn't it? And especially after a lifetime of not always being kind and loving to it.
Re: women in menopause and the workplace. This is a topic I'm interested in hearing more about, especially the types of accommodations and programs out there. We've only just begun talking about menopause outside the workplace, so it's not that surprising that women don't want to talk about it at work. I hope that will change!
Yes I am happy about it, too but of course there is still the lifelong struggle that rears its head now and then, all part of being a woman in this world. As for menopause and the workplace I will share the article with you when it is published. I hope that our conversation about menopause does start to infiltrate the workplace.
This is a great fresh perspective on leaning into the inevitably of our new life phase.
I'm the first to admit, I don't like change. Especially the can't ever go back kinda change.
But I know that regardless of how I initially handle changes, I slip into the thought process that says, whatever this is now will be forever, which helps me to accept the new change but then holds me to that space. Does that make sense?
Anyway, this article is a good reminder to keep my knees bent and accept my ever rapidly changing body.
I’m glad you resonated with the idea of “keeping your knees bent”! It can be challenging to accept changes, especially when they feel permanent. Your perspective on embracing the current moment while recognizing that change is a constant is so valuable.
Keep on bringing this important convo to the forefront Kristi. I appreciate the way you keep it straight and up (OK, I'm not sure what straight and up means but I think I mean you give us the real goods and keep it positive and real!! Maybe we need that printed on a T-shirt🤣 - Here's to keeping it straight and up!!)
Ha! I love the idea of a “straight and up” T-shirt—might be just the right reminder for all of us! 😊 Here’s to keeping things real and lifting each other up!
Acceptance really is the key. Like you, I feel better about myself now than I ever did when I was younger/thinner.
Yes!! There’s something about leaning in to who you really are that is so liberating.
Are you in my head? Lol.
Everything you just wrote I came to the same conclusions about the changes my body is going through during perimenopause.
Perimenopause has been extremely difficult for me. I get depressed, heavily bloated, the emotions can change hour by hour and I bleed horrifically, all things I've never experienced in my 50+ years. And the first few times this happened I was extremely angry and terrified.
At one point during the 3rd cycle this happened I realized I cannot control this so had to roll with it. I began with accepting it. Then I've learned to live in the moment, especially when I'm not having symptoms because I never know when they'll be back. I also know this is temporary. It all could last years but it will end someday.
Perimenopause has actually made me a more patient woman. And I've realized how truly strong I can be mentally and physically. It's helped me feel empowered and grateful I'm a woman.
Thank you for sharing your journey! It’s incredible how we can feel so connected through these shared experiences. Your shift from fear to acceptance is inspiring, and I love how you've embraced the strength and resilience this process has revealed in you. Perimenopause is unpredictable, but your perspective of living in the moment and finding empowerment in it is truly powerful. I’m so glad my words resonated with you, and I appreciate you sharing this.
Kristi, thank you for this, your beautiful honesty and vulnerability, and these excellent five ways to accept ourselves just as are, which is certainly a challenge in our society and especially with menopause, and oh yes, very especially in this season. I am also feeling more at home in myself than ever before but am still struggling to accept my body just as it is. I am unpacking all the layers of that struggle, however, rather than pushing it away. I know that there is the reward of greater peace and acceptance at the end of that exploration.
Congrats on being post-menopausal and making the most of the gifts!!
I am just a few months into recognizing I’m in peri, and I’d wished I’d known what I know now years ago. I would have been so much more prepared and perhaps could have addressed the brain fog, anxiety and sleep issues sooner.