A Conscious Perimenopause & Menopause Journey
Menopause. How do you feel when you hear that word? I’m guessing it may not evoke feelings of joy and excitement.
Our culture has long associated this part of a woman’s life with shame, and with it being the stage when we are now ‘past our use-by date’. A time that signals the end of fertility, youthfulness and sexuality, all the things our culture values so highly.
But what if I told you that there is another story that we haven’t been told?
A story of conscious perimenopause and menopause.
A story of stepping into your wisdom and power, of letting go of what no longer resonates with you, a stripping back of the layers.
An opportunity to confront the things in your life that you need to change and to heal all the unhealed parts of yourself.
At 49, I am deeeeep in my perimenopause journey, so I am really excited to be able to share some of what I am learning in this space, as well as what I’ve learnt over the years studying women’s rites of passage.
What is Perimenopause?
Let’s start with defining what this perimenopause phase is that lots of people are starting to talk about, which is a GREAT thing that it’s gaining some awareness!
Peri means ‘about’ or ‘around’. So in perimenopause, it’s the time leading into menopause, which is when the menstrual cycle has stopped, defined after a period of 12 months with no periods.
It is not a disease, an illness, or a medical condition. It is a normal phase of a woman’s life cycle and an important transition in the feminine life journey.
Recently, the term Sagescence (the becoming of the wise woman) was coined by my dear teacher Jane Hardwicke Collings.
This time of becoming is not dissimilar to Adolescence and Matrescence, other transformational experiences that include a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual component that can take place over years.
The Emotional Landscape of Perimenopause
About five years before menopause, the “veil of estrogen begins to rise”.
With estrogen often referred to as the ‘hormone of accommodation’, this can bring a sudden awareness of how much a woman is doing for others, how much she is unacknowledged for that, and how much she no longer wants to be doing everything for everybody anymore.
Some of the emotions and feelings women may experience during the perimenopause and menopause transition include:
- Rage
- Anger
- Grief
- Regret
- Relief
- Feeling lost
- Apathy
- Low motivation
- Lack of purpose
- Re-evaluation of life
- A deep need to retreat/turn inwards
- Desire to be alone
- Irritation, lower tolerance, fed up!
- No longer holding back, speaking up
You might read this and feel like it’s mostly doom and gloom, but it’s actually not.
Menopause is one of our sacred feminine rites of passage, and rites of passage are meant to challenge us.
When we experience a conscious perimenopause and menopause journey, there are opportunities for profound healing, growth and transformation. You are literally rebirthing as your wise woman self.
Menopause marks the change from Mother or Creatrix (the Summer Season of our life) into Maga (the Autumn Season of life).
It’s also important to note that the issues that arise during menopause are often the result of the harvest of what began in our childhood, young womanhood, and from our birth experiences, our previous rites of passage.
