I have recently finished a fantastic book (finally…it was a biggy). It was written by a prominent American obstetrician and gynaecologist, Christiane Northrup and it is an absolute wealth of information! It is called The Wisdom of Menopause.
Here is a woman who has worked in women’s health all her medical life. She has written many books and has had a distinguished career so her credibility is off the charts.
She is over 70 years old now and she went through a challenging menopause herself. She speaks about this in the book.
What she wrote really spoke to me.
Not only did she go into great detail about biology of what happens during menopause (which I loved because I am a nerdy scientist), but she also addressed what happens to the WHOLE woman. That is, holistically, including the emotional, spiritual, mental and social well-being. She did a great job of linking these altogether.
She stressed that it was not possible to address one thing, without looking at all the others. This is quite a revolutionary way of thinking for a medical doctor as this is not the way they have been traditionally trained (no offence intended to the medical profession).
There is so much information and detail in this book, but one key message that I came away with is that menopause provides a wonderful opportunity to reassess your life.
The symptoms of menopause happen for a reason. They are your body telling you that things are out of balance. These things, whatever they are for you, need addressing if you are to find peace and contentment in the next phase of life.
It could be that you need to look at your health and make adjustments or changes for the better. Or it could be that you are in a redundant relationship which needs to end. Or, it could be that you want to quit your job and start a business where you passions are more aligned. Or even a combination of a few different things. Whatever!
Christiane writes at the end of the book ‘Never forget that the big wisdom of life comes at menopause. There is enormous power here’.
To me, she is saying that menopause brings the greatest opportunity for personal growth since adolescence.
If you would like to explore this opportunity for personal growth during this crazy time, I’d love to catch up with you.
You can book with me for a no obligation quick chat.
