“In a society that says ‘put yourself last’ self-love & self-acceptance are almost revolutionary” - Brene Brown

Whilst sitting at my desk thinking about ways to change “the change” and how we are best able to accomplish this, I decided to take a moment to read some of the world’s most influential quotes by some of society’s most famous speakers. I was in need of a little inspiration.

During this process, I stumbled upon a quote, funnily enough — by a man! A man we’re all very familiar with, Albert Einstein. (If only men had evolved with the capacity of his beautiful mind!)

The quote read, “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”

After reading this I realised this couldn’t have been a better statement representing the struggles women face when entering menopause. When entering menopause, the world has been led to believe that a woman’s time is up. She is no longer young and full of life and beauty — instead, women are often unfairly categorised as old, wrinkled, and irrational.

Society couldn’t be more wrong. And according to Einstein, society isn’t going to change until we prove them otherwise. Sometimes we have to grab a stereotype by the hand and throw it off the edge to create a new one — or better said, the truth.

Menopause, undeniably, is the end of an era. We are no longer able to have children and our bodies undergo drastic changes. We may feel as though we are stripped of many things that once defined us as women, and we often don’t have a choice in the matter. Facing this reality and accepting it certainly isn’t easy, but I learned to be kind to myself and have patience with who I am becoming.

Menopause may be the end of an era, but that is all it is — an end to an era, not the end of our lives. As humans, we are not meant to live our lives in the same constant state. We are supposed to change, and the sooner menopause is acknowledged as a natural and normal process, the less judgement and fear will surround this time of transition.

“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.” - Brene Brown

Something I soon came to realise after struggling to accept the changes to my body and mind was that removing the sense of judgement from those around you begins with yourself. We cannot influence people’s perception of a situation if we are not willing to influence our own beliefs.

Menopause has taught me a lot about myself. I have learned to love myself even more during difficult times, especially when experiencing menopause symptoms such as hot flashes. I have implemented lifestyle changes to improve my quality of life, and most importantly I have learned to acknowledge and accept that although this is a time of change and the end of an era, it is also the beginning of a brand new journey in my life.

Begin to trust your body, trust the process and trust that those who truly love and care for you will not judge you for the changes happening. Don’t fear the judgement of others when often our harshest critic is the voice inside our own heads. Once we accept our bodies and minds for what they are, others will follow.

Let’s change the way menopause is perceived and prove that women are just as beautiful, bold, bright and confident as we have always been. A few hot flashes, night sweats, memory lapses, joint pain and mood swings may come along the way — but they are not going to stop us from being the goddesses we truly are.

Feminapause Team xx