Is it menopause, perimenopause or a midlife crisis?

Or is it the great unravelling? No more Mrs Nice Guy

My timeline is full of great menopause memes.

And so much menopause advice. And check lists. And ‘take this and everything is better’ posts.

But let’s get back to basics.

What’s the difference between perimenopause and menopause?

Perimenopause mainly refers tho the phase where our hormones start to change because ovulation changes from our late 30s onwards (earlier for some, later for others). We mainly notice some subtle changes to our cycle. A heavier bleed. A longer, or a shorter cycle. Less predictable. PMS that can feel fairly endless.

Menopause actually refers to the date 12 months from our last menstrual period. After that you’re post menopause.

The average age of menopause is around 52 in the UK. Although I see different ages cited.

But menopause is also used to refer to the symptoms and experience around that one, defining date. There’s a definite cross over with the use of the word perimenopause.

If you’re post menopause and you start bleeding again you need to get to a GP and make them pay attention. Especially if it’s been well over a year since your last period.

Neither perimenopause or menopause are a disease. You don’t (generally) need a test to confirm them.

Where does the midlife crisis come in?

When we’re experiencing the impact of perimenopause we are often also raising teens, sometimes caring for our elderly parents, usually working and running a home, planning for the future and surviving the everyday.

There’s a lot going on.

AND it’s an opportunity to review our lives, priorities and value at this point in life. Often we’ve followed path that’s felt like a treadmill, each step unfurling before us, but when we reach our 40s that path can feel harder to follow. Partly due to hormonal changes shifting how we feel about work, relationships, ourselves. And partly because we start to look differently at the future.

Want to take some time to explore how best to support your wellbeing in this stage of life? Let’s have a chat.