Menopause, a Second Adolescence
Menopause is not an illness, but a natural process. A woman suffering from menopause needs to relax and her family needs to accept it with consideration.
she feels as if an old lady is sitting in front of the mirror. She also feels her heart starting to pound all of a sudden, and it is hard to control her feelings no matter how hard she tries. However, nothing happens without a cause. If this continues, she needs to think about whether she has reached menopause, which is called a second adolescence.
Life is like a flow of seasons. The time from infancy when a baby takes her first step into the world with a loud cry until adolescence—a time for growth spurts, is like spring when a seed in the dark ground sprouts on the earth. The time of youth when a person lets the flower of life bloom is like mid-summer when the scorching sunlight shines on the land. The midlife is like autumn, the season of harvest when the hard work is paying off. The senescent period when a person becomes weak and his or her hair becomes grey is like winter when white snow falls on the land where all the activities have stopped.
It is natural for autumn to come after summer. In the same way, it is also natural for a woman’s body to change. It would be great if this process gets over without much trouble, but it is said that 90% of middle-aged women suffer from various symptoms of menopause. Experts say that how a woman handles menopause greatly affects her family’s life and happiness as well as hers.
The causes and symptoms of menopause
In the dictionary, menopause is defined as a period of time when the body enters the senescent period from adulthood. As for a woman, as aging proceeds, she experiences physical and psychological changes because her ovarian function weakens and her estrogen levels begin to decrease dramatically. Symptoms of menopause usually occur within ten years before or after menopause. For symptoms of menopause, there are fever, fatigue, hot flashes, rapid heartbeats, indigestion, insomnia, amnesia, neurosis, depression, pain in parts of the musculoskeletal system such as shoulders and knees, lassitude, and so on.
Depression is severe during the period of menopause because a woman feels emptiness due to the loss of femininity caused by menopause, the sense of shame due to aging, and empty nest syndrome caused by her child’s independence and marriage. If the child goes through adolescence around the same time when the mom suffers from menopause, it makes matters worse. It could make home a battlefield. The conflict with the child can also be another cause that oppresses a woman in menopause psychologically.
Andropause is the male version of menopause. Men lose male hormones as they become old and suffer some symptoms. Unlike women who get sudden symptoms of menopause, andropause progresses rather slowly. That’s why they don’t feel a change or may think it as a symptom from stress.
Men who suffer from andropause often get frustrated as they become weak in physical strength and in mind. People say that men become feminine as they grow older; they tend to shed tears while watching a soap opera which they didn’t use to watch, or they want to be protected by their wives. It is because their estrogen levels increase as their testosterone levels decrease. On the contrary, women feel less shy, and become louder and more active in social activities as they grow older.
How to overcome menopause
Think of the menopause as a signal which tells you to prepare the second part of your life, instead of regarding it as an unwelcomed guest. We often see centenarians in this age. One third of your life remains after menopause. One can grow to be a great adult when he or she overcomes adolescence well. Likewise, you can become more emotionally stable later in life when you overcome the menopause wisely.
To do so, you need to exercise regularly as long as the body is able to cope, eat nutritious food, and have enough sleep and rest. It is also good to have genuine conversations with people around you, work with the abilities that you have, or enjoy leisure activities, hobbies, and volunteer services to find the meaning of life.
Nutritional supplements, hormone injections, psychology consultations might be necessary for treatment, but what is more important is to have an optimistic mindset because stress worsens the symptoms of menopause. When parents are confused, it will bring quite a strong influence on their children, and they can hurt each other. Therefore, when you go through things, you need to communicate with your family to solve the problem together.
The symptoms of menopause vary, depending on how often one drinks or smokes or whether one has obesity, high blood pressure, or diabetes. Those things suppress secretion of hormones, so it is better to refrain from harmful habits.
Family’s consideration is the best medicine
The family’s love and consideration is the best medicine for a woman suffering from menopausal symptoms. If her family is indifferent to her or neglects her depression, thinking that she will be alright, her involutional depression becomes worse. When she feels weak and sensitive, if her spouse or children let her feel that they are ready to share joy and sadness with her, she will be greatly comforted.
Children, you need to respect the achievements of your parents and acknowledge their experiences and knowledge. When you talk to your parents about worries you have and ask them for advice, their feelings of loss can be healed and they can gain confidence as parents. You can also do activities together with them, such as going for a walk, exercising, or cooking. Husbands and wives, you need to have a lot of conversations, trying not to create conflicts. Provide emotional stability to each other by expressing love, enjoy hobbies together, and help each other with the housework. When you cope with problems together, you will be able to overcome menopause easily.
Lincoln said, “Every man over forty is responsible for his face.” A bright and positive mind is reflected as a beautiful face, and a negative mind full of complaints as a wry face. Our inward fragrance makes a good impression, which is more valuable than youth. Don’t lament over menopause, thinking, ‘I’m old now,’ but accept it as a process to become a more beautiful and mature person. Then your mind will always be young like a sunny spring day.