Reflections on Menopause By Joan Price

I went through menopause 30 years ago at age 50. I taught aerobics with a frozen water bottle emerging from my cleavage, held in place by my Lycra leotard. I wrote at that time:

The fashion industry doesn’t have a clue what we menopausal women want. Give us a line of Hot Flash Wear! I want a shirt made of large patches attached with Velcro. When the hot flash hits and my skin feels like an electric blanket gone amok, I rip the patches open and cool my dermatological hotspots. When the flash subsides, I slap the patches back on.

I didn’t heat my home for an entire winter. Okay, it was Northern California, not Minnesota, but still, visitors sat in my living room without removing winter coats and gloves. A few brave men got naked with me that winter, probably because my hot flashing body warmed them quickly.

Menopausal challenges weren’t just physical. Sometimes it was like PMS on steroids. I could be high on life one moment and in tears the next. I’d spend 10 minutes looking for my purse (it was on my shoulder) or my keys (in the door I just opened). If you live with a menopausal person, never, never move something your person has spent good brain power memorizing!

Once I’d gone through this and come out the other side, I loved being post-menopausal, and I still do. No risk of pregnancy ever. No worries about whether I’m carrying a tampon. No panics about blood-stained clothing. I could even wear white pants now if I wanted to. (I don’t.) The biggest bonus is that my energy and mood are not hormone driven. No more time-of-the-month mood swings and dips.

Don’t think life is over after menopause! In many ways, it’s just beginning. Personally, I feel more empowered than at any time of my life. I wish you the same!

• Joan Price is a globally recognized author and speaker specializing in older-age sexuality. She is our simply timeless inaugural Brand Ambassador. Visit Joan’s website at https://joanprice.com/.