H E A LT H
LIVING FORWARD Through Menopause
Conversations are shifting around this transition, but committing to finding new joy, cultivating community, and releasing societal pressures further dissolve the lingering shame and stigma BY SELENE YEAGER Emmaus, PA-based host of the Hit Play Not Pause podcast, leader and content manager of feistymenopause.com, best-selling professional health and fitness writer, NASM certified personal trainer, certified menopause coach, and Pn1 certified nutrition coach. FITCHICK3
Shame is defined at dictionary.com as “a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour.” Stigma? That’s “a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.” So why the hell do women feel either of those things about menopause? While societal norms are shifting and conversations surrounding menopause are beginning to be more commonplace, it doesn’t necessarily mean that feelings of shame and stigma have dissipated. In fact, a recent study published in the Journal of Women’s Health reported that 37 per cent of menopausal women said they felt shame related to their menopause symptoms, and 83 per cent reported feeling stigma associated with symptoms. “Despite feeling youthful at heart, facing the realities of aging can be complex, challenging, frustrating, unexpected and downright painful,” says Rebecca Garland, certified menopause health and fitness specialist and the owner of Elan Performance Inc., a coaching company offering coaching, fitness and nutrition to women in midlife.
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AGEISM AND THE ILLUSION OF CONTROL Delving into the root causes of lingering shame, ageism and sexism play significant roles. Popular culture often glorifies the young and ridicules the old, placing young women on pedestals and dismissing older women. Despite societal progress, internalizing these biases can be challenging. “Menopause is often portrayed as a decline in youth and femininity, rather than a powerful life stage,” says Garland. “This perspective is further reinforced by the negative archetypes often ascribed to menopausal/post-menopausal women, as well as the incessant anti-aging marketing that we receive daily.” As active and athletic women this can all hit harder. We’ve come to expect that our bodies will always look and behave a certain way that is in our control: You lift weights and have muscle tone— end of story. Except when it’s not. The physical changes that happen during menopause make us feel ashamed because we feel like we’ve done something wrong. In one study titled "Body Image, Aging, and Identity in Women Over 50," participants expressed this over and over, with one woman summing it up: