I’m always very open in this letter. Some would call me an oversharer. My husband, for one, thinks that I reveal too much, whether I’m telling you about my state of mind or the health challenges I’ve experienced this year. I remind him that women find comfort, inspiration and motivation in hearing about the experiences of others. And if there’s one area of my life where I’m committed to transparency, it’s menopause.
Its symptoms took me off guard when I was 39. Oblivious to the fact that it’s common for women to enter the perimenopause at that age, I spent more than a year feeling miserable and confused, convinced I was depressed. After being turned down by several doctors – who cited the ‘you’re too young’ nonsense despite my haemorrhaging hormone levels – I finally managed to persuade one to prescribe me hormone replacement therapy. Slowly, steadily, I got my physical and mental health back to an even keel. In hindsight, I got off lightly.
In this year’s Mind Issue – our annual issue dedicated to mental wellbeing – we explore the midlife mental health crisis blighting a generation of women. For the brave women who spoke to us for this piece, the hormonal chaos that menopause wrought was immobilising; for some of them, it was life-threatening. Just like me, they’ve chosen to share their experiences in the hope that it might help someone else.
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