Menopause mayhem and other fun things
- affvisitorservice
- Feb 1, 2021
- 2 min read
It is a not so nice twist of nature that hormones can get in the way of your relationships with others. Nature does have a funny sense of humour at times, like making females go through menopause at the same time (or close to) that their aged loved ones might be needing you more. Menopause for many is a tough time and can leave you tired, cranky, depressed and physically unwell making it harder to be there for parents or other aged /aging loved ones when they might need you the most. Case in point -myself and my two older sisters are all going through menopause at the same time, and with our mother being in her early 80’s and widowed, and doing pretty well for her age, it can be stated that her female offspring might find the grouchies coming across to our mum more than it normally would if we weren’t going through this hormonal transition. So it’s definitely a wake up call, a big sweaty flush of a reminder that we need to be even more patient with our mother due to the impact of menopause on our bodies and emotions at this time.
Midlife is also a fun time of other health changes or even lifestyle changes. We might notice other health issues have popped up-high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart issues or at least red flags, deepening mental health issues, adult children leaving (empty nesting), female midlife crises and male midlife crises (fake or real) and the arrival of grandchildren (love and stressors). Midlife can be a tricky time and then you have an aging parent or aging loved one to consider in this mix as well. It is balancing act of trying to juggle ourselves, our responsibilities to others and keeping sane through it all.
What to do !!!
Self care I believe is the key to deal with the above scenario. Let’s learn to delegate tasks we don’t feel up to, take care of ourselves emotionally and physically and really think before we speak (keep the grouchies to a minimum), especially to the ones we love.
Research/read up on (the pros and cons), what stage of life we are going through and what stage of life our aged loved ones are also going through and work together to get through tough times. Talk to your parents about how they handled this time with their aging parents, they survived, we will too! Don’t be a martyr -seek professional support if things get really bad – there are plenty of supports out there to help.
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