Menopause: Truths and Lies

Menopause is a once in a lifetime body phenomenon where one's hormones slow down and eventually cease the menstrual cycle and thus, the possibility of reproduction. It usually occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, and it's not a short and simple phenomenon. Menopause has a perimenopausal phase, where a biological woman's body has not yet reached menopause and the hormones are in a tumultuous phase that lasts from the first observed menstrual anomalies in the cycle to after 12 months of period absence. The perimenopause phase can last several years, and its effects spill over to one’s mental, physical, and emotional health, as well as their social life. Menopause is part of the life of every person with a uterus, so it has been frequently discussed throughout history, by medical professionals and not. Because of its fame, there is much misinformation and lies out there that can often be attributed to ill-willed individuals or groups that strive to alienate and slander a woman's body. 

History

Of course, as we look further back into the history of menopause, we find many lies and misconceptions that hurt the menopausal individuals by prompting them to believe that their body's purpose is to be aesthetically pleasing and always youthful. Menopause was first called something else with a completely different meaning: oestrogen hormone deficiency. Doctors in the 1960s were sure of the body's lack of something, oestrogen, and they made it look like a disease, as something that took away women's beauty and youth. Later, after many feminist outbreaks and objections to this politically charged topic that unfortunately has led to a knowingly false diagnosis of something completely natural, the health industry started backing under the pressure, and eventually, so-called hormonal therapy was restricted in the early 1980s.  

Myths 

Unfortunately, some myths, lies, and misconceptions, intentionally spread or not, have withstood the positive change of times towards women and their health and are still believed by people as facts. 

Menopause is a disease 

First and foremost, as we have emphasized above, menopause is not a disease. Not many people still think of it as one, but there is a subconscious instinct that it is somehow dirty and bad for the person experiencing it. Menopause is perfectly normal and always has been. The belief that menopause was somehow a disease was spread from ancient times already. 

When people first discovered the existence of menopause and the climacteric period, they defined it as a sin. In the Freudian era, the father of psychoanalysis named it a neurosis, and only 50 years ago did it stopped being treated as a deficiency. This world seems to think that menopause is unnatural, something inherently bad, and yes, there has been positive change. 

through the decades, but many people still feel that they too are sinful, neurotic, or missing something. They are not. 

Women can’t have sex after menopause.  

Menopause has certain symptoms that can make intercourse a bit more tricky. Specifically, vaginal atrophy and lower oestrogen levels can affect sexual activities. Hormone therapy promised to eliminate these symptoms, but as was proven, it was too much work for too little gain, as even though the symptoms were eliminated, the prescribed oestrogen posed serious health risks in the future, like breast cancer and heart attacks. However, these symptoms can be managed way more easily and safely with the use of lubricants, for example. Finally, menopause may affect sexual desire, but not as much as we are made to believe. Women who have regular sexual desire before menopause are likely to continue feeling about the same after menopause. 

Menopausal women become hysteric with an unreasonable temper. 

As much as misogynistic health care individuals and opinionated sexists would like us to believe that menopausal women become more hysteric, irritable, and crazy, unbiased scientific data and women's experiences do not indicate such dramatic changes. The truth behind this myth is that due to the hormonal change in the body, the individual forgoes psychological and behavioural changes. These often are anxiety, depression, mood swings, and short tempers. A major cause for these changes is another change this time in the sleep quality of the individual. Because of hot flashes, a common menopausal symptom where the body changes temperatures often and abruptly, from normal body temperature to hotter temperatures that give a burning sensation, women often awaken in their sleep in night sweats and struggle to fall back asleep. As a result, a poor night's sleep makes them irritable, as it would make any one of us. 

Conclusion  

Misinformation is a major problem in today's world, where information often lacks a verifiable source, but misinformation about menopause has existed long before the iPhone and even before the first tampon. While stopping misinformation and the people that unwillingly or most likely unwillingly spread it is nearly impossible, educating oneself about the truths and lies surrounding menopause is important, especially when you or someone you love is experiencing it. International menopause day is on the 18th of October; raise awareness and stay educated.

Written by Aggeliki Rigalou

References

1. Furman, C. S. (1995). Turning point : The Myths and Realities of Menopause (1995th ed.). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195087734.001.0001

2. McCrea, F. B. (1983). The Politics of Menopause: The “Discovery” of a Deficiency Disease. Social Problems, 31(1), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.2307/800413

3. (2020, April 7). A Historical Perspective on Menopause. Meno Labs. Retrieved October 20, 2024, from https://menolabs.com/blogs/menolife/a-historical-perspective-on-menopause