I haven't posted much over the few years since I joined, but I do check in now and again. I thought I would share this essay that I put up on my blog, which is about the midlife passage in general (but about menopause a lot anyway). I hope you enjoy. If you are interested in the blog, it's at this address: http://midlife-map.blogspot.com/
*************
"I'm lying on the floor half the day," my friend is telling me. "The hot flashes are so strong I feel like I'm going to faint." Renee is one of many women I've spoken to whose perimenopausal symptoms are intense enough to alter her daily functioning. I feel an instant bond with her as we share stories of our difficult passage. Popular wisdom says that if your mother had an easy time of it, you probably will too. But Renee is one of several women I know who questions the popular wisdom - because her mom, like mine, reported few if any symptoms.
Are our mothers' menopause memories just a form of amnesia, an example of how people tend to remember the good and sweep the unpleasant under the rug? Or do they indicate a cultural change that reflects the navel gazing qualities of younger age groups compared to the outward-looking views of my parents' generation?
It could be some of each. Let's throw a third possibility into the mix: environmental contaminants, which have permanently invaded the bodies of each and every one of us. Chemicals from plastics, pesticides and other man-made toxins act as endocrine disruptors - which, say researchers, can mimic or block hormones and disrupt normal functions. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, "This disruption can happen through altering normal hormone levels, halting or stimulating the production of hormones, or changing the way hormones travel through the body, thus affecting the functions that these hormones control." Debate continues on the human effects, but low birth rates, birth defects and failure of nesting behavior in the animal world can be traced to known extreme exposure to endocrine disruptors.
Since the female body is already in hormonal chaos around menopause, it's certainly possible that the build-up of environmental factors since our mothers' time could compound symptoms in the more hormonally-sensitive of younger generations.
Last, we can't forget that the world is changing faster than we are, demanding more from us than seems humanly possible. It's been pointed out that humans have not evolved to cope with the kind of chronic low-to-moderate stress that modern life imposes on us. Despair, depression and anxiety about world events and personal issues can take a toll on our immune systems.
Though most people carry on in public as though nothing is wrong, more and more of us are sharing stories about just how difficult it is to live in the world we've created. Technology brings evidence of our short-sightedness to our living rooms every minute of every day. Our parents were worried about their survival during the Great Depression. Many of us are doing that too, only now it's coupled with ongoing distress about carcinogens, rising oceans, failing pollination due to bee decline, soil depletion, killer viruses, genetically altered and hormonally treated food, and so on. Not to mention more immediate stressors such as joblessness, homelessness, lack of education and global economic crises (to name just a few).
So when a 50-something woman says she feels like lying down half the day, perhaps menopause isn't entirely to blame. I feel a fatigue and an anxiety that may or may not have affected my mother, who was perhaps too busy raising four children to notice, too busy willingly taking on a role that I rejected (motherhood). It was still the 70s, after all, and cultural consciousness about female sexuality (and equality) was young. There were lots of things we didn't talk about then, and the types of internal conversations many of us have now were probably too luxurious for the women of her day.
There is something to be said for roles, expectations and rituals, not that I'm advocating a return to any particular "good old days." But today's lack of such markers and civilities leaves us with little to hold onto, and few indications of progress. If we can no longer find meaning and purpose within our homes, our jobs, and our communities, the world begins to look like a pretty scary place. Circa, say, 2009.
Perhaps we women, with our extra sensitivities, are canaries in the coal mine, indicators of the health and balance of the planet. It's not such a far fetched idea; to bring the world into equilibrium, many have called for the return of the feminine principle. I say, give Mother Earth a big estrogen patch and let's get the show on the road.
Full Version: Off the Map (essay)
Your post really hit home. I know from reading these boards that I don't suffer as much as a lot of the women here. But there are days when I feel like just laying down and just letting the world go by. I agree with you about the environmental problems causing menopause symptoms to be much worse than it was for our mothers. And we have so much more to worry about these days, don't we? I often think of my daughters, who are in the midst of raising small children. What will menopause be like for them? I pray there are more Dr's that will really listen to them and not make them feel "dismissed."
I love this! Thanks for sharing it with us.
What a lovely article and well written too. Thank you. I look forward to the blog.
Thank you very much for the article. I worry about the environmental contaminants and the effects they are having on my dd who starting having pubic hair at the age of 6. After taking her to the doctor we discussed these hazards, and I quickly threw out all of the products that I knew of that contained those with estrogenic properties...switched to more natural products and hoped that I had not done too much damage. Now she is 12, will be 13 next week, and is having a period every 23 days and menstrul migraines. I wonder what I can do to reverse this. I definitely don't want her having the difficult years that I had with severe menstrual cramping and very heavy periods which I now understand was too much estrogen in my body.
I look forward to reading your blog, and thank you again for your post...
TJ
I look forward to reading your blog, and thank you again for your post...
TJ
Thanks everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to read it, and to check out the blog. Peace and relaxation, and smooth sailing, to you all!
QUOTE (Kaylie @ Feb 22 2009, 05:37 AM) 
I haven't posted much over the few years since I joined, but I do check in now and again. I thought I would share this essay that I put up on my blog, which is about the midlife passage in general (but about menopause a lot anyway). I hope you enjoy. If you are interested in the blog, it's at this address: http://midlife-map.blogspot.com/
*************
"I'm lying on the floor half the day," my friend is telling me. "The hot flashes are so strong I feel like I'm going to faint." Renee is one of many women I've spoken to whose perimenopausal symptoms are intense enough to alter her daily functioning. I feel an instant bond with her as we share stories of our difficult passage. Popular wisdom says that if your mother had an easy time of it, you probably will too. But Renee is one of several women I know who questions the popular wisdom - because her mom, like mine, reported few if any symptoms.
Are our mothers' menopause memories just a form of amnesia, an example of how people tend to remember the good and sweep the unpleasant under the rug? Or do they indicate a cultural change that reflects the navel gazing qualities of younger age groups compared to the outward-looking views of my parents' generation?
It could be some of each. Let's throw a third possibility into the mix: environmental contaminants, which have permanently invaded the bodies of each and every one of us. Chemicals from plastics, pesticides and other man-made toxins act as endocrine disruptors - which, say researchers, can mimic or block hormones and disrupt normal functions. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, "This disruption can happen through altering normal hormone levels, halting or stimulating the production of hormones, or changing the way hormones travel through the body, thus affecting the functions that these hormones control." Debate continues on the human effects, but low birth rates, birth defects and failure of nesting behavior in the animal world can be traced to known extreme exposure to endocrine disruptors.
Since the female body is already in hormonal chaos around menopause, it's certainly possible that the build-up of environmental factors since our mothers' time could compound symptoms in the more hormonally-sensitive of younger generations.
Last, we can't forget that the world is changing faster than we are, demanding more from us than seems humanly possible. It's been pointed out that humans have not evolved to cope with the kind of chronic low-to-moderate stress that modern life imposes on us. Despair, depression and anxiety about world events and personal issues can take a toll on our immune systems.
Though most people carry on in public as though nothing is wrong, more and more of us are sharing stories about just how difficult it is to live in the world we've created. Technology brings evidence of our short-sightedness to our living rooms every minute of every day. Our parents were worried about their survival during the Great Depression. Many of us are doing that too, only now it's coupled with ongoing distress about carcinogens, rising oceans, failing pollination due to bee decline, soil depletion, killer viruses, genetically altered and hormonally treated food, and so on. Not to mention more immediate stressors such as joblessness, homelessness, lack of education and global economic crises (to name just a few).
So when a 50-something woman says she feels like lying down half the day, perhaps menopause isn't entirely to blame. I feel a fatigue and an anxiety that may or may not have affected my mother, who was perhaps too busy raising four children to notice, too busy willingly taking on a role that I rejected (motherhood). It was still the 70s, after all, and cultural consciousness about female sexuality (and equality) was young. There were lots of things we didn't talk about then, and the types of internal conversations many of us have now were probably too luxurious for the women of her day.
There is something to be said for roles, expectations and rituals, not that I'm advocating a return to any particular "good old days." But today's lack of such markers and civilities leaves us with little to hold onto, and few indications of progress. If we can no longer find meaning and purpose within our homes, our jobs, and our communities, the world begins to look like a pretty scary place. Circa, say, 2009.
Perhaps we women, with our extra sensitivities, are canaries in the coal mine, indicators of the health and balance of the planet. It's not such a far fetched idea; to bring the world into equilibrium, many have called for the return of the feminine principle. I say, give Mother Earth a big estrogen patch and let's get the show on the road.
*************
"I'm lying on the floor half the day," my friend is telling me. "The hot flashes are so strong I feel like I'm going to faint." Renee is one of many women I've spoken to whose perimenopausal symptoms are intense enough to alter her daily functioning. I feel an instant bond with her as we share stories of our difficult passage. Popular wisdom says that if your mother had an easy time of it, you probably will too. But Renee is one of several women I know who questions the popular wisdom - because her mom, like mine, reported few if any symptoms.
Are our mothers' menopause memories just a form of amnesia, an example of how people tend to remember the good and sweep the unpleasant under the rug? Or do they indicate a cultural change that reflects the navel gazing qualities of younger age groups compared to the outward-looking views of my parents' generation?
It could be some of each. Let's throw a third possibility into the mix: environmental contaminants, which have permanently invaded the bodies of each and every one of us. Chemicals from plastics, pesticides and other man-made toxins act as endocrine disruptors - which, say researchers, can mimic or block hormones and disrupt normal functions. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, "This disruption can happen through altering normal hormone levels, halting or stimulating the production of hormones, or changing the way hormones travel through the body, thus affecting the functions that these hormones control." Debate continues on the human effects, but low birth rates, birth defects and failure of nesting behavior in the animal world can be traced to known extreme exposure to endocrine disruptors.
Since the female body is already in hormonal chaos around menopause, it's certainly possible that the build-up of environmental factors since our mothers' time could compound symptoms in the more hormonally-sensitive of younger generations.
Last, we can't forget that the world is changing faster than we are, demanding more from us than seems humanly possible. It's been pointed out that humans have not evolved to cope with the kind of chronic low-to-moderate stress that modern life imposes on us. Despair, depression and anxiety about world events and personal issues can take a toll on our immune systems.
Though most people carry on in public as though nothing is wrong, more and more of us are sharing stories about just how difficult it is to live in the world we've created. Technology brings evidence of our short-sightedness to our living rooms every minute of every day. Our parents were worried about their survival during the Great Depression. Many of us are doing that too, only now it's coupled with ongoing distress about carcinogens, rising oceans, failing pollination due to bee decline, soil depletion, killer viruses, genetically altered and hormonally treated food, and so on. Not to mention more immediate stressors such as joblessness, homelessness, lack of education and global economic crises (to name just a few).
So when a 50-something woman says she feels like lying down half the day, perhaps menopause isn't entirely to blame. I feel a fatigue and an anxiety that may or may not have affected my mother, who was perhaps too busy raising four children to notice, too busy willingly taking on a role that I rejected (motherhood). It was still the 70s, after all, and cultural consciousness about female sexuality (and equality) was young. There were lots of things we didn't talk about then, and the types of internal conversations many of us have now were probably too luxurious for the women of her day.
There is something to be said for roles, expectations and rituals, not that I'm advocating a return to any particular "good old days." But today's lack of such markers and civilities leaves us with little to hold onto, and few indications of progress. If we can no longer find meaning and purpose within our homes, our jobs, and our communities, the world begins to look like a pretty scary place. Circa, say, 2009.
Perhaps we women, with our extra sensitivities, are canaries in the coal mine, indicators of the health and balance of the planet. It's not such a far fetched idea; to bring the world into equilibrium, many have called for the return of the feminine principle. I say, give Mother Earth a big estrogen patch and let's get the show on the road.
Dear'Kylie'
Love the idea of surrounding the Earth with a patch!
My mother,according to her account,only siffered hot flashes and occasional insomnia.I asked her how she coped.She rplied ith a large fan and a small tot of Whisky before bed.
thank you for sharing this most interesting information.
God Bless
Elizabeth
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