Menopause is a fact of every woman’s life. Some women may feel mentally and emotionally weak during this phase, and some may be actually fighting to stay as strong as they were before starting their peri-menopause. Some may be struggling with loneliness and others may be working through it with their beloved family members by their side.
In this progressive modern era what we are missing is our families. We are standing independent and strong but we are losing our support system, i.e. FAMILY. And why is this? So we may achieve more success, money and fame.
Do you remember the first moment of your life in which you shared something important with your mother or sister, or any other family member? Do you remember how it felt when they wanted to know your feelings and experiences? Surely you must have felt better to have shared your feelings with your dear family member. Now however, for many reasons, we haven’t shared our feelings with anyone, and we continue to struggle with our emotions and feelings all alone.
In India, we have a supported family system. All family members are there for each other when we struggle as well as when we celebrate our joys. We share our thoughts, our feelings and our lives with each other. Also, this bonding extends to our neighbourhood as well.
Now, you must be wondering why in this article, I am writing about family and relationships instead of menopause.
Let me explain…
Bonafide, the women’s healthcare company, last year conducted a survey of around 1000 U.S.A. women in various stages of their menopause journey. They released their first State of Menopause Study which combines their symptoms, treatments and general disposition.
Some of the findings of this survey determined:
The most common outlet for women to discuss their menopause symptoms is with a doctor or healthcare provider (31%) and only about 17% of women discuss their symptoms with a significant other. 9% of women prefer to talk to their mother and 11% of women talk to their female family members.
Surprisingly, 49% of women report never feeling supported by the men in their family about their symptoms. This is actually a big number and we must focus here on changing this scenario, especially if this is more or less the same condition globally.
Family is a bond of love
Family is a bond of love, a bond of care and a place where we can be ourselves just as we are. Everyone needs a comfortable space to share and here in India, we find most probably such a space only within our families.
To share our menopausal problems, our mood swings, our symptoms, we first prefer to talk to our mother or sister and then to female family members. This woman can be anyone with whom we feel very comfortable, whom we trust, and whose opinion we respect. She can be our aunt or grandma or anyone close to us.
So how do we feel after sharing with this woman? We feel warmth after her kind words. We also feel emotional support and a true sense of belonging from her. In the absence of a female family member, then often a neighbor with whom we have a strong and positive emotional bond will provide this emotional support for us. So it is important to create a positive relationship of good values with our neighbors as well.
In conclusion, I must ask all my readers who are actually struggling with their menopause, to create an emotional support system in which to share your emotional ups and downs. This will be of great aid in avoiding stress, anxiety and other issues attributed to menopause.
Try to share with a male family member
Also, try to talk to your male family members about your menopausal phase and particularly try to make them more sensitive to this subject. We must educate them about all aspects of menopause and the affects it will have on a woman’s life.
Sharing is caring.
Mohinee Gharpure
Menopause. Mental Wellbeing. Women’s Empowerment.
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