Are You Losing the Plot?

I remember when I was in my 30s, my mother started to act strangely. I remember joking with my siblings that she was losing the plot! She was in her mid-50s at the time.

Twenty or so years later, it was happening to me! I really thought I was losing the plot. I didn’t realise until a few years later that it was due to the changes triggered by menopause.  I was irritable, not sleeping and becoming a total bitch to work with!

I had no bloody idea!

When I finally realised that menopause was the issue… or at least the trigger, I started reading and researching all I could about it. I was a biology teacher, so it interested me immensely.

I wish I had known then what I know now! It would have saved me a whole lot of angst!

For a start, I would’ve gone to a specialist menopause doctor sooner. I didn’t even know they existed!

Then, I would’ve started HRT as soon as possible. It was years until I found the Menopause Centre and I suffered unnecessarily. I must mention that I did try HRT in the early days, but I went to a doctor who was initially reluctant and then did a ‘one size fits all’ approach and it didn’t work for me. I didn’t know at the time that HRT could be customised… and neither did the doctor it seemed!

Also, at the time, it was 2010 and there was still the stigma with HRT. Back in 2002, The Women’s Health Initiative study found that taking HRT increased women’s risk of heart disease and breast cancer. As a consequence, many doctors avoided prescribing HRT. Upon reanalysis of the results in recent years, it was found that HRT is appropriate for use in women in early menopause¹.

So… Why do some women (like me and maybe you too) go a bit crazy and lose the plot at menopause?

Well… did you know that we, as humans, are programmed by our sex hormones?

Truth!

courtesy of httpswww.good4younutrition.com.au20170315healthy-hormones-women-men-adolescents

So… what does that mean for you?

Let’s look at us women; We are programmed via oestrogen and progesterone to have sex, want children (most of us anyway) and nurture our families.

Men are programmed via testosterone, the male sex hormone, to want to spread their seed as far as possible, to protect their young and their families.

This is a fundamental biological urge to carry on the species. Humans have done that so successfully, that we are now the dominant species on the planet!

It’s just basic biology!

The only way we could have been so successful was to mate and have as many offspring as possible and this, according to the Darwin Wallace theory of Evolution, ensures the continuation of the species.

Yes… we are but animals with all the same survival and pleasure instincts as other animals on the planet.

In fact, all species that are alive on the planet today are here because they had successful strategies of survival and reproduction and we humans, as fellow earthlings, are no different in that respect.

Okay… enough of the biology lesson!

I can almost see your eyes glazing over!!

So back to why my mother (and I) lost the plot?

Between puberty and menopause in women, sex hormones pretty much run our lives.

Our childhood wounds (we all have them, and they are mostly unconscious) are pushed down, ignored, and not dealt with as the sex hormones tend to mask any issues we may have. We are too busy and distracted to deal with any of this thanks to our hormones.

Gina and her sister Karen in 1961. Childhood wounds come up after the hormonal veil lifts at menopause.

Once menopause hits, and the ‘hormonal veil’ is lifted, the childhood wounds are laid bare. There is nothing masking them anymore².

Scientific studies show evidence that there may be a correlation between difficult childhood experiences and worsened menopause symptoms ^{3, 4, 5}. This correlation seems pretty spot on when it comes to my experience. I wrote a chapter about my life and my difficult childhood in a book. If you are interested to check it out, here is the link. You may be able to resonate with my story.

Childhood wounds can make menopause symptoms worse

So, there is nothing stopping all of those old negative emotions and limiting beliefs from coming up once that hormonal veil lifts. And up they come in the form of old anger, frustration, and sadness as well as the ‘I’m not good enough’ and ‘I don’t deserve’ beliefs. And… it can come up like a volcano!

Yep… like losing the plot!

You know what?

This makes menopause the perfect time for you to work on these old issues and begin to resolve them. Instead of suffering and complaining, you could do the emotional work to set yourself free. With a clean slate, you can design a life that you want.

You ask… How?

Well… Get yourself a coach!

With the help of a coach, you can resolve all that old, outdated crappy emotional stuff which is stored in your unconscious mind and go from ‘wounded self’ to ‘best version’.

With the help of a coach, you can set yourself free and have the life YOU want.

So… what are you waiting for?

If you would like to check out how I can help you, book in for a FREE Soulful Connection Session. Just book in at a time that suits you using my online calendar HERE.

I’d love to have a chat with you to see how I can help.

 

Love, Gina XX

References:

1. Robinson, L. HRT; The History. Women’s Health Concern – The British Menopause Society. November 2020. Accessed 23/2/22.

https://www.womens-health-concern.org/help-and-advice/factsheets/hrt-the-history/

 

2. Northrup, C. The Wisdom of Menopause. Random House Inc NY. January 2012. Accessed 23/2/22

 

3. Metcalf, C et al. Influences of the Menopause Transition and Adverse childhood Experiences on Peripheral basal Inflammatory Markers. Brain, behaviour and Immunity – Health. Elsevier Inc. August 2021. Accessed 23/2/22. https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/brain-behavior-and-immunity-health

 

4. Kapoor, E et al. Association of Adverse Childhood Experiences with Menopausal Symptoms: Results from the Data Registry on Experiences of Aging, Menopause and Sexuality (DREAMS). Elsevier Inc. January 2021. Accessed 23/2/22. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378512220303984

 

5. Reame, N. Menopausal Night Sweats; More evidence for Long-Term repercussions of Childhood Abuse on Women’s Health. Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society. October 2019. Accessed 23/2/22. https://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/Citation/2019/10000/Menopausal_night_sweats__more_evidence_for.1.aspx

 

BIO

Gina Mitchell stands for women being empowered and owning their own lives while going through midlife and menopause.

Her niche is coaching women over 40 because of her own challenges with midlife and menopause. She is not okay with the fact that many women suffer and struggle through this stage of life and beyond.

Gina is a certified life coach, certified NLP practitioner, matrix therapist and hypnotherapist. She is the founder and CEO of Midlife Coaching for Women. She has been supporting her clients to reach their goals since 2011.

She wrote a #1 best-selling book about female midlife relationships called ‘Ignite the Spark’.

Gina’s mission to help midlife women live their true potential comes from over 35 years as a scientist and science teacher.

Her other passions include her family, pet cats, travel, advocating for animal rights and the environment.

‘Not just surviving menopause and midlife …..but thriving’ – Gina Mitchell

Social media links

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