FEATURE March 17, 2021

Myth: Menopause is a universal, shared experience.
The menopause transition has four phases: premenopause, perimenopause (when symptoms begin and cycles become irregular), menopause (12 months without a cycle), and postmenopause. There’s no universal template of symptoms, timing, and duration — every woman’s experience is totally different. In addition, the boundaries between each stage are blurry, and often, women don’t know whether their symptoms are related to menopause or something entirely different. When people hear “menopause,” they often think of hot flashes, but menopause is a complex process that can cause more than 40 types of symptoms. These can range from anxiety/depression, fatigue, and joint pain, to changes in cognition and digestion. Additionally, menopause and its changes have an enormous impact on women’s bodies and can set the stage for the entire second half of their lives.