Menopause
Beyond motherhood and family planning
Menopause is a significant time for every woman. It ushers in a new phase of life and opens up possibilities and spaces for activity beyond motherhood and family planning.
Menopause generally occurs between the ages of 40 and 60. Characteristic of this period is initially an increasing shortening of the follicle maturation phase and thus shortening of the cycles. In the late menopause, shortly before menopause, there is an increase in irregular cycles (sometimes without ovulation) and major bleeding irregularities.
The challenge of menopause
The menopause is divided into three phases, namely premenopause (the period from the beginning of the decline in ovarian activity until the last menstrual period), perimenopause (the years just before and just after menopause) and postmenopause (the period from the last menstrual period until the onset of senility).
But the most intimate farewell is that to an essential part of one's personality, namely fertility. Here one suddenly becomes aware of a very natural part of life, ageing. The man also ages, his performance on the different levels also decreases, as does his sexuality and fertility. But this all happens more in a slower transitional phase, partly until old age.
Men can also suffer from menopausal symptoms such as night sweats, insomnia, hot flushes or depressive moods, but this usually occurs later and is not as pronounced. The woman, on the other hand, experiences all this more suddenly, more seriously and more inevitably. Above all, the fact of menopause is such a clear, indisputable fact that the meaning of the word "climax", coined by the Greeks for menopause, with its simultaneous meaning of "climax of a development" and "crisis of life", becomes understandable.
A chance for a new beginning
If menopause means the middle of life and at the same time, in many cases, a crisis-like farewell, then there must inevitably be a meaningful way of living for the second half of life. Like every crisis, this one also holds the possibility of leaving the past behind and concluding certain things in order to start a new life on the basis of this past, which can be just as meaningful, and in many cases even more successful and full of experiences than the previous one.
In order for this to succeed, it is important for the woman to say goodbye to some of the habits of her past life in an appropriate way and to accept a new stage in her life. The manifold physical and emotional changes during the climacteric should be accepted and not denied. For only conscious confrontation with reality enables us to influence and help shape it. Instead of falling into stagnation and resignation, we should use the opportunity to perceive new visions. For such visions are important as a motor for life, they provide inspiration, motivate us to think in new ways and open up new opportunities for development. Menopause in this sense is then not synonymous with "off", but is to be equated with a "break", combined with the opportunity for reorientation.
Successful reorientation during the menopause
The success of this reorientation depends on how flexibly the woman can respond to the new challenges. This includes:
- Ability to plan
- Ability to implement these plans
- Openness to change
- Willingness to make adjustments to new life circumstances
- Building and developing old and new human relationships
- ... and with it also connected construction or preservation of a healthy self-esteem with solidification of the inner security.
If there is a lack of inner security, humans, like other living beings, react with four basic forms of elementary reactions, which are anchored in our brain stem and are characterized by flight, attack, playing dead and submission.
- Flight is synonymous with escape into work, affairs, alcohol and drugs, sports, excessive mothering of one's own children or grandchildren, etc.
- Attack is expressed in nagging, arguing, attacking, cynicism.
- Playing dead means that a woman no longer has any needs, e.g. not even sexual needs, that she no longer feels anything and is more dead inside than alive.
- Submission, after all, is understood especially by women as a supposed fate in the sense of the unchangeable.
In addition to self-confidence, "liveliness" must not be lacking in interpersonal relationships and partnerships. This includes keywords such as enjoyment, laughter, adventure, entertainment, variety, fun and eroticism.
We have to become aware of the fact that the perhaps over years well-worn paths of a regular, but lifeless everyday life do not offer favourable conditions for a lively partnership and sexuality. After the many experiences of loss, especially during this time, and the resulting realisation that the firmly established roles of our interpersonal relationships need to be broken up and revitalized, we must first and foremost succeed in reordering our daily lives and making them more lively. Then, in many cases, our desires for greater tenderness and security will automatically be fulfilled, which is absolutely necessary for a satisfied and fulfilled life, especially in old age.
How Sensiplan can help you
Women who go through their menopause with Sensiplan support know more about themselves and their bodies. They can actively shape this phase. They can be more attuned to the new phase of life and actively counteract possible discomfort. Find a Sensiplan consultant near you today!
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