Key Points
- Some women are trying to embrace the next stage in their life and all that comes with it.
- "We can live up to half of our total life after menopause, depending on how old we get to."
Catherine Jonathan only turned 40 a few months ago, but she's already looking forward to menopause.
The Melbourne-based PR consultant and mother of two credits her positive perception of the next stage of life with her "very traditional" upbringing in a remote village in Kenya, where it's believed menopausal women have "supernatural powers".
"Older women are the strong pillars of the society, so they bring a lot of what's called 'community values' when it comes to giving advice, sharing wisdom, and taking leadership," she says.
"The gods listen to them more than any other woman. Only they can talk to their ancestors and request their help, assistance and protection."
Catherine Jonathan says she's "excited" about ageing. Source: Supplied / Catherine Jonathan
"These stages of growth in women, they are just seen as life processes, where you jump from one stage to another, and there are rituals that are performed to celebrate these stages," she says.
Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu woman Shelley Ware also views getting older as a "privilege", particularly given her father died at 50 - the age she is now.
Shelley Ware says getting older is a "privilege". Credit: NITV
Menopause is when a woman has gone 12 months without having a period. It marks the natural end of the reproductive stage of their life, when the ovaries no longer have eggs to release.
Most women become menopausal between 45 and 60; the average age is 51. Symptoms vary but can include hot flushes, night sweats, muscle and joint aches, tender breasts and emotional changes.
Perimenopause is the stage leading up to a woman's last period. It usually lasts for four to six years, but can last up to 10 years.
Shelley, who is a Melbourne-based media presenter and educator who has previously worked for SBS, began experiencing perimenopausal symptoms around 12 months ago. They have included mood swings, breast soreness, weight gain, a loss of muscle tone, and changes to her menstrual cycle.
She says it's been interesting observing the difference in how the two sides of her family view the changes that come with menopause.
"With my non-Aboriginal side, it seems like women ageing and menopause can be quite negative, and there's always these horror stories that come with it," she says. "But with my Aboriginal side, it's always just been quite gentle and quite beautiful and this is the pathway to being an older woman."
"I never really heard my Aboriginal side of my family talk about weight as a bad thing … and I look at my non-Aboriginal side and it was just a constant conversation.
"I don't know if that's cultural, or if we just accept the body changing as we're going and understand that the different stages of life bring different rewards as well."
Dr Elizabeth Farrell, medical director of the not-for-profit organisation Jean Hailes for Women's Health, says part of the reason menopause is often viewed negatively in Western societies is because media portrayals tend to focus on the most extreme cases.
"The worst-case scenario is really experienced by only 20 per cent of women," she says. "[Another] 20 per cent of women will just stop their periods and have no symptoms whatsoever, and the majority of us will have these mild to moderate symptoms that are either bothersome or not bothersome."
Dr Elizabeth Farrell is a world-renowned expert in menopause. Source: Supplied / Jean Hailes for Women's Health
"Don't be hooked on what's natural, because nothing could be more natural than actually taking your own hormones that are exactly the same as what your ovaries would produce," she says.
Dr Farrell says the value western culture puts on youth can impair a lot of women when they get to menopause.
"Often people will talk about feeling invisible as an older person in our society," she says.
Research suggests these societal attitudes can affect people's experience of menopause in both negative and positive ways. found those who didn't feel supported by family, friends, employers and healthcare professionals during menopause reported more symptoms than those who did. Their symptoms also had a greater impact on their lives.
Other research, including a and a , have reached similar conclusions about the influence a person's culture can have on their experiences of menopause.
Dr Farrell is among those calling for a re-think of how menopause and life after it is viewed in Western societies such as Australia. She points to the Japanese concept of retirement being a "second life" as a way of viewing menopause as something positive and the beginning of something new, rather than an ending.
"We can live up to half of our total life after menopause, depending on how old we get to," she says. "It's about embracing it. It's about saying: 'This is a very significant part of my life, and it's now a part of my life that I hope will be for me'.
"You do have more wisdom, you have more life experience. And that will be valuable in some aspect of society."
Increasing education around menopause, not only for the general population but also among healthcare workers, will also result in a more positive experience for people going through it, Dr Farrell says.
"I think knowledge about menopause across the board is poor in the sense of why it happens and how it happens, and what it means, and how you can benefit from treatment if you've got bad symptoms or severe symptoms."
But thinking about menopause in a more positive light doesn't mean not seeking medical health for any changes that may be of concern, Dr Farrell says.
While experiencing hot flushes isn't exactly on Catherine's bucket list, she says she's ready to embrace the next phase of life she calls "elderhood".
"Our mindset around ageing can change how we view life and certainly how we participate in life itself," she says.
"You just have to look for, I suppose, the highlights at that stage of life, and the joy.
"We should always celebrate whatever state that we are in, as long as we are healthy."
World Menopause Day is marked on 18 October.
Would you like to share your story with SBS News? Email yourstory@sbs.com.au
Menopause resources are available on the in Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Dari, Farsi, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
