“If you’re like me and find yourself smack dab in the middle of menopause, without any real understanding of what is happening to the brain and body you once knew, The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi will quickly become your new best friend,” Halle Berry–who is 57–wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, recommending her favorite book to her 8.6 million followers. “Dr Mosconi confirms that you’re not crazy and, most importantly, that you’re not alone!”
A chapter in a woman’s life that has become a hot topic in the last year or two, the Equality and Human Rights Commission recently announced that employers now have a responsibility in some countries like the United Kingdom to protect staff suffering with symptoms of menopause–and they can be both numerous and varied, from mood swings, anxiety and brain fog to hot flashes, depression, and irregular periods. It’s a step towards a more universal understanding of the ways in which menopause can be debilitating for women as their brains and bodies shift into the next phase of life.
Put simply, it pays to understand what happens during the menopause, which is why books like Dr Mosconi’s–published on March 21st–can be incredibly useful. Below, five key lessons to take away from it now.
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1. You aren’t crazy
The first chapter in the book provides excellent reassurance that, no, you’re not crazy–menopause brain is real. In fact, most symptoms are neurological. “Thanks to how genuinely uninformed we are about menopause, too many women are caught completely off guard, feeling betrayed by their body and their brain–not to mention their doctors, too,” Dr Mosconi writes. “While hot flashes are generally recognized as a ‘side effect’ of menopause, most doctors simply won’t make the connection between menopause and its other symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, depression or brain fog.” It’s just one of many reasons why menopausal women are neglected by gynecologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists. What you need to know is that menopause changes your brain, it’s quite normal to feel crazy–oh, and it will all get better.
2. Symptoms can be both physical and neurological
While 10 to 15 percent of women report no changes at all during menopause (other than irregular periods), others can suffer from both somatic (body-related) and neurological (brain-related) symptoms.
Let’s start with the physical. Alongside symptoms like vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, stress incontinence, and/or an overactive bladder, there can be joint pain, stiffness, muscle tension and aches, and an increased risk of osteoporosis. “Breast-related changes can also occur, such as breast soreness, loss of breast fullness, and swelling,” Dr Mosconi notes. Other “less-discussed bodily symptoms” include “[an] irregular heartbeat and palpitations, which can be very scary, as well as changes in body composition, weight gain, and slower metabolism, along with digestive issues, bloating, acid reflux, and nausea.” That’s before mentioning body odor, thinning hair, and increased sensitivity to noise.
