“Only an enemy would remove the hair from a woman’s scalp and move it to her chin.”

Ladies, it’s coming. If it hasn’t gotten you yet. Menopause is going to make changes to your body, mind and sometimes spirit, if you let it.

When your body reacts to danger, it can choose one of 3 ways: Fight, Flight or Freeze.

Menopause is your enemy and you can fight it, or freeze in place and hope it all works out on its own.

And yes, I know it’s natural. I know it will happen to all of us. It still doesn’t mean I have to like it. So menopause is our enemy. Said it. Meant it. Moving on.

What is Menopause?

Menopause is one point in time. The point in time when you have not had your period for 12 months in a row.

Sporadic periods are a sign of peri-menopause, and for the sake of this article, I’m going to refer to peri-menopause, menopause and post menopause (the day after menopause.. seriously, that’s it), all as menopause.

What are symptoms of menopause?

Stretch your wrists and get ready to scroll. This list is generated from NHF Inform.

• anxiety
• changes in mood – such as low mood or irritability
• changes in skin conditions, including dryness or increase in oiliness and onset of adult acne
• difficulty sleeping – this may make you feel tired and irritable during the day
• discomfort during sex
• feelings of loss of self
• hair loss or thinning
• headaches or migraines
• hot flashes – short, sudden feelings of heat, usually in the face, neck and chest, which can make your skin red and sweaty
• increase in facial hair
• increased risk of cardiac disease
• increased risk of osteoporosis
• joint stiffness, aches and pains
• loss of self-confidence
• night sweats – hot flashes that occur at night
• palpitations – heartbeats that suddenly become more noticeable
• problems with memory, concentration and ‘brain fog’
• recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), such as cystitis
• urge and stress incontinence
• reduced sex drive (libido)
• tinnitus
• vaginal dryness and pain

If this isn’t the definition of an enemy. Only an enemy would remove the hair from a woman’s scalp and move it to her chin.

But wait, there’s more.

Here is the part of the list that does not overlap with the list above from the Mayo Clinic. Yes, more symptoms.

• Irregular periods
• Chills
• Night sweats
• Weight gain and slowed metabolism
• Loss of breast fullness

Fight, Flight or Freeze: Why there really is only one option when it comes to menopause.

Freeze. What Happened?

What happened to Sally? Sally froze.

Sally is really busy taking care of her aging parents. She’s working full time. Married to a good guy and has 2 cute kids.

Her kids are her world! Nothing but the best. Her son’s travel baseball team is ready to head out and she’s got a ton to get done before they leave this weekend.

She’s exhausted. On the way home from work, and before she picked her son up, she was cut off by someone and she wanted to throw her soda at them. The soda that she grabbed from McDonald’s because there wouldn’t be time to cook.

“Huh, when is the last time I cooked?”, she thought.

Already frustrated because of the drive, thinking about how cooking for her family is another thing she never seems to have time for, she is furious. She takes her 2nd bite of her Big Mac and starts to feel better.

I mean, her stomach is already bloated but she doesn’t want to run anyone over, so that’s a win.

After picking up her son, and handing him his food, she started asking him about homework, tests, etc.

He told her he had a project due tomorrow and needed to go to the store for materials.

“Why do you always do this??!!!”, she yelled! “Do you think I just sit around all day and have time for this?” She lost it again.

And now the guilt. He doesn’t seem phased but she is gutted. This is the second time this month she’s snapped at the kids. She’s just tired of being tired.

She apologizes and starts to call her husband, then stops.

She’ll just run to the store herself after she checks in on her parents once the kids are in bed. She didn’t want to bother Jim to do it because tonight’s Thursday. And Thursday is poker night.

And Jim doesn’t miss poker night.

Are you Sally?

I don’t mean that you froze. Sally froze, but that’s the untold piece of the story.

I mean do you recognize any part of this scenario. I do that’s for sure.

Sally had been living like this and she froze.

A. She didn’t know any other way. The thought of diet and exercise was overwhelming and she thought she couldn’t fit another 15 minutes into her day, much less an hour. What else was there to do? So she froze and did nothing different.

B. She was afraid of discomfort. Her life was already uncomfortable, but it was an uncomfortable she was accustomed to.

Fight: What Happened?

You guessed it. Sally’s store didn’t end there.

Sally can fight.

So can you.

You can set yourself up to be so strong and powerful before menopause and before getting any of its symptoms and feel better than you do today. Or feel incredibly better than you do today, if you are already in the midst of menopause.

I know a thing about this. It’s what I do. I’ve done it. In fact I’ve had 2 clients JUST THIS WEEK tell me how much better they feel and how much stronger they feel in such a short amount of time.

Tomorrow, I’ll give you the steps to the Fight. Here’s a hint: Bring your calendar.

Ready to start your fight? Set up a 10 minute chat with me, Coach Jennifer and I’ll bring the gloves.