Maga Woman Magazine - issue #2

Menopause
Reframing
Written by: Angela Counsel
Here are two vastly different opinions on what
menopause is -
“The joy of menopause is the world’s best kept
secret. Like venturing through the gateway to
enter the ancient temple, in order to claim that
joy a woman must be willing to pass beyond
the monsters who guard it’s gate…as thousands
of women from all cultures throughout history
have whispered to each other, it is the most
exciting passage a woman ever makes”
(L Kenton, Passage to Power)
Versus
“[Menopause] is not a natural condition;
it is an endocrine disorder and should be
treated medically with the same seriousness
we treat other endocrine disorders, such as
diabetes or thyroid disease”
(M Mucclough, Hope or Hype?
Philadelphia Enquirer 1996)
The above two statements to describe
menopause could not be more different and it
is because of these differences that many women
are confused and sometimes even scared
of the menopause stage of life. Some women
are excited about menopause and can’t wait
for it to occur and others feel that their lives will
be turned upside down or the symptoms will
make their lives unbearable. The reality is that
menopause will happen to every woman who
lives long enough, and it is not the beginning of
the end, in fact it can be a time of re-birth and
finding yourself.
Medically the definition of menopause is
the cessation of the monthly period but this
definition fails to recognise the transition or
metamorphosis that can take up to 10 years
to occur. Like when you got your first period at
puberty, this single event did not make you a
woman. It was the start of your transition
from girlhood into womanhood.
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Maga Women Magazine