Menopause Needs More Than Medicine - Even if it’s natural medicine

The first thing we tend to reach for in menopause is a medicine, be it a natural medicine or otherwise. Something like a herb, homeopathic remedy or HRT to fix what we see as a problem. And this approach to menopause can help. It can ease hot flushes, improve sleep, and support energy levels.

But if we only see menopause as a problem that needs to be fixed, we're missing something really important. We're missing the opportunity to change.

And this is really important because menopause is not a problem that needs to be fixed.

It’s a turning point, a threshold.

"Close your eyes and imagine the best version of you possible. That's who you really are, let go of any part of you that doesn't believe it."  - C.Asaad

It’s no surprise that many women feel like they’re losing themselves during this time. The anxiety, brain fog, mood swings, irritability, even panic attacks - these aren’t just hormone-related. They’re also signals that something inside is shifting.

In fact, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the highest rate of suicide among women in Australia in 2023 was in women aged 50 to 54 (the menopause years). I’ve written more about the mental-hormonal connection in my blog The Hidden Side of Menopause: Emotions, Mood & Mental Health, but for now, I want to focus on that deeper shift that menopause calls for.

This time of life often brings up strong emotions such as grief for the past, uncertainty about the future, and the resurfacing of old memories, patterns, or unspoken feelings. It’s a transition that asks a lot from us and for some women it can be a very emotional time of their life. Sadly, many women don't talk about these deeper, harder changes that they're experiencing.

This is where counselling can offer something no pill or remedy can: a safe space.

• A space to speak the things you’ve never said out loud

• A space to fall apart a little, or to ask new questions

• A space to feel what this change is really asking of you.

  
  

Counselling can help you make sense of these shifts, reconnect with yourself, and move through this time with more clarity and confidence.

If one-on-one counselling feels like too much, group counselling or women’s circles can offer:

• A sense of community

• Shared experience

• A reminder that you’re not alone.

  
  

Menopause is a transition that should be honoured and supported. Not 'fixed', ignored or dreaded. And no medicine, natural or otherwise, can make this transition for you. It's something you need to do yourself.

It's a bit disorienting and even scary because it involves change. It involves letting go of an old version of yourself and allowing a new one to emerge.

Yet as B.K.S. Iyengar reminds us:

"Change is not something we should fear. Rather, it is something we should welcome. For without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom."

Don’t just treat the symptoms.

Make space for the change.

Let menopause be more than something to “get through.” Let it be a time to listen, to release, to grow, and to reconnect with the truest parts of yourself.

And if you need a little support, then book in for a one-on-one consultation with me, join one of my menopause groups or come to one of my talks. You can find out more here >

Remember, you’re not losing yourself - you’re becoming someone new.