Think of the language used around perimenopause, and you'll likely notice it's largely negative, with a new report by Wild Nutrition finding that many women say they feel unsupported, clueless and worried about the life stage.
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This shouldn't be the case, as Wild Nutrition's founder Henrietta Norton points out: "Perimenopause comes at a time when our careers are on a high and our children are exploring new-found independence. The perimenopause time of life should be one of the most liberating."
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Now is the time to reframe, redefine and reclaim menopause, and this starts with the way we talk about it.
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At any other stage of life, change is celebrated. We celebrate children going through growth spurts, and our changing bodies in pregnancy, so it's baffling that the change we go through before menopause should be viewed as a negative.
"We're so used to hearing women say: 'I just want to get back to my old self'," says Denise Pines, founder of WisePause Wellness. "We need to be honest – that isn't returning. But what is coming? We haven't said what is coming and how we have a rare opportunity to participate in how this new self arrives."
Perimenopause should be seen as an exciting new era
With this in mind, Wild Nutrition hopes to herald in a new era, where we reframe the language used around perimenopause, changing the narrative to ensure it's a positive, uplifting experience rather than something to dread.
READ: How to fix your sex and relationship issues during menopause
"If perimenopause is introduced to you as something awful, that's a space you attach something awful to," points out psychotherapist, psychoanalyst and writer Susie Orbach.
Perimenopause needed be dreaded
If we teach children and teenagers about the full spectrum of life changes at a young age, perimenopause won't be shrouded in mystery, or be something to fear.
Wild Nutrition and its panel of leading voices in the field believe that renaming perimenopause is crucial to change the perception of it. Indeed, 27% of Wild Nutrition survey respondents felt the term perimenopause was either confusing or too closely linked to menopause.
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"This renaming has the potential to allow women to reframe, and more importantly reclaim, this life stage in line with their own experiences," Wild Nutrition's report says.
"This new name will encompass matter-of-fact science that debunks mysticism, but will also be rooted in notions of positivity and transformation," it continues. While the new name is still under wraps, we feel confident it will help herald in a new attitude.
The narrative around menopause is changing all the time, with more people speaking openly and positively about the life stage, meaning future generations are likely to be as prepared for the end of their periods as they were for the beginning – we can't wait to see the change in attitude shapes the perimenopause experience for future generations.
