A life phase that affects 50 per cent of the population, menopause took centre stage at the Moree Town and Country Club on Thursday.
A group of women from local nonprofit HealthWISE created the free health education forum Menopause is Not a Dirty Word after connecting over a lack of education and resources.
“We decided that rural and regional women need access to solid information, the latest research and treatment options, support, and to get together and share their stories,” HealthWISE health promotion and wellness officer Emma Knights explained.
“We didn’t have it; we wanted to find it. So, we went looking for it and did it ourselves,” occupational therapist and mental health clinician Lisa Staples said.
Also sharing their insights on menopause were Gwydir Medical general practitioner Dr Callum Fealy, HealthWISE dietitian Dr Amy Ashman and Moree physiotherapist Alex Valeontis.
The demand for menopause education was evident when the event series launched to a full house in Tamworth last year, and seats filled at lightning speed for the Moree forum. Attendees said the top barriers they had encountered were a lack of knowledge and awareness and difficulty finding general practitioners in the region who were educated on the topic.
“It’s so important to talk about it because so many women are suffering with symptoms, especially with the pelvic health side of things, and might be too embarrassed to seek help, or they don’t know that there’s help actually available to them,” Ms Valeontis said.
She emphasised the need to view menopause as a life stage, not a disease, and said that every woman experiences it differently.
Dr Fealy acknowledged that menopause often isn’t on the radar for health professionals, and said it was a complex and rapidly developing field. He focused on educating women on how menopause affects their bodies, management options and dispelling the myth that hormone treatment increases the risk of breast cancer.
“I like to think of it as puberty in reverse. But instead of your ovaries waking up, they are signing off,” he said. He said the menopausal transition can affect sleep, memory, mood regulation, the nervous system, bone health and skin.
“It’s tumultuous. And the woman’s like, ‘what is happening to me?’. And it’s poorly recognised by the women, it’s poorly recognised by their partners, and it’s poorly recognised by a lot of doctors.”
Open about her own journey, Ms Staples talked about how women can look after their wellbeing and psychological health. She said hormone changes during perimenopause and menopause can lead to depression or anxiety.
“Twenty-two percent of people thought life wasn’t worth living. Nineteen percent thought of ending their life. The highest rate of suicide for women at this current time is between 40 and 45. So we’re going through a major change, and it can have a big impact on our lives,” she said.
Despite these sobering statistics, Ms Staples pointed to a light at the end of the tunnel, as women are less prone to depression when hormones settle after menopause. Neuroplasticity means the opportunity to build new pathways in the brain at this stage.
“The menopausal transition can include challenges to and growth in an individual’s identity concept, image, and values, and it can build a strong foundation. It’s an opportunity for that next phase of your life – to actually reevaluate who you are, what you want, what you’re willing to accept, and where you’re going forward,” she said.
Dr Ashman also encouraged women to consider menopause as a “second spring”, and an opportunity to adopt health-supporting habits.
“Many women may worry about weight gain during this time and try to restrict their intake of some foods. In fact, our requirements for some nutrients increase during this period in our lives, so dietary changes should be considered carefully,” she said.
For more information on menopause and perimenopause, including self-assessment tools and lists of health professionals in your area who are educated on this topic, visit the Australasian Menopause Society website.
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