to find it unnecessary to blame the menopause for needing a dog to get out of the house?

[Skipsurvey]

watching the dog house
for example, this was a scenario

and i am sure there are other occasions when women have said Due to the menopause they now have anxiety for example
it seems unnecessary to overshare in this way on this kind of programme.
willing to be explained why i am being unreasonable for disliking this oversharing in an otherwise unrelated area.

I think people should talk about it more. When I was younger it was whispered about as 'the change' and treated as an unmentionable secret. 50% of the population go through it ffs.

but it seems to be saying ALL women will get anxiety and it is an illness rather than a natural stage of life, i am not sure it does women any favours

And some men now (lol)…..so it might start getting recognised!

women may end up being ignored due to the fear that they will become a menopausal mess and unable to leave the house

Don't mention the menopause!

That's like something my 80 year old mum would say.

Grow up.

The menopause can exacerbate anxiety in many women, and having a dog can be a wonderful help for anxiety.

It was a neighbour who mentioned to me that her mother was badly affected by menopause, and that I may want to bear that in mind. I was commenting that I’d lost my ability to cope. Thrown a loop by everything, overwhelmed, and that it’s not like me.

Now, I’d managed 48 years as a woman without anyone mentioning that there was this cliff edge approaching that I may need to plan for.

I mean, FFS- everyone warns you about preparing for death, old age (get a manageable property, PoA, etc), retirement… No one mentions preparing for menopause. At least not until this last few years.

I mean, women may not have been talking about menopausal induced anxiety because they didn’t make the connection. Massive drop in productivity and confidence in a significant chunk of 50% of the population and no one was talking about or planning for it.

i guess i am older than you @Blanketyre

Who is the "it" which is saying that all women get anxiety in menopause? Some programme about dogs? Hardly a reputable source of medical information. 🙄 You seem pretty clear that women should put up, shut up, and not talk EVER about menopause and definitely never mention anxiety.

Why would that mean they will be ignored?

how can you plan for it @SensibleSigma

in work situations.

Interesting - can you elaborate on why it does women no favours?

How do you feel about campaigns to strengthen women’s rights and equality in other areas, eg the workplace? Perhaps you don’t see a correlation, OP, but I am genuinely interested and don’t want to shout you down.

No but I think of it like breastfeeding. Information is now open and hopefully accessible, I didn't need it. But I am thrilled it is there for others.

oh do i @KnottedTwine

Does that make a difference (I'm 58 if that helps- made a song and dance at the GPS about menopause and have been happily on HRT for 6 years and intend to take it for the next 20)?

or admit to it openly

Oh yes, you’re right, best to brush all mental health issues under the carpet. That always works out well.

dont mind me folks,
I am menopausal so i guess argumentative?

Or workplaces may recognise women needing additional support while they trial HRT, uniforms may need adjustment and prescribing and treatment may improve.

Imagine all the women who didn’t even mention to the GP because they didn’t recognise it.

I missed your answers, sorry! Yes I think this is a valid concern.

Employers may use conscious or unconscious bias not to hire or promote a menopausal woman. It’s true.

is it a mental health issue?

Anxiety is, yes.

I went through the menopause just before there was so much information about it. I had no idea about the anxiety thing before having it and found it extremely upsetting not understanding why I suddenly found it really hard to make simple phone calls that weren't previously problematic. If I'd known then it would have been really reassuring.

YABVVVU.

I can't stand all this: it's not a problem for me so no-one else should discuss it rubbish. Develop some empathy FFS and be grateful if it hasn't happened to you.

It has taken generations and legislation for workplaces to implement equal pay, and work towards gender parity. Maternity and family leave.

So @SensibleSigma its a good idea to fight for workplaces to be accommodating of menopausal women but this will also take a long time. Decades. We need to be smart now, or it’s only our grandchildren that will benefit from these policies - and only then if they are linked up to other things including higher % of women in decision making roles.

@Skipsurvey

its good that the menopause is stopping being such a taboo subject. That the issues are being discussed.

I thought her & her husband were great. Normalising that stage of your lives & how to get through it together was good.

see even you have learnt something.

I'd say being so unhappy that you're planning ways to kill yourself is a mental health issue, yes. Or losing confidence in things like driving. Or the brain fog which makes you think you might have dementia.

Thankfully the OP's attitude that you should just get on with it and certainly never talk about it openly is not something I've come across in real life.