Read an Excerpt
Taking the pause out of the Menopause Great relationships are at the heart of every success story. In an increasingly connected world our ability to create, develop and maintain relationships has never been more critical. Our need to be able to identify and manage the small inflections and nuances in people’s conversation, body language and written word coupled with our ability to respond appropriately is vital to our success in our chosen careers and home lives. Most of us have developed these skills as we have grown, honing them in our chosen careers, across our relationships and, as such, have in most instances become skilled in the fine variations in forms of communication. And then the arrival of the Menopause is quite literally, for many, the proverbial cat among the pigeons. Chaos ensues. What would have been easy is now complex, dogged by mood swings bringing tears or rage, with no preamble or warning, and no reason. Our confidence can be crushed by anxiety, depression and memory loss, we can suffer from social embarrassment and discomfort with hot flushes, unpredictable flooding and weight gain or have to manage intense fatigue where even the most basic of activities requires a seemingly gargantuan effort. Where you once intuitively responded to situations, comments or interactions, you now consider double checking what you might or could say for fear of responding in a manner considered as out of character. You no longer trust your judgement – at least not all of the time. This wariness is infectious, as those around you tread gently in fear of a negative response. Of course, the flip side to this is for those for whom the Menopause creates a behavioural blind spot, where women are not aware of their unreasonable behaviour until much later. This is usually partnered with guilt and or remorse, neither of which help. It is a vicious cycle, which only acts to reinforce the downward confidence spiral, damaging relationships from both sides. All this happens at a time when you might be thinking of pushing on to the next level in your career, your ambitions firmly focused on a seat at the management or executive table or possibly changing careers altogether. Maybe your entrepreneurial spirit has just started to rev up, and there is no time for down time. Perhaps your significant relationship is under pressure or in need of attention. Maybe you are single and are wanting to find that special someone, and the management of your symptoms is not something you or they had bargained on. We live complex lives, and the Menopause couldn’t have come at a worse time. But, there is never a good time.
