World Menopause Day 2026
It’s hard to know how to start a post about World Menopause Day.
I started writing ‘Happy World Menopause Day’ but that didn’t seem to fit my own relationship with the menopause – and I wasn’t sure it would fit anyone else’s either.
Why? It’s not something I’ve ever felt particularly happy about.
Feelings I have had about the menopause: the deniability of youth; then the immunity of being a young and dynamic professional (I’d be fine, wouldn’t I?); followed by fear as I watched others succumb to the myriad of symptoms (seriously, who can’t remember a word halfway through a sentence?); resignation when I thought there was nothing I could to stop it; and finally complete and utter confusion when the gazillion physical, mental and emotional symptoms actually kicked in.
But happy? Never.
Until now. Am I happy I suffered with the menopause? No.
But I am happy that the process has given me a better understanding of the relationship between the symptoms I have (many of which I had NO idea were menopause triggered) and happy that I have found a better way to face the menopause.
As a society, we aren’t there yet. Many people still think the menopause is a few hot flushes and niggling aches and pains – and for some people it is – but for many the emotional and cognitive symptoms far outweigh the physical. In a recent study by Zoe, 66% of their participants reported having AT LEAST 12 symptoms, and the most common symptoms reported were not the physical ones. They found that women were more likely to experience psychological and cognitive symptoms (brain fog, anxiety and mood swings, for example).
We might not be there yet, but we have come so far. Many women will now look for ways to help with their physical symptoms, strength training, yoga, nutrition and medication, for example.
But there’s so much further to go.
What about those psychological and cognitive symptoms? There are ways to help you form strategies to boost your sudden loss of confidence, ways to deal with your raging anxieties that seem to come from nowhere, and ways to positively manage the gaping void that seems intent on swallowing you whole.
Don’t suffer alone - reach out for help when you need it. And don’t be afraid to celebrate how far you’ve come. There’s so much to be proud of as a woman who has faced the menopause
The picture? Just me, living my best life, circa 1976, before the menopause kicked in!