Middlescence: Keeping it Together While Falling Apart

Oh, to be 16 again, with all the hormonal chaos, lack of self-confidence, mood swings … OK, perhaps not. But like it or not, life does sort of throw us back to adolescence, only this time, with much more life experience and some wrinkles.

“Middlescence” is my name for perimenopause and menopause, that time of women’s lives when hormone levels are fluctuating again, and your once sane and sensible life seems very far away.

As a career and life strategies coach to women over 40, I work with many women who are experiencing middlescence and wondering if they’re losing their minds. They aren’t, and neither are you.

But the years before, during, and after menopause can be a wild time, physically, emotionally, even professionally! Having the tools to keep it together when you feel like you’re falling apart can be the difference between just getting through and actually enjoying the ride.

Managing middlescence

Managing middlescence is all about knowing what can happen and developing strategies to be prepared.

So… how do you dress for work when a hot flash can bump your internal thermostat to 11? How do you talk to friends, lover, colleagues, kids about what’s going on with your body, without taking TMI to a whole new level? How do you keep your rage under control when your frenetic hormones and that idiot from the 4^th floor collide (or failing that, how do you raise bail)?

Hint: One key strategy is to not go through this alone. Enlist trusted others to help you – your doctor, your friends, other women who may be dealing with similar problems. There’s great strength (and sanity) in numbers.

Managing middlescence can be done. You just need to understand what’s happening to your body, and then have your game plans ready at home and at work to handle the symptoms. You can find help with both in my article for genneve, “Middlescence – the new adolescence.”