I’m not a doctor or any sort of expert on women’s health. But I am an expert on my body, as I’ve had 49 years to get to know her. We’re pretty tight. I like to think I know everything about her. However, a recent doctor appointment taught me so many things I didn’t know about her! At 49 years old, this body of mine is teaching me so many new things.

I never planned to do a podcast episode about my body at age 49, but I recently overheard a guy say, “So many more women are getting menopause these days.” In that moment, I realized there are people out there who have no idea about the things that all women born with uteruses endure. Rest assured, men, the same amount of women are “getting menopause” as always. It’s not like a new epidemic or anything. Calm down.

I’m talking about menopause on the podcast today not because I’m particularly excited about it or educated on it, but because I deeply understand the consequences of women staying quiet. Women have been conditioned to push through pain, ignore our bodies' signals and symptoms, not cause a scene, not be self-advocates, and definitely not make others uncomfortable. We pay dearly for our silent discomfort. We lose job opportunities, endure preventable chronic illnesses, ride uncontrollable waves of emotions, are dismissed by healthcare providers, aren’t given the resources we desperately need, and feel like we are all alone with bodies that seemingly betray us over and over as we age.

Enough of that, thank you very much.

We need to start talking about all this menopause we are “getting” and not stop talking about it until there is a universal understanding of what women go through and corresponding resources, respect, and grace given in the workplace, in our communities, and in our homes.

In this episode, I talk about symptoms of perimenopause (you might be surprised by some of these), my recent physical where I learned my estrogen is 4 times higher than it used to be (maybe thaaaaaat’s why I can fly into a fit of rage in 3 seconds flat?!?), what you can do to better advocate for yourself and your health, and why all this impacts our work as leaders in significant ways.

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924: INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP: More Talking About Menopause Please