When it comes to menopause, most people know about hot flashes and mood swings, but it's still a pretty mysterious stage for a lot of women, even though we all will go through it. Thankfully, the conversation around perimenopause and menopause is changing. Women are becoming more outspoken about this stage of life, including experts like Ritual CEO Katerina Schneider and Parsley Health CEO Dr. Robin Berzin, who chat about the topic on the latest episode of the "Nice Talk" podcast.
While the length of perimenopause—the time leading up to menopause, which is defined as 12 months without a period—differs from woman to woman, Dr. Berzin suggests viewing this time of life as an "era, not a condition."
"For the Era's Tour of our lives, this is the perimenopause menopause era," she says. "For most women, it starts around 40, and the vast, vast majority of women will be in perimenopause by 45 to 47. Everyone's timeline is a little bit different. Some women go into perimenopause as early as their late 30s."
Dr. Berzin explains that thinking of perimenopause and menopause as an era better conveys the extent of the changes and how long this time can last for a lot of women.
"I think we all grew up hearing menopause, not having your period, hot flashes, night sweats, that's it," she says. "I think what's different now is everyone's understanding this is ... a decade-long era for most women, and it can include all of these different types of symptoms." The Parsley Health founder lists off "brain fog, unmasking of ADHD, poor sleep, digestive changes, weight gain ... temperature changes, vaginal dryness, vaginal tissue atrophy, sexual changes, libido changes," as well as an increase in cholesterol, a loss of bone density, and a predisposition to pre-diabetes and diabetes as some of the symptoms women can experience.
This era includes many changes beyond health, too. "As women, often we've got the kids, we've got the work, we've got the partner, we've got the parents," she says. "It can be really hard to take care of and pay attention to yourself. And so I love, love, love all of the focus on perimenopause."
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Just hearing about all of the potential symptoms can be overwhelming, not to mention that entering perimenopause means entering the second half of one's life. Schneider says that just "talking to people and being open about what's going on" can help women feel empowered.
"I think for so many decades, I know even my mother's generation it's like as if it didn't exist, but it totally did," she says. "I'm like, I know you went through this because I was your child, and I remember this stuff. And they're like, no, no, no, it didn't happen ... I'm so glad that our generation is so vocal about it."
Berzin says that it's an important time to pay attention to your body and find empowerment through trusting yourself, because women can "get really used to overriding ourselves, our own emotions, our feelings, our symptoms."
She continues, "Your symptoms are information. They're not something to be suppressed, to be gotten rid of, to treat as the enemy ... They are your alarm system from your body telling you something."
And while it's natural to be worried about what perimenopause will bring, there are treatments and care specifically for this era—Ritual, for one, has introduced perimenopause supplements. "There's fears, assumptions that don't have to be true," Dr. Berzin goes on. "There's so much we can do about it."
For more from Schneider and Dr. Berzin—including their thoughts on creatine and what's really going on with the testing behind supplements you see on drugstore shelves—check out this week's installment of "Nice Talk." The episode is available everywhere you listen to podcasts.