Why am I so tired? Like jet-lagged tired. And I haven’t crossed any time zones.
I’ve gotten a healthy 8 hours of sleep the night before, and I still wake up exhausted.
How can that be?
It’s perplexed me over the last year, but I’ve just chalked it up to one-offs here and there. After two or three days, it passes and I’m feeling like myself again. But recently, these types of days—functioning at a 2 rather than my usual 8—have begun to pop up far more frequently. I don’t understand why I feel this fatigue out of the blue.
Then, after several “episodes,” the question dawned on me: Could it be perimenopause?
It’s not the first time I’ve asked myself whether new symptoms could be related to perimenopause: more frequent headaches, a bout of dry eye earlier this year, a dip in my overall mood, sweating profusely as I sit down to tackle the day (yes, this happens to me almost every morning!). I swear I didn’t struggle with these random symptoms even two years ago.
My friends are starting to talk about their symptoms during our catch-up chats, too. One friend gets night sweats so bad she has to change shirts in the middle of the night. Another experienced pain so intense she could barely get out of bed.
The thing is, perimenopause isn’t a well-covered topic, medically or anecdotally, so many people don’t know about it, and it causes the worst kind of confusion. You know you don’t feel like yourself, but you don’t have any answers for why you’re feeling “off.”
For whatever reason, wisdom from generations before us hasn't trickled down (maybe they weren’t even aware they were experiencing perimenopause), and we’re left navigating it blind.
When I started interviewing Bold Movers 3.5 years ago, perimenopause wasn’t on my personal radar. I was 39 then. I didn’t know anything about the menopause transition, so I never asked women in their midlife about how perimenopause impacted Bold Moves. But now, as I enter this phase of my own life, it’s a curiosity I can’t get out of my head. Because personally, I still have the same ambition, but biologically, my body doesn’t always have the same energy. And that’s frustrating. My ambition says, “I want to check this off today.” My body says, “It’ll have to wait.”
We don’t often get to talk about how the menopause transition impacts us at work, because frankly, the conversation feels off limits in the office. We deal with the biological toll silently, and that has severe repercussions on our potential: 40% of women consider leaving or finding a new job because of menopause symptoms, according to Menopause Practitioner and Board-Certified OB-GYN Dr. Sarah Berg, MD.
That 40% statistic breaks my heart because it means millions of us are sitting at our desks quietly questioning our own capabilities. We think we’re losing our edge when our bodies are just going through a biological shift.
I don’t have the fix. But I do know the sheer relief that comes from hearing another Bold Mover say, “I woke up exhausted on 8 hours of sleep today, too.”
Join the Bold Moves community in our virtual living room for our next Podcast Club Power Hour on August 18 at 12 pm EST to talk about the intersection of perimenopause, work, and ambition with other women also navigating it behind the scenes.
We’re peeling back the layers of Dr. Sarah Berg’s episode on the menopause transition, sharing our real stories, and reminding each other that we aren’t carrying this in isolation.
What we’re making space for:
Processing the Dr. Berg episode as a group: what resonated, what shocked us, and what gave us hope.
Creating space to say the quiet parts out loud about our careers and our health.
Finding power in solidarity, so none of us go back to our workweeks feeling like we’re on an island.
You don’t need to bring answers or solutions. Just bring your honest experience.
I can’t wait to welcome you into our virtual living room.
See you there!
Kristen
Have you made it this far?
Tap the ❤️ so we know it landed for you.
Leave a 💬 letting me know you’re planning to attend this Podcast Club Power Hour!
Share this Bold Moves Podcast Club Power Hour with a friend who’s navigating the menopause transition and could use a supportive group to discuss what she’s experiencing.
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