Important dates this month to keep an eye on or observe.
4th World Day of the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation
While sexual exploitation can happen to any person of any gender, 5 million females annually are victims of forced sexual exploitation, with children comprising more than a fifth of all victims of commercial sexual exploitation. This day has been observed since 2009 and is in place to recognize the importance of combating this wicked violation of human rights and reaffirm the worlds commitment to fight sexual exploitation and expand services and protections of survivors.
What does this have to do with Menopause I hear you ask? Well, a ground-breaking University of Otago, Christchurch, study in 2022, led by Dr Geri McLeod from the University’s Department of Psychological Medicine, has found female victims of severe sexual abuse in childhood experience twice the risk of entering the menopause transition by age 40, then women with no such reported history of abuse. Dr McLeod says the average age for most woman entering menopause transition is 51. Comparatively, for the women in this study, more than half of those exposed to childhood sexual abuse had entered menopausal transition by 40, 11 years earlier than the population average. As I said last month there is growing evidence that violence increases against women during all phases of the menopause cycle, however before we even get to this stage, the limited research available has shown that if you have experienced violence, then your Meno symptoms are more intense, and that you are more likely to experience a poorer quality of life.
According to national statistics on sexual assault:
• an estimated 8% of women who experienced sexual assault said the police were contacted about the most recent incident, either by themselves or others
• the majority (92%) of women who experienced sexual assault did not report the incident to the police. In most instances, women will turn to a friend or family member.
• most sexual assaults occurred at a residential location (69%), most commonly a private dwelling.
• 93% of sexual assaults did not involve the use of a weapon.
Sexual exploitation trafficking in women and girls is deeply rooted in sex-based discrimination. It is a strong form of gender-based violence. It demonstrates a function of abuse of male power and privilege. It is critical to ensure that responsibility and accountability is placed on perpetrators, and not on women and girls whose rights are being violated. All Women and girls need to be supported to exit sexual exploitation. Across all societies, persisting norms and stereotypes regarding male domination, and their control and power over women and girls enforce patriarchal gender roles and male sexual entitlement which generates the demand.
From where I stand, we not only need to be talking about sexual exploitation trafficking in women and girls, but we also need to be talking about what ongoing impacts it creates for the menopause transition, and the ongoing impacts on women’s health and life outcomes as a result.
8th International Women’s Day, Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress
International Women’s Day is an occasion to review how far women have come in their struggle for equality, peace, and development. It is also an opportunity to unite, network and mobilise for meaningful change and this year’s message is a strong one: ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress’.
For many of us it is a no brainer, yet women’s health and specifically our menopause experience is underrated, yet it is a massive contributing factor to the growing homeless cohort of generation X women in Australia.
With out a huge investment in our health and well-being outcomes, women will continue to experience poorer life outcomes than our male counterparts.
15th World sleep day
#WorldSleepDay, theme Sleep Equity for Global Health.
According to World Sleep Society, because sleep is essential to health, everyone must have access to adequate sleep regardless of location, socioeconomic status, environmental conditions and disruptions, social structures and histories, community and interpersonal relationships, and individual beliefs and behaviours.
During menopause sleep is often disturbed, most commonly with night sweats, which can be particularly vexing and cause disruptions to our sleep. I know my sleep quality was severely impacted, having to get up in the night to change my pyjamas or even bed linen, because they were wet.
At all times, but in particular during menopause, the intricate interplay between neurotransmitters and hormones contributes to the regulation and harmony of our body’s overall functioning. For example, progestogen makes our brain cells more receptive to accept GABA, which calms brain activity and helps with sleep. However, when progestogen levels go down, GABA is less potent. Another hormone that impacts sleep during menopause is Cortisol. It should be highest in the morning and is an essential hormone to wake us up. However, if you are in a state of constant stress, then it will stay high and wont decline enough at night to enable us to sleep. The amount of caffeine you have during the day will impact your sleep as well and don’t forget alcohol, which many of us use to relax, but it has the opposite effect during menopause.
Sleep is important at all stages of life, the length and quality can vary for each individual, however you can do a self-assessment by asking, How long have I been sleeping over a 24hr period? Was I able to fall asleep and stay asleep? Do I have good sleep hygiene? Am I able to maintain focus during my day? Do I wake up feeling rested, or am I waking up tired?
Sleep is essential to health, just like your movement, mindset and modification practices are. Sleep will help you with memory and learning, supporting a healthy immune system, maintaining our bodies repair functions and energy levels. Studies have shown that when we do not have good sleep, it impacts our health and has been linked to obesity, diabetes, and coronary heart disease (CHD). Sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea, have been attributed to cognitive impairment, dementia, and an increased risk of stroke, all of which are already increased risk factors just by the changing hormone levels in our body during menopause. Lack of quality sleep has been said to have an impairment similar in effect to alcohol intoxication.
If you are struggling with sleep have a look at the Meno Journal on Menopause, Sleep, Thyroid – What is The Connection?
21st Harmony Day (Diversity)
Is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Menopause has different meanings for different races of women and in case you missed it, you can check out the story ‘Me and my menopause’: a view from women around the world, here
One of the values of Mimi Moon Meno is to ‘Embrace the full range of natural human Diversity, we are all perfectly imperfect!’ What I perhaps also should say, is we are all just the human race and the sooner that we accept that all the things that make us different, makes us beautiful, the sooner we might come to greater world harmony.
18th – 24th March Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. It aims to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported by providing schools, universities, and organisations with the opportunity to recognise the many talents and advantages of being neurodivergent, while creating more inclusive and equitable cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual.
This is especially close to my heart having lived with dyslexia my whole life. As a child I did extra classes in ‘special Ed’. Back then the labels associated with this condition were not kind and have left lifelong scars on me mentally. When asked, most people have heard of dyslexia and associate it with an inability to spell and read. In fact, dyslexics have a range of common challenges and strengths, but too often the strengths are ignored and unrecognised. What I have realised as an adult, is that I have a different way of learning and a different way of thinking and communicating. I often see connections and pathways to a solution that others don’t. I have a fabulous imagination for complex problem solving. I am curious and explore things, which in some work environments has been challenging. I am still not proud to say I am dyslexic, and I don’t normally share this with people that I don’t know well, but since it is Neurodiversity Celebration Week, I think it is time to start celebrating this part of myself, even if “I can’t spell good”! (Yes, I borrowed that from Zoolander!!!)
There has been so much chatter about Menopause, ADHD, and Autism and I have a list of girlfriends that are going through a diagnosis of one or the other at the moment. It is important to understand that these are three distinct conditions, however due to the similarities in symptoms between the three, it can be challenging to determine which condition is causing what. One of the first things to recognize is that menopause is a natural biological process. ADHD and Autism on the other hand are neurological conditions that can be diagnosed at any age.
While research is still limited in this space, what is becoming apparent is that menopause hormonal changes can exacerbate ADHD and Autism and the otherwise previously honed coping mechanisms that women have implemented to mask their condition, start to become futile, making it more obvious something other than menopause might be happening. Like menopause, women with ADHD are often diagnosed with anxiety or depression long before the ADHD condition is detected.
ADHD is broken down into three types, being inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, or combination of both. With limited explanation around the types of ADHD the misconceptions continue about the condition. The most common symptoms include, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, disorganisation, impulsivity, restlessness, poor time management and difficulty completing tasks.
By contrast Autism is a spectrum disorder (ASD) and is a neurodevelopmental disorder. As there is a spectrum, it means that no two people are the same in their experience of this condition. The most common symptoms of Autism in women include difficulty with social interactions, sensory sensitivities, difficulty with emotional regulation, difficulty with planning, organizing, and prioritizing tasks, repetitive behaviors, or routines, masking their true identity in order to “Fit In”, and being overly social, to the extreme. The key thing with any woman going through a process of ADHD or ASD diagnosis during their midlife is to have the right support from those around them and if someone has the courage and trust to let you know that their symptoms are interfering with their life, you need to support them to seek medical advice, and to avoid self-diagnosis. The other thing you can do is to be that positive experience in their life, helping them to stop feeling ashamed, and to see themselves with love, compassion, and perhaps some humor as they start to put together things that have happened in their life journey. Ultimately, they are finding a way to make sense of everything and find some peace about who they are, how they fit with the world as they see it, and the world as they adjust to the diagnosis and medication associated. Of the women I know that are going though this diagnosis and adjustment, they are the most beautiful, successful women, and I am positive that they will continue to be the amazing goddesses that I know they are.
