The Menopause Brain

Learn more about The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi.

‘Over the years, I’ve spoken to countless women in various states of distress due to menopause, especially as related to their brain symptoms (whether they could articulate these or not). Many have told me that one of their steepest challenges was finding information they could not only readily consume but also trust. Hearing and listening to their need for knowledge and support made me realize that every woman deserves accurate and thorough information about menopause. Peer reviewed science ensures that the ideas are valid, but academic journals are not an efficient way to provide this information to the hundreds of millions of women in the real world.

The Menopause Brain grows out of my commitment to empowering women with the information they need to experience menopause with knowledge and confidence.’ – Lisa Mosconi, The Menopause Brain, p10.

Read an extract from the book:

“AM I LOSING MY MIND?”

Between the ages of thirty and sixty, many women will wake up one morning and wonder what hit them. Whether it’s uncontrollable sweating or a barrage of brain fog and anxiety, any one of us can be confronted with an onslaught of peculiar changes sudden enough to,

quite literally, make her head spin.

It might be a sense of disorientation, where you find yourself doing increasingly absent- minded things, like entering a room only to wonder what made you go there in the first place. Belongings may be misplaced, with milk cartons finding their way into cabinets and cereal boxes ending up in the fridge. Communication can also become a challenge. Moments of sheer panic may arise as you struggle to come up with that word on the tip of your tongue or draw a blank on something you just said, losing your train of thought. Emotions, too, can be all over the place, as if a heavy darkness is causing you to weep for no

clear reason — only to be replaced a moment later by waves of irritability or even anger. And just when you hoped a good night’s sleep might resolve these issues, sleep becomes elusive. Like a fickle ghost, it visits sporadically throughout the night, or may not appear at all. With the rapid- fi re onset and the intensity of these unexpected changes, it’s no

wonder many feel as if their own bodies are betraying them, throwing any woman into a tailspin of questioning herself, her health, and even her sanity.

Perhaps you don’t recognize any of these symptoms — yet. Most likely, though, you’ve heard about them before. From girlfriends, from your mother, from googling late at night when you can’t sleep . . .again.

We now have a name for it: menopause brain.

More often than not, the answer to the phenomena so many women experience in midlife is nothing more, but also nothing less, than menopause.

Menopause is one of the best-kept secrets in our society. Not only has there been no proper education or culture of support around this rite of passage common to all women, but often, menopause isn’t even discussed within families. What’s noteworthy is that even when there is some information or wisdom that’s shared, it’s generally not centered around the most prominent aspects of the transition — namely, how menopause impacts the brain.

As a society, insofar as we have understood menopause at all, it’s generally only half of what it’s all about— the half that pertains to our reproductive organs. Most people are aware that menopause marks the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle and, therefore, her ability to bear children. But when the ovaries close up shop, the process has far broader and deeper effects than those associated with fertility. Far from the spotlight, menopause impacts the brain just as much as it impacts the ovaries — directly and powerfully, and in ways we are only beginning to gather real data about.

What we do know is that all these baffling symptoms — the heat surges, the feelings of anxiety and depression, the sleepless nights, the clouded thoughts, the memory lapses — are, in fact, symptoms of menopause. The real kicker, however, is that they don’t originate in the ovaries at all. They are initiated by another organ entirely: the brain. These are, in fact, neurological symptoms that come from the ways that menopause changes the brain. As much as your ovaries have their role in this process, it’s your brain that’s at the wheel.

Does that make your worst fear real? Are you truly losing your mind? Not at all. I am here to reassure you that you are not going crazy. Most important to note: you are not alone in this, and you are going to be okay. While menopause does indeed impact the brain, that doesn’t mean the problems we experience are “all in our head.” Just the opposite.

Check out Lisa Mosconi's TED Talk:

Praise for The Menopause Brain:

'This book is for all the times women have felt crazy, and been called crazy. We now have proof, our brains were changing, and the good news is ... often for the better.' - Alison Daddo, author of Queen Menopause

'For anyone whose brain is not playing nicely during their peri- and menopause journey.' - Dr Ginni Mansberg, author of The M Word

'The latest research with practical advice so you can take your brain's health into your own hands during midlife and beyond.' - Sarah Connor, advocate, Menopause Over Martinis