Menopause is a natural life event. Although the end result of menopause is always the same, the loss of fertility, the process of menopause varies from woman to woman. So many factors can impact menopause and menopause symptoms that it is all but impossible to predict just how a woman will perceive or experience it. Some of the factors that influence menopause are: views on aging, health, genetics, mental health, culture, stress levels and general overall life satisfaction.
At no other time in history have so many women been entering into menopause or becoming post menopausal. This is due to the aging baby boomer population which as the largest generation in history. Over 6,000 women a day are entering into menopause; this makes 2,000,000 women a year. This is a remarkable statistic. Not only are more women entering into menopause, but life expectancy is also increasing. Women who make it to the age of 54 can expect to live to be 84 years old; this makes for a lot of years after reaching menopause.
A lot of women expect that menopause is hard, difficult or will somehow negatively impact their lives, but studies prove just the opposite. A majority of women experience their highest levels of happiness between the ages of 50-65, with 51% of women reporting being generally happy with their lives during the main menopausal years. This is much higher than the rates reported by women in other age groups, only 10% of women in their 20s reported being happy, 17% of women in their 30s and 16% of women in their 40s. These figures are from a Gallup poll from 1998.
Certainly some women do have very negative experiences or emotional reactions to aging and menopause, but this is not the case for all women. Most women report no change in their quality of life during menopause and a majority report being very happy. Signs of Menopause Guide has articles, information and tips for dealing with menopause and perimenopause symptoms.