Understanding Perimenopause: Symptoms, Types & What to Expect

Perimenopause is the time between a continuing but fluctuating menstrual cycle and its eventual stoppage, known as menopause. It can last for up to 10 years, starting as early as the 30s and continuing as late as the 50s. It can also be a time of strange longings, desires, feelings and symptoms.

Types

• Perimenopause manifests in many ways as hormone changes work their way through the female body. There are two types of symptoms: negative and positive. Discussions often ignore the positive aspects altogether.

Potential

• What's weird about perimenopause is the lack of visibility these life-empowering changes receive in standard medical literature. The enrichment potential of the process is often ignored.

Benefits

• According to Mary Ann Copson, founder of the Evenstar Mood &Energy Wellness Center for Women, benefits of perimenopause can include vivid dreaming, stronger assertiveness, an intolerance of having one's rights infringed upon and a deepened sense of wholeness, among others.

Significance

• This change is part of a woman's full life expression. It alerts her to a critical transition, just as the onset of menses transformed her from a child into a woman. It is the tap on her shoulder that begins to prepare her for the evolution just around the corner.

Warning

• Contact a physician if perimenopausal symptoms are severe.