I knew about menopause. Or at least I thought I did.
I knew periods would eventually stop. I knew hot flushes might occur. I assumed that was the extent of it.
What nobody warned me about was perimenopause.
The season before menopause. The season where hormones begin shifting. The season where your body starts speaking a different language.
At first, the symptoms seemed unrelated.
Brain fog. Fatigue. Mood changes. Difficulty sleeping. Anxiety. Forgetfulness.
I blamed stress. Work. Age. Lack of rest. Anything but hormones.
When I finally learned about perimenopause, everything started making sense.
The symptoms were real. The changes were real. And most importantly, I was not imagining them.
Many women spend years feeling confused because nobody prepares them for this transition.
Knowledge changes everything.
It replaces fear with understanding. Confusion with clarity. And isolation with community.
Perimenopause is not the end of anything. It is simply the beginning of a new chapter.
And every woman deserves to enter that chapter informed and empowered.