Menopause 101, an Alternative Approach to a Life Transition

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2008
Authors
Harris, Jacqueline
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Abstract
Menopause is often seen as a physical setback, accompanied by various symptoms that require treatment. In other words, menopause is, more often than not, approached from a biomedical perspective. This, I argue, impacts a woman‘s view and experience of this life transition. I will, besides critiquing the medical approach to menopause, offer an alternative. This alternative includes planning and inner preparation for menopause as preparation creates the conditions for successful transitions. I will also address lifestyle choices and holistic approaches as they have the potential to make this life transition for women into a creative and growth-oriented experience. Menopause is not a singular physical, medical, or social experience. Menopause as a life transition is as diverse as the women who experience it. Having an array of positive strategies to choose from may help women, I anticipate, maneuver this complex life stage. My desire in writing this thesis then, has been to open a dialogue of sorts, an exchange of ideas on how menopause is and can be perceived, as well as to offer an array of strategies that can help women as they transition through menopause. My hope is that women will discover that they have choices to how they transition menopause. My goal is to provide an alternative paradigm for women, one which women can use to embrace menopause with strength and wisdom.
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menopause
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