Perimenopause Taught Me How to Take Back Control

I felt like my perimenopause was controlling my life. My symptoms dictated my day. If I had a bad hot flash day, everything fell apart. If I had anxiety, I could not function. If I had insomnia, I was useless the next day. I felt like I was a victim of my perimenopause. It was something that was happening to me and I had no power over it. Then I realized something. I had more power than I thought. I could not control my hormones. But I could control my response to my hormones. I could control what I ate. I could control how much I exercised. I could control how much sleep I got. I could control my mindset. I could control how I spent my time. I could not control my perimenopause but I could control how I navigated it. That realization gave me my power back.

How I got here

I had spent months feeling powerless. My body was doing things I could not control. My mood was changing without my permission. My energy was up and down. My sleep was disrupted. I felt like I was at the mercy of my perimenopause. I felt like I was a passenger in my own life watching my body and my mind do things that I did not want them to do. That was a terrifying feeling. It made me depressed and anxious. It made me feel helpless. I thought that was just how perimenopause was. I thought I had to suffer through it and wait for menopause to be over.

What I actually did

I started making conscious choices about how I was going to navigate my perimenopause. I started with what I could control. I could control what I ate. So I started eating foods that supported my perimenopause instead of foods that made my symptoms worse. I could control how much I exercised. So I started moving my body intentionally. I could control how much sleep I got. So I prioritized sleep even when I wanted to stay up. I could control my mindset. So I started challenging the thought that I was a victim of my perimenopause and started thinking of myself as someone actively navigating it. I could control who I spent time with. So I spent more time with people who supported me. I could control what information I consumed. So I read books and articles about perimenopause. I could control whether I took medications or supplements that might help. So I tried different things and kept what worked.

What actually changed

I felt powerful. Even though my perimenopause symptoms are still there, I feel like I am no longer a victim of them. I am someone who is actively choosing how to respond to them. I am someone who is making choices about my health and my life. I am someone who has agency. That shift in mindset changed everything. Yes, I still have hot flashes. Yes, I still have mood swings. But I am not devastated by them because I am not waiting for someone or something else to fix them. I am actively managing them.

What my routine looks like now

I make conscious choices every day about how I am going to navigate my perimenopause. I eat intentionally. I exercise intentionally. I sleep intentionally. I think intentionally about my mindset. I track my choices and my symptoms using PeriPlan so I can see what is working and what is not. When something is not working, I try something different. I am the author of my perimenopause story, not a victim of it.

If you feel like perimenopause is controlling your life, I want you to know that you have more power than you think. You cannot control your hormones but you can control your choices. You can control what you eat and how much you exercise and how much you sleep and what you think about. Start there. Take back control where you can. And you might find that taking control in the areas you can changes everything about how you experience perimenopause.