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Mass menopause promises to ignite social 'volcano' 40 million baby boomers will infuse North America with a new source of social advocacy and political power, author writes Tuesday 15 May 2001 - The simultaneous transition into menopause of some 40 million North American baby boomers will unleash a powerful social "volcano," says a U.S. gynecologist whose new book about women at midlife is surging up best-seller lists. In The Wisdom of Menopause, Dr. Christiane Northrup argues that the end of women's childbearing years -- traditionally cast as an unpleasant phase of life marked by hormonal chaos, hot flashes and depression -- is also an exhilarating time of physical rebirth and intellectual reawakening. And what makes turn-of-the-millennium menopause so revolutionary, she says, is that this is the first generation of women ever to be in a position to benefit from the "exciting" and "liberating" effects of menopause. "Throughout most of human history, the vast majority of women died before menopause," writes Dr. Northrup. "Women of our mothers' generation, whose female role models tended to be like June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver, had an entirely different social and political environment in which to make their transition." She suggests the "unprecedented" midlife transformation of tens of millions of "educated, vocal, sophisticated" women will send yet another shudder through the institution of marriage but will also infuse North American life with a rich new source of social advocacy, political power and creative energy. "The changes taking place in middle-aged women are going to act like the power plant on a high-speed train, whisking the evolution of our entire society along on fast forward, to places that have yet to be mapped." Although she lives and works in small-town Maine, Dr. Northrup is no voice in the wilderness. Her earlier book, Womens' Bodies, Women's Wisdom, made the New York Times bestseller list. She has been featured on Oprah, the Today Show and Good Morning America, and her latest book is on prominent display in retail warehouses everywhere -- a telltale sign that the author has hit a pop-culture nerve. She argues that menopause has been misunderstood in the past, dismissed as the onset of inevitable decline rather than celebrated as a symbol of new possibilities and potential. Dr. Northrup calls on every woman to reconsider the dreaded Change of Life and get ready to embrace the Time of Your Life. "Our bodies -- and, specifically, our nervous systems -- are being, quite literally, rewired. It's as simple as this: Our brains are changing," she explains. "Think about it: Forty million women, all undergoing the same sort of circuitry update at the same time. By virtue of our sheer numbers, as well as our social and economic influence, we are powerful -- and potentially dangerous to any institution built upon the status quo. "It's a safe bet the world is going to change, willingly or otherwise, right along with us. And it's likely to change for the better." Marriage will be among the institutions most severely shaken, says Dr. Northrup, who's candid about the fact that her own 20-year marriage failed during her mid-life transition. In a section called "Why Marriages Must Change at Midlife," Dr. Northrup argues that women, particularly mothers, put up with a lot -- too much, in fact -- because of a biological imperative to keep families running smoothly while children are still dependent. The author links this to hormones that kick in at puberty and that don't depart until midlife, almost as if women are kept drugged during their child-bearing years. And she says that our culture's "atmosphere of gender inequity" exploits this hormone-driven tendency for women to sublimate their own interests to those of husbands and children. "This can lead to an incredible surge of pent-up resentment when the hormonal veil lifts." Dr. Northrup describes herself losing patience with her husband and teenage daughters as she approached menopause. "I found myself unable to tolerate distractions like my 18-year-old asking, 'When is dinner?' when she could clearly see I was busy. Why, I wondered, was it always my responsibility to turn on the stove and begin to think about my family's food needs, even when I wasn't hungry and deeply engrossed in a project? Why couldn't my husband get the dinner preparations started?" She says she felt as though her very presence caused her husband and children to lose initiative while they waited for her to take charge of dinner or get out the door for a family trip. "I could feel a fiery volcano within me, ready to burst, and a voice within me roaring, 'Enough! You're all able-bodied, capable individuals. Everyone here knows how to drive a car and boil water. Why is my energy still the organizing principle around here?'" She goes on to say that "as the vision-obscuring veil created by the hormones of reproduction begins to lift, a woman's youthful fire and spirit are often rekindled, together with long-sublimated desires and creative drives. "Midlife fuels those drives with a volcanic energy that demands an outlet." Dr. Northrup says women undergoing such pressure can suffer severe family turbulence -- "boat-rocking that may put long-established relationships in upheaval" -- or health problems resulting in one of the "big three" diseases of post-menopausal women: heart disease, depression or breast cancer. Dr. Northrup acknowledges that "the emotional changes that come about in the years leading up to and during menopause can feel earthshaking and even terrifying, particularly for those of us who are accustomed to thinking we're in control." But she says these life-shattering changes are ultimately a good thing. She says that at mid-life, more psychic energy is available to women than at any time since adolescence. If women are brave enough to use that energy, she adds, they can uncover beliefs about themselves that have held them back, then re-invent themselves as healthier, more resilient women, "ready to move joyfully into the second half of our lives." "Ultimately, I've found this journey bracing, exciting and health-enhancing," Dr. Northrup says. "And I'm certainly not alone." She says a Gallup survey presented at the 1998 meeting of the North American Menopause Society showed that more than half the women surveyed between 50 and 65 felt the happiest and most fulfilled at this stage of life. Laura Robin The Ottawa Citizen http://www.ottawacitizen.com/frontpage.html . Copyright 2001 CanWest Interactive, a CanWest company. All rights reserved janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit perky, parky . pd: 54/41/37 cd: 54/44/43 tel: 613 256 8340 email: [log in to unmask] . a new voice: the nnnewsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/janet313/ . a new voice: the bbbook: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/wordbook/ . a new voice: the wwweb site: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/ . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn