As more and more people talk about their experiences, the topics of menopause and perimenopause are no longer as taboo as they once were. But while certain symptoms of menopause are well-acknowledged ― hot flashes, night sweats, irregular periods ― there is still more confusion about the signs of perimenopause and even what it is.
“Perimenopause is a natural transition in a woman’s life between her reproductive years and menopause, and the transition usually lasts for most women a period of four to nine years,” said Dr. Lara Feldman, a psychiatrist in women’s behavioral health at the Cleveland Clinic.
While it’s all part of getting older, perimenopause just doesn’t get the attention that menopause gets when it comes to seeking support from medical professionals, friends and family.
Even entire Reddit communities exist for folks in the perimenopausal transition to commiserate and ask “is this perimenopause or am I just having a bad day?” Commonly, people in these online communities complain of rage, anger or anxiety induced by perimenopause.
“About 65 to 70% of people get a thing called perimenopausal mood instability, or what we call PMI, and that’s more common than PMS [premenstrual syndrome], but people have never heard of it, right?” Dr. Karen E. Adams, a clinical professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University School of Medicine in California and the director of Stanford’s menopause and healthy aging program, previously told HuffPost.
