The Wisdom of Menopause (4th Edition): Creating Physical and Emotional Health During the Change

Product Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The Bible of middle-aged womanhood . . . a masterwork.”—The Atlantic
Newly revised and updated for this fourth edition, this groundbreaking book has inspired more than a million women with a dramatically new vision of midlife—and will continue to do so for generations to come.
As Dr. Christiane Northrup explains, the “change” is not simply a collection of physical symptoms to be “fixed,” but a mind-body revolution that brings the greatest opportunity for growth since adolescence. The choices a woman makes now—from the quality of her relationships to the quality of her diet—have the power to secure vibrant health and well-being for the rest of her life.
In this fourth edition, Dr. Northrup draws on the current research and medical advances in women’s health, including:
• Up-to-date information on hormone testing and hormone therapy, with new options and new research
• A whole new take on losing weight and training your mind to release extra pounds
• New insights on the relationship between thyroid, Hashimoto's Disease, and Epstein Bar Syndrome
• New, less invasive and more effective fibroid treatments
• Which supplements are better than botox for keeping skin looking youthful
• How taking the supplement
Pueraria mirifica can optimize many aspects of midlife health and wellness
• Why older women
don't need the HPV vaccine
With this trusted resource, Dr. Christiane Northrup shows that women can make menopause a time of personal empowerment—emerging wiser, healthier, and stronger in both mind and body than ever before.
About the Author
Christiane Northrup, M.D., is the host of eight public television specials and the author of numerous books, including the
New York Times bestsellers
Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and
Goddesses Never Age. A board-certified OB/GYN, Dr. Northrup has been featured on
The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View, the
Today show, and
Good Morning America, among many others.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
1
Menopause Puts Your Life Under a Microscope
It is no secret that relationship crises seem to go hand in hand with menopause. Usually this is attributed to the crazy-making effects of the hormonal shifts occurring in a woman’s body at this time of transition. What is rarely acknowledged or understood is that as these hormone-driven changes affect the brain, they give a woman a sharper eye for inequity and injustice, and a voice that insists on speaking up about them. In other words, they uncover hidden wisdom—and the courage to voice it. As the vision-obscuring veil created by the hormones of reproduction and one’s cultural programming 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.
If it does not find an outlet—if the woman remains silent for the sake of keeping the peace at home or work, or if she holds herself back from pursuing her creative urges and desires—the result is equivalent to plugging the vent on a pressure cooker: something has to give. Very often what gives is the woman’s health, and the result will be one or more of the “big three” diseases of postmenopausal women: heart disease, depression, and breast cancer. On the other hand, for those of us who choose to honor the body’s wisdom and to express what lies within us, it’s a good idea to get ready for some boat rocking, which may put long-established relationships in upheaval. Marriage is not immune to this effect.
“NOT ME, MY MARRIAGE IS FINE”
Every marriage or partnership, even a very good one, must undergo change in order to keep up with the hormone-driven rewiring of a woman’s brain during the years leading up to and including menopause. Not all marriages are able to survive these changes. Mine wasn’t, and nobody was more surprised about that than I. If t