12/08/2026
TW: this post discusses suicidal feelings.
For many women experiencing symptoms of menopause, Angela's story may sound familiar. She shares her journey from debilitating pain and anxiety, to hope:
"I got a lot of joy out of sport when I was younger. In my 20s and 30s, I did adventure racing in my spare time. At 48, BOOM. All the exercising and sport had to stop.
"I’d wake up, get out of bed, my feet would hit the floor, and they’d be so painful. The bones just hurt. And then, I started to have a sore hip. I went to the doctor and had an x-ray but there was no sign of arthritis or bursitis – the sort of things you’d expect to be causing this pain.
"I was woken up by terrible nightmares, which were so bad my kids would come running to see if I was okay. There was a point where I had the weirdest thought – one I’d never had in my whole life. I thought that it wouldn’t make any difference if I wasn’t here anymore.
"There didn’t seem to be anybody who had information about what was happening to me. As I started talking to friends [about our experiences], we figured out, ‘‘Whatever is going on in our brains is likely to be something to do with the menopause.”
"Things improved once I was able to understand what was happening to me. My mental clarity is back. I feel a lot better. I’ve just completed a crossing of the Pyrenees by foot. Five years ago, this felt impossible.
"I think that when we talk about menopause, we can remember that it’s a passage, not a forever thing. It’s a passage where our body is shifting away from one point in life and into another with just as much, if not more opportunity. And we come out really strong."
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