Why So Many Women Feel Unprepared for Perimenopause and Menopause

Melani Sanders did not know she was in perimenopause. No one told her to look for it.

On The Tamsen Show podcast, she explains how insomnia, anxiety, joint pain, emotional numbness, and fear surfaced after her hysterectomy without context or warning. Menopause, to her, meant hot flashes and getting older. Perimenopause was not part of the conversation.

Without information, symptoms turn inward. Melani describes questioning her motivation, her resilience, and her sense of self. The absence of education made her experience feel isolating and confusing.

It wasn’t until she began connecting the dots, hysterectomy, hormonal changes, emotional shifts, that her symptoms started to make sense. That understanding didn’t erase the struggle, but it removed the shame.

Her story reflects what many women face. Profound changes occur before the language to describe them ever appears. When symptoms are unnamed, women often blame themselves instead of recognizing a biological transition.

This conversation gave listeners permission to stop minimizing what they feel and to recognize that confusion is often a result of silence, not weakness.

If you want to learn more, listen to this episode on The Tamsen Show podcast.