It’s awards season – we’re all familiar with the Academy Awards, The Baftas and the Golden Globes so let’s try something different, something a bit more…menopausal maybe?

Here, we recognise the best, worst and weirdest things that have come out of menopause.   While we don’t have an actual award show ceremony, we thought it would be fun to virtually recognise these moments.

So let’s get awarding – Welcome to the inaugural Menopause Awards.

Weirdest Moment Award:

Ah yes…the weirdest moment has to be when it all first started happening. You wake up one day and suddenly realise your body is doing all sorts of strange things – changes in libido, night sweats and hot flashes galore & that don’t seem normal or natural at all. You go from feeling perfectly fine to feeling like someone else entirely overnight. It’s definitely an odd experience that takes some getting used to.

The Comfort Award:  

There is nothing like a warm cup of tea or a comforting bowl of soup when it comes to dealing with the effects of menopause. We give this award to all the comfort food and drink that make us feel better when we need it the most. Whether it’s herbal tea or hot chocolate, or something savoury like macaroni cheese, these comforting foods help us get through those tough days with ease.

The Mood Swing Award:

The moment you go from happy to sad to angry in the blink of an eye. It’s the moment when you feel like you’re on an emotional rollercoaster and you’re not sure if you should laugh or cry.  Oh and goodness help anyone who gets in your way……

The Weight Gain Award:

The award we all hate goes to the moment when you step on the scale and realise that you’ve gained a few pounds. It’s the moment when you wish you could still eat whatever you wanted without consequence.

The Hot Right Now Award:

This one is pretty self-explanatory. This award goes to when you suddenly feel like you’re on fire and you break out in a sweat that could rival a marathon runner’s. It’s the moment when you wish you had a personal air conditioner to cool you down. Hot flashes definitely take the cake for being one of the worst parts of menopause. They come out of nowhere and leave you feeling sweaty and uncomfortable for hours on end. Unfortunately, there is no cure for these pesky little devils but thankfully they do pass eventually and we have tricks up our sleeve to make them more bearable.  Some simple lifestyle changes that can help minimise hot flashes like staying hydrated, getting plenty of rest, and avoiding triggers like caffeine or alcohol.

The Sleepless Nights Award:

This award goes to the moment when you can’t sleep, no matter what you do. It’s when you feel like you’re the only one awake in the world and you start to wonder if you’ll ever get a good night’s rest again. This also goes to the moment when you wake up in the middle of the night, soaked in sweat wishing you had a change of clothes and fresh sheets to hand.

The Weirdest Symptom Award:

Electric Shocks – How random to suddenly feel like someone has sent an electric shock through your body.  This is a crazy symptom that appears and disappears just as quickly.  To the point you wonder if you imagined it.

The Forgotten Award:

Memory loss may not seem like a big deal at first glance but it can be quite disconcerting when you forget important details like why you walked into a room in the first place. It can also cause some serious embarrassment when you forget someone’s name or an important meeting date. While memory loss isn’t necessarily caused by menopause, it is common during this time in life which makes it worthy of a Menopause Award.

While there’s no silver bullet for improving your memory, there are certain strategies you can use to help keep your mind sharp like exercising regularly, eating healthy foods full of antioxidants and engaging in stimulating activities like solving puzzles or playing word games.

This award goes to when you forget what you were saying mid-sentence, or you can’t remember where you put your keys. It’s the moment when you feel like you’re losing your mind and you wish you had a personal assistant to keep track of everything for you.  How did your keys get into the fridge?

The Hair Loss Award:

This award goes to the moment when you start to notice that your hair is thinning. It’s when you wish you could wear a hat all day, every day, without looking ridiculous.  But, by a small miracle, random hairs appear on your chin, making you feel like billy goats gruff!

The Community Support Award:

The best moment of menopause is finding a great community of supportive friends who understand what you’re going through. No-one nearby?  There are so many amazing online communities for women going through menopause & groups provide much-needed support during this often confusing time of life.

The Itchy Skin Award:

This award goes to the moment when you start to feel like your skin is crawling and you can’t stop scratching. It’s the moment when you wish you had a full-body ice pack to soothe your irritated skin.

The Worst Moment Award:

This one’s easy. It has to be when your doctor tells you there’s nothing you can do but wait it out. After months (or years) of dealing with insomnia, weight gain, mood swings and all sorts of other menopausal issues, you finally get up the courage to go see a doctor only to find out that there’s nothing they can do except offer basic symptom relief. It’s like a punch in the gut to hear those words because you know it means that the symptoms are likely here to stay for many more months…or years.

So overall, menopause quite an adventure.   From unexpected highs (like realising you’ve made it through another hot flash without breaking into a sweat) to unexpected lows (like hearing your doctor say there’s nothing they can do), there are sure to be plenty of surprises along the way. So embrace them as best you can.  That’s what The Menopause Awards are here for.   Enjoy recognising each moment as they come and don’t forget to celebrate yourself along the way.

Menopause may come with its fair share of challenges but it also provides an opportunity for growth and self-discovery as well! Even though these “awards” were tongue-in-cheek, they do serve as a reminder that everyone experiences different aspects of menopause differently, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed right now know that you’re not alone. With a little knowledge (and lots of patience), you’ll make it through this transition stronger than ever before.

And that wraps up our inaugural Menopause Awards.  We hope you enjoyed learning about some of the best, worst and weirdest things we have seen throughout our journey into perimenopause. While some of these experiences may not be pleasant, we hope that knowing that others are going through them too will help make them more bearable.  Stay tuned for next year’s awards – who knows what new experiences await us?

Until then…Happy Menopausing.