“Should you’re like me and end up smack dab in the midst of menopause, with none actual understanding of what’s taking place to the mind and physique you as soon as knew, The Menopause Mind by Lisa Mosconi will rapidly grow to be your new finest buddy,” Halle Berry–who’s 57–wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, recommending her favourite e-book to her 8.6 million followers. “Dr Mosconi confirms that you just’re not loopy and, most significantly, that you just’re not alone!”

A chapter in a lady’s life that has grow to be a sizzling matter within the final 12 months or two, the Equality and Human Rights Fee not too long ago introduced that employers now have a accountability in some international locations like the UK to guard employees struggling with signs of menopause–and they are often each quite a few and various, from temper swings, anxiousness and mind fog to sizzling flashes, despair, and irregular durations. It’s a step in direction of a extra common understanding of the methods during which menopause could be debilitating for ladies as their brains and our bodies shift into the subsequent part of life.

Put merely, it pays to know what occurs through the menopause, which is why books like Dr Mosconi’s–revealed on March twenty first–could be extremely helpful. Under, 5 key classes to remove from it now.

1. You aren’t loopy

The primary chapter within the e-book offers wonderful reassurance that, no, you’re not loopy–menopause mind is actual. In reality, most signs are neurological. “Due to how genuinely uninformed we’re about menopause, too many ladies are caught utterly off guard, feeling betrayed by their physique and their mind–to not point out their docs, too,” Dr Mosconi writes. “Whereas sizzling flashes are usually acknowledged as a ‘aspect impact’ of menopause, most docs merely received’t make the connection between menopause and its different signs resembling anxiousness, insomnia, despair or mind fog.” It’s simply one among many the explanation why menopausal girls are uncared for by gynecologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists. What you have to know is that menopause modifications your mind, it’s fairly regular to really feel loopy–oh, and it’ll all get higher.

2. Signs could be each bodily and neurological

Whereas 10 to fifteen % of girls report no modifications in any respect throughout menopause (aside from irregular durations), others can undergo from each somatic (body-related) and neurological (brain-related) signs.

Let’s begin with the bodily. Alongside signs like vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, stress incontinence, and/or an overactive bladder, there could be joint ache, stiffness, muscle rigidity and aches, and an elevated danger of osteoporosis. “Breast-related modifications may happen, resembling breast soreness, lack of breast fullness, and swelling,” Dr Mosconi notes. Different “less-discussed bodily signs” embrace “[an] irregular heartbeat and palpitations, which could be very scary, in addition to modifications in physique composition, weight acquire, and slower metabolism, together with digestive points, bloating, acid reflux disease, and nausea.” That’s earlier than mentioning physique odor, thinning hair, and elevated sensitivity to noise.