Before I tell you all about this fabulous new eBook I’m releasing -for FREE– I want to take a moment to reflect on what the Menopause Mondays blog, and all my work in educating women and men on perimenopause and menopause, has meant to me, and to thank YOU for everything you’ve given me.
As I walked down the stairs to my computer this morning, I began reminiscing about these past years of writing and blogging about perimenopause and menopause.
My morning usually begins at 7AM. I love the quiet of the house and the sunlight peaking in as I raise the blinds. I yearn for my morning coffee, but these days it is a few steps behind my probiotic (who knew we need to balance the good and bad bacteria?!!) and a large glass of ice water.
I try to do my morning 20-minute meditation, but frankly my need to check my emails resulting from my weekly blog posts usually wins out. What if someone is suffering in another time zone? I don’t want them to wait too long to get support. I remember how alone I felt when my perimenopausal symptoms were running my life. More like ruining my life.
Some of the emails contain just one line: “Help, I am depressed!” or “I can’t sleep anymore. Am I in perimenopause?” Others are very long journals of very trying, difficult emotional highs and lows, severe depression, insomnia, or shockingly severe issues with sex and libido that are causing marriages to fall apart.
Most of the time, I can direct people to the various blogs in which I interview specialists on the topic to help answer their questions. But, sometimes I just know that they need to talk to someone who cares. So, I send them my cell phone number. Then immediately my cell phone rings.
I know that just being able to verbalize what is bothering you can be very calming. Funny, though, as I speak to women from all over the world, I find my way back to my own inner peace. Each and every time, I hang up the phone with a full heart and a smile on my face. Helping others seems to be very healing and nourishing to me. When I started out, I had no idea this would happen.
When I have a spare moment, I try to follow up with everyone who has contacted me to see how they are doing.
My follow-up emails are sometimes frustrating, as some women try so hard to be “fine” that they may not take the steps needed to feel better. For example, I may have called a menopause specialist in NYC to squeeze in a patient who was truly at her wits’ end, only to find out she cancelled the appointment! I don’t give up. Instead, I keep nagging until they go to the specialist! I know my role is to be their health advocate until they learn to advocate for themselves. I take my role seriously.
There are days when David has to peel my butt off of my chair to eat lunch or dinner or get on my bike! Thank goodness he does! Otherwise, I might be completely glued to my chair by now.
My husband and children have consistently rallied around me, encouraging me and pushing me to continue on my mission, even when I had self-doubts and frustrations. I know it’s a bit cheesy, but I like cheese! They truly are the wind beneath my wings. I love it that my husband and children are proud of me. They have no idea how much that means to me.
When I allow myself to step back and review my journey, and let go of my Virgo-ism and the self-critical chatter that harps on the things that I could have done better, I truly feel I have accomplished something that I am proud of. I have helped lots of women and the people who love them. This is the most rewarding thing of all.
My whole being is so wrapped around this mission that I seem to know when someone needs help no matter where I am: on an airplane, at the grocery check-out line, in the carwash waiting room, or at a social event. I zero in on the women who are suffering in silence. David has nicknamed me the “Vagina Whisperer.” He gets that look that says, “And…there she goes!” As I try to engage with the woman, he watches with pride and great patience.
It’s shocking that while there are ever increasing numbers of women in the workplace, in corporate executive positions, and other vital roles in our society, so many women are still suffering in silence. My mission is to replace the confusion and embarrassment about the symptoms millions of women go through before, during, and after menopause with medically sound solutions presented with lots of love and laughter.
So in that spirit, I will be releasing a new eBook, available for FREE to all women and the people who love them. The book will be an amalgamation of what I’ve learned from interviewing experts, from my own experiences, and from the personal stories that the sisterhood has shared with me. The book will be called, MENOPAUSE MONDAYS The Girlfriend’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving During Perimenopause and Menopause. The eBook format will allow me to periodically do updates with the latest studies and information. In that sense, it will be a living text that grows as we grow.
That’s why we’re here. So we can grow together.
As I work on this eBook, you may be hearing from me more sporadically. I have re-organized EllenDolgen.com and updated our blog information, making it even easier for you to find the answers you need. Think of EllenDolgen.com as a resource library. You can easily access my Menopause Symptoms Chart, Menopause Specialist Directory, Blogs, Health News Flashes, Top Symptoms, and FAQs. As we go through this new chapter together, please continue to communicate with me directly at ellen@ellendolgen.com .
Your energy and appreciation has empowered and motivated me to continue our good work together and elevate Menopause Mondays into the next chapter of its life: MENOPAUSE MONDAYS The Girlfriend’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving During Perimenopause and Menopause.
Stay tuned!
