Menopause and the Self:

Navigating the Emotional and Identity Shifts of Midlife.

Menopause is not just a hormonal event. It’s a psychospiritual metamorphosis—a biological initiation that affects how we feel, relate, and understand who we are.

As oestrogen declines, so does our tolerance for inauthenticity. Many women report feeling emotionally raw, introspective, or suddenly unable to keep up the performance of who they’ve been conditioned to be.

This isn’t pathology its more like evolution.

Why the Tears? Mood Shifts Are Biochemical—and Existential

While hormonal fluctuations affect serotonin, dopamine, and GABA which are neurotransmitters that influence mood, sleep, and stress, the story doesn’t end there.

There’s an unspoken grief that often surfaces in menopause. Some women I’ve spoken to feel they are grieving their younger self. Some grieve the end of fertility. Some feel they are grieving societal roles that we expected to outgrow but haven’t replaced.

This feel of grief can feel like: sudden waves of sadness, feeling emotionally ‘unmoored’, anger or irritation that feels out of character, a deep longing for something more, even if you can’t name it yet.

This period of transition is often accompanied by a re-evaluation of self-identity, relationships, and life purpose which is hard… but also empowering. It can be a time when we may feel rage, rebellion, and the rise of the ‘inner truth-teller’. Many women describe menopause as the moment they stop people-pleasing. It’s not just that you’re ‘grumpy’ as much as it’s that your inner boundaries are finally being enforced.

Oestrogen is often called a ‘social hormone,’influencing connection and caretaking behaviors. As it declines, a biological veil lifts—and you may suddenly see things more clearly, such as :unfulfilling relationships, jobs that don’t align, or emotional labour that’s gone unnoticed for years. This isn’t breakdown. It’s breakthrough!

🌑 The Liminal Space: Between Who You Were and Who You’re Becoming

Peri-menopause is a threshold space, you’re no longer who you were, but not yet who you’re becoming. In psychological terms, this is known as liminality. And like all liminal states such as puberty, pregnancy, and postpartum, there’s uncertainty, vulnerability, and also immense potential.

You might ask: Who am I now that I’m no longer menstruating? What do I want, now that I’ve stopped living for everyone else? Where is my power, and how do I wield it wisely?

Menopause offers a great opportunity for our personal growth, redefinition of self, and empowerment.

👑 The Emergence of the Post-Menopausal Archetype

In mythology and indigenous cultures, menopause marks the arrival of the wise woman, the crone, the queen, the elder. Not invisible—but visionary.

Our culture doesn’t yet honor this. But you can.

What if midlife isn’t your descent into irrelevance—but your return to truth?

What if this isn’t the end—but the alchemy of your becoming?

🌺 How to Support Your Emotional and Identity Transition

✨ Give yourself space to grieve and reflect—this is a rite of passage, not a detour.

✨ Therapy or coaching can help you make meaning of the shifts and re-author your story.

✨ Nourish your body to support your mind. Blood sugar swings, gut dysbiosis, and inflammation can worsen emotional symptoms.

✨ Connect with other women—your experience is personal, but not isolated.

✨ Get creative. This is often a time when women return to art, music, writing, movement, or causes they’d left behind.

🔁 Rewrite the Narrative

You are not broken. You are becoming. Menopause is not a disappearance. It’s an invitation to come home to yourself.

At MenoBiome, we support the whole woman—not just her hormones, but her hunger for vitality, wholeness, and meaning.

Because the second act can be the most powerful of all.

📚 References

Ussher JM. “The Role of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in the Construction of Femininity.” Feminism & Psychology, 2008.

Hunter MS, O’Dea I. “Cognitive appraisals and the experience of menopause.” Psychology and Health, 1999.