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You are here: Home / LIFESTYLE / CREATIVITY / Living with Zest! Creativity and Menopause

Living with Zest! Creativity and Menopause

October 2, 2012 by Angie Macdonald Leave a Comment

Card with picture of woman saying The most creative force in the world is a menopausal woman with zest!

A friend sent this card to my partner and I thought the quote so wonderful I had to share it with you.

‘The most creative force in the world is a menopausal woman with zest!’ is actually derived from a quote by cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead.

I love the fact that it links menopause with creativity and is so positive.  So often menopause is viewed in a negative light by both the media and women themselves.  I wrote about this in more detail in a previous post: Is it Time to Talk About the Menopause? in response to Tracey Emin’s comments about menopause in an interview in The Guardian.

A Time of Transition

The more research I do, the more I’m becoming convinced that the menopause is the most important transition a woman will ever go through in her life.  More so than adolescence or young adulthood.  This is because in our forties or fifties we have years of experience and wisdom behind us and have the option to go through this change of life consciously and design the second part of our lives to be the way we want them to be.

The Wisdom of Menopause

Dr Christiane Northrup, in her bible on menopause ‘The Wisdom of Menopause’ describes menopause as a time of ‘coming home to yourself’. I love the image of peace and contentedness those words conjure up.  Menopause can also be seen as a process of giving birth to yourself – a time of rebirth.

Part of that process of working out who you really are and what you really want involves questioning and re-evaluating life choices and relationships; in fact everything that your life has been built on up to this point. It’s not an easy process, but a necessary one if you are to live the second part of your life being true to yourself and honouring who you really are.

Dr Christiane Northrup describes midlife as a time when –

Women begin to direct more of their energies toward the world outside of home and family, which may suddenly appear as a great,inviting, untapped resource for exploration, creative expression, and self- esteem.

For some women, It’s a time when they start putting their own needs first for the first time, especially if they’ve had children. It may mean ending relationships, changing the way we relate with our children, speaking up for ourselves or becoming financially independent.

Creativity and Menopause

Menopause can also be a time of great creativity. Many women start their own businesses, write that novel, take up a new hobby. And creative expression is bound to add zest to anyone’s life.

Writing in The Huffington Post, Dr Northrup says:

You may be more creative and clever after menopause. You are not destined to suffer from mental decline. Although women report a decrease in memory, our brains actually do something wonderful at menopause — they stay in a state of perpetual creativity. When your period stops, your hormones don’t experience the same surges and cycles. Women report better creativity after menopause than when they were younger.

Now that I think about it, some of the most creative people I know are menopausal women!

What about you?  Are you living  your life with creative zest?  If you are, I’d love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment below.

Other Write Health Posts on Menopause:

Is it Time to Talk About the Menopause?

HRT and Me: The Story so Far

Filed Under: CREATIVITY, HEALTH, MENOPAUSE Tagged With: creativity, creativity and menopause, menopause

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Hi, I’m Angie Macdonald

I'm a fifty-something writer living in London and currently experiencing the 'joys' of menopause. Write Health is where I share my passion for all things related to wellbeing during the menopause. It's also where I write about my relationship with HRT; the highs and the lows. I hope you'll join me on my journey... Read More…

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