The child calls out “mommy” ten times in two minutes, and at some point you burst out. You raise your voice, more than you wanted to. Then you regret it. There is an oppressive silence, and on the child's face you read sadness, bewilderment, reproach. It's not okay that it ended up here. But it's not just you to blame! For a long time you thought it was just fatigue. Or that you have no patience at all. The “diagnosis” clearly slips through your fingers. The doctors don't help you much either. Beyond burnout and daily stress, perimenopause, a topic that isn't talked about much, bears much of the blame. It's a stage in your body's life that no one can adequately explain. It's the period leading up to menopause, which can last a few months or even 10 years, when hormones wreak havoc with your sleep, anxiety, and ability to regulate your emotions. And when all of this is piled on top of the hoops of parenthood, nothing in your life (and your children's) is the same.
“I was yelling at the kids and I didn't understand why”
In a recent article on parents.com, Simone Sauter, an entrepreneur and mother of two, shares how she “navigated” through this very complicated phase of her life: “After two pregnancies back to back and three years of breastfeeding, I decided to stop… but I wasn't prepared for what came next: in just a few weeks, my mental and physical state collapsed, and no one was able to help me. Anxiety and panic attacks appeared from I wasn't sleeping anymore, I was waking up twice at the emergency room because I was convinced I was going to have a heart attack. I couldn't control myself anymore. Every noise, every movement, was unbearable. I thought it was burnout 40 years,” she confesses.
Every mother recognizes herself, at least a little, in this story. You feel that something is wrong – in your mind, in your body. You don't understand where all these symptoms are coming from or why you are reacting so differently. You are always nervous and yell, more and more often, at the children. You end up suspecting hypochondria, you go to the doctor and you don't find any clear diagnosis. And sometimes you are told (more subtly or not) that you are exaggerating.
READ THE CONTINUATION ON TOTULDESPREMAME.RO
