12/11/2024
Am I "dreaming" or is this just what happens when you set your sights on a dream??
I've been listening to & the gang over for the past few years. Here's how that started & I'll also share how it's going:
I've always loved sports, & I just assumed that I would bypass any sort of perimenopause/menopause because I had been relatively injury free & in good shape.
As many smart menopausal women & my body would say to that ASSumption- "HA-HA. We'll show you."
It is going to happen. It did happen. Every single woman - athlete or not - will go through this. Some have very little distress, others suffer tremendously. I wish I would have known about this group before, but that wouldn't have allowed me to experience something I feel so passionately about now.
A few years ago, my mental health took a nose dive for a number of reasons. (It turns out that alcohol, stress, untreated ADHD, & nervous system dysregulation at the same time as perimenopause is NOT a great combo - check out Hit Play Not Pause Episode 189)
Then I was having trouble sleeping/marathon training because of hot flashes waking me up multiple times at night. I had gained weight and I was all-aboard the "hot mess express."
I would often take the dog out for walks and listen to podcasts. I saw this cool title "Hit Play Not Pause" & first noted it was about sports and badass women. Then I realized it was also about educating women on the physiological changes happening in their bodies while simultaneously creating community and sharing stories from individual experience with the collective goal for athletic women over 40 to be seen.
The mission of Feisty is "creating an empowering culture for active women through podcasts, events, and educational programs."
One of the podcast episodes, a woman described having a "life-quake" - a massive burst of change that leads to a period of upheaval, transition and renewal.
I had one of those.
During the time of upheaval & transition, I kept listening to the podcast and trying to learn as much as I could about what the hell was going on in my body and my life.
One of the things I learned? (Continued in comments below)