pausitivehealth

pausitivehealth Helping women+ prepare for the menopause journey with education, support, and solutions.

Your brain uses 20% of your body's total energy. Estrogen is what helps it access that fuel efficiently. So when estroge...
08/06/2026

Your brain uses 20% of your body's total energy. Estrogen is what helps it access that fuel efficiently. So when estrogen shifts during the menopause journey, the brain has to search for entirely new ways to power itself, and that search is what so many women+ actually experience as symptoms. 🧠

That reframe is at the heart of a new Flow Space piece (Flow Space) featuring our Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Z. Colette Edwards, MD, MBA. She walks us through why menopause is one of the most misunderstood brain transitions in a woman's life, and how the "brain fog" so many women+ describe is actually the brain adapting in real time to a completely new hormonal environment. Which is very different from decline.

A few of Colette's insights from the piece:

🧠 "The hippocampus, your brain's memory hub, temporarily runs low on energy. That's the biology behind losing your train of thought mid-sentence or feeling like your thinking is fuzzy."

🌡️ "The hypothalamus, which quietly manages both your body temperature and your sleep-wake circadian rhythm, loses some of its steadiness when estrogen levels fall. That's what's behind the 3 a.m. wake-ups and the sudden waves of heat that seem to come out of nowhere."

Understanding why changes everything. 💪🏾

🔗 Read the full article here: https://www.theflowspace.com/reproductive-health/menopause/menopause-brain-fog-hormones-brain-health-3034730/
Lisa Mosconi, PhD

08/05/2026

A pharmacist walks into her doctor's office in her mid-40s, convinced she has early-onset dementia. She's forgetting people's names, losing words, feeling like her brain isn't hers anymore. 🧠

The doctor tells her: no, it's not dementia. Maybe ADHD? Extensive testing follows. Not ADHD either. Then comes the line so many women+ have heard: "You're probably just anxious. You're a woman. You're in midlife."

She left with no answers.

That story is from Dr. Lisa Miller, PharmD, a certified menopause practitioner with nearly 30 years in clinical pharmacy, mental health counseling, and women's health education. She shared it on this episode of “Menopause the pausitive Way” to make a point: fragmented care hits women+ on the menopause journey especially hard, even when the patient IS the expert.

It wasn't until she started hormone therapy months later that the brain fog lifted and she connected the dots. And the experience of being missed by the system, twice, is exactly what led her to become menopause-certified herself, so other women+ don't have to piece it together alone. 💪🏾

If you've ever left an appointment feeling dismissed, listen to this. And know it doesn't have to end there. 👇🏾

🔗 Watch the full episode at https://www.pausitivehealth.com/podcasts/
Prickly Pear Health

A hot flash in the middle of a July heat wave is its own special kind of cruel. 🥵Hot flashes affect up to 80% of women d...
07/28/2026

A hot flash in the middle of a July heat wave is its own special kind of cruel. 🥵

Hot flashes affect up to 80% of women during the menopause transition, and summer can tip them into overdrive. They happen because shifting estrogen confuses the part of your brain that regulates temperature, so your body sounds a false alarm and rushes to cool you down. And this is not felt equally: Black, Latina, and Native women tend to have more frequent, more severe, and longer-lasting hot flashes.

The good news is you have more options than ever. They fall into three groups:

🌿 Lifestyle: dress in light layers you can peel off, choose breathable fabrics like cotton and linen, stay hydrated, and watch the classic triggers like spicy food, caffeine, alcohol, and hot drinks. A simple symptom diary can help reveal your personal patterns.

🩺 Prescription options: the FDA recently removed its Black Box warning from hormone therapy, which helps many women when started within about 10 years of menopause. If hormones are not right for you, there are now three FDA-approved non-hormonal medications for hot flashes, VEOZAH ™ (fezolinetant). Lynkuet® (elinzanetant) 60mg capsules, and Paroxetine, that target the brain pathway behind them.

🧘🏾‍♀️ Integrative approaches: cognitive behavioral therapy has solid evidence for easing the distress of hot flashes, and some women find added relief through acupuncture, yoga, mindfulness, or certain herbs. Herbs can interact with medications, so loop in your provider first and consult with a well-trained clinical herbalist.
One size does not fit all here. The best plan is the one you build with a clinical professional who knows your history. 💪🏾

Swipe through for your summer hot flash game plan. 👇🏾

🔗 Read the full hot flash guide here: https://www.pausitivehealth.com/hot-flash-guide/

Today is International Self-Care Day, named for a simple idea: that caring for yourself matters 24 hours a day, 7 days a...
07/24/2026

Today is International Self-Care Day, named for a simple idea: that caring for yourself matters 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 🌿

It is easy to treat self-care as optional. During the menopause journey, it is closer to essential. That is because stress and symptoms feed each other. In an analysis of data from the long-running SWAN study, women who were still upset by a stressful event had about 21% more hot flashes and night sweats than women who hadn't faced that stress. Those who had been through something hard but no longer felt shaken by it showed almost no increase.

How you tend to your mind shows up in your body.

And self-care does not have to be elaborate or expensive. It can be a ten-minute walk, a few slow breaths, saying no to one thing, putting your phone down, or finally booking the appointment you keep pushing off. The real trick is making it a routine part of your daily life instead of something you reach for only when you are already running on empty or you’re stressed to the absolute max. Put it on the calendar if you have to.

What is one small thing you can do for yourself today? 💛

🔗 Try these 19 self-care ideas: https://www.pausitivehealth.com/menopause-self-care/

What you eat during menopause matters more than you might think. 🍎On July 28, registered dietitian and Launch My Health ...
07/24/2026

What you eat during menopause matters more than you might think. 🍎

On July 28, registered dietitian and Launch My Health founder Brenda Navin is joining us for a free, one-hour webinar on how nutrition can help you navigate this stage with confidence.

She'll break down the estrogen-insulin connection, explain why protein is non-negotiable in midlife, and share practical strategies to protect your muscle and bone health - including guidance for women on GLP-1 medications.

You'll leave with practical, doable guidance on eating in a way that actually supports your body right now. No restrictive diets. No overwhelm. Just real food, real talk.

Tuesday, July 28 | 12–1 p.m. ET | Free
Grab your spot here: https://bit.ly/4vQpmCy

07/23/2026

Ever spend the back half of the day just counting down to 5:00 so you can get home and deal with how you actually feel? 🕔

On the “Menopause the pausitive Way” podcast, Dr. Alison Schmidt, PhD, BCC, creator and host of the (un)conversations® podcast and CEO of Unconvention LLC, makes the case for bringing menopause into everyday workplace conversation, the same way we talk about any other health need. When women can say what would help, whether that is a heating pad, an ice pack, or a small change at their desk, they can work comfortably instead of pushing through in silence. And people who feel comfortable do better work.

Talking about it openly is how things actually get better, for you and for everyone working alongside you.

Press play for Dr. Schmidt's take on menopause at work. 💼

Most people use the word "menopause" for the whole years-long journey. But menopause is technically a single day. 🗓️The ...
07/21/2026

Most people use the word "menopause" for the whole years-long journey. But menopause is technically a single day. 🗓️

The experience everyone lumps together actually comes in three distinct stages:

🌗 Perimenopause is the lead-up, and it is where most of the action you read about happens. It usually begins in your 40s and lasts about 7.5 years on average (10 years in the case of Black women), bringing irregular periods, hot flashes, sleep trouble, mood shifts, and brain fog. This is the stretch people most often mislabel as menopause.

📍 Menopause is the single day you hit 12 months with no period. That is the entire definition. The very next day, you are post-menopausal.

🌅 Post-menopause is everything after, for the rest of your life. Some symptoms ease, but with estrogen lower for good, this becomes the stage to stay on top of your heart, bone, and brain health.

Knowing which stage you are in shapes the questions you ask and the care you go after. Save this so you always know where you stand. 💪🏾

🔗 Read more about the three stages here: https://www.pausitivehealth.com/menopause-stages-and-symptoms/
The Menopause Society

Happy World Emoji Day! 🌍 Since emojis say what words sometimes can't, let's play.Sum up your menopause journey in emojis...
07/17/2026

Happy World Emoji Day! 🌍 Since emojis say what words sometimes can't, let's play.

Sum up your menopause journey in emojis and drop them in the comments. No wrong answers, and bonus points for honesty.

We'll start: 😴 (the 3 a.m. wake-up calls), 🧠 (wait, what was I saying?), and 💪🏾 (because you're still here).

Your turn. Show us the good, the sweaty, and the empowering.

You snapped at someone over something small, and a second later you barely recognized yourself. 😤If that sounds familiar...
07/16/2026

You snapped at someone over something small, and a second later you barely recognized yourself. 😤

If that sounds familiar, menopause rage is real, it is common, and it does not mean something is wrong with you.

When estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate during the menopause journey, they affect the brain chemicals that help keep your mood steady. So the patience you used to have can wear thin fast, and a minor annoyance can suddenly feel like the last straw. In our own community survey, about 1 in 10 women pointed to anger or rage as a symptom they live with.

The goal is not to bottle it up. It is to give that energy somewhere to go. A hard workout or a long walk can burn it off. Deep breathing, guided imagery, yoga nidra, and tapping (EFT) can bring you back down in the moment. The anger may show up alongside a low mood, mention it to your provider, since the two are often linked.

The anger is real, and it is something you can work with. So, don’t go it alone. Seek help from a menopause-trained clinician and a mental health professional.

You've got this. 💪🏾

🔗 Read more on taming the beast here: https://www.pausitivehealth.com/menopause-rage/

NAMI
988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline
Mental Health America

It is July. Everyone else is reaching for the AC, and you are wrapped in a cardigan wondering why you suddenly feel like...
07/14/2026

It is July. Everyone else is reaching for the AC, and you are wrapped in a cardigan wondering why you suddenly feel like a walking ice cube. 🥶

Meet the cold flash. Yes, that is a real menopause symptom, and no, you are not imagining it.

Most people only ever hear about hot flashes, and up to 80% of women+ get those. But cold flashes are the lesser-known cousin: a sudden wave of chills, shivers, even body aches, often arriving right as a hot flash fades. The culprit is the same. Shifting hormones throw off your hypothalamus, the part of your brain that runs your internal thermostat, so your body can overshoot in either direction. 🌡️

One important note: cold flashes are not always about the menopause journey. Thyroid issues, anxiety, low iron, and low blood sugar can cause them too. So it is worth a conversation with your doctor rather than assuming and just sucking it up.

From quick in-the-moment tricks to longer-term shifts, the chill is manageable. So the next time you reach for a sweater in July, you will at least know why, and that you are far from the only one feeling it. 🧣

Swipe through for ways to beat the chill, then read the full guide for all 10. 👇🏾

🔗 Read all 10 ways to beat the chill here: https://www.pausitivehealth.com/cold-flash/

The Menopause Society
Endocrine Society

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