From: Dr. Erika | Meno Memo Subject: When brain fog made me question my entire career

As a doctor, my job is fundamentally about thinking—listening, analyzing, diagnosing, remembering. So when I started experiencing brain fog during perimenopause, it wasn't just inconvenient. It shook my confidence to the core.

I'd be mid-conversation with a patient and suddenly lose my train of thought. I'd forget medical facts I'd known for years. And here's what really got to me: I started to doubt whether I was still capable of doing my job.

The anxiety was constant. What if my colleagues notice? What if I miss something important? What if I'm letting patients down?

This is a story I hear constantly from professional women in my clinic. The erosion of confidence. The fear of being thought less of. The creeping sense that maybe you're "losing it."

But here's what I've discovered: our menopause experience isn't just about our hormones. It's profoundly shaped by how our culture views aging women.

And that cultural context might be making everything significantly harder than it needs to be.

I recently attended a menstrual health symposium with fascinating research on cross-cultural perspectives on menopause. And what I learned changed how I think about this entire transition.

In many non-Western societies, postmenopausal women actually gain enhanced social status and report better psychological well-being.

These cultures offer older women:

The difference isn't their biology. It's whether their society values them as they age.

Meanwhile, in Western cultures, we're told menopause means losing our mental sharpness, emotional stability, physical appearance, and value in the workplace.

With that narrative, is it any wonder we approach menopause with dread?

Here's another thing I've been thinking about: social media has made menopause information incredibly accessible (revolutionary!), but it's also created a pervasively negative narrative.

When you search for menopause content online, what do you mostly find? Problems. Struggles. Worst-case scenarios.

The women who are 10+ years post-menopause and feeling great? They're not online talking about their problems—because they don't have problems to discuss.

We hear the difficult stories. We don't hear the positive ones.

And I think this biased sample is actually making the experience harder for women going through it now.

Here's where it gets really interesting (and hopeful):

Social support can improve postmenopausal women's quality of life by 6.7 times. Not 67%. Not double. Six point seven times.

Women in matriarchal societies (where older women hold power and respect) score significantly higher on self-esteem, family support, and psychological well-being compared to those in patriarchal structures.

The structure of your society—who has power, who is respected, how aging is viewed—directly impacts how you experience menopause.

I've gone deep on this topic because I think it's so important—and so overlooked.

In my comprehensive article, I explore:

✓ Why Western culture makes menopause harder than it needs to be (and what other cultures do differently)

✓ The brain fog and confidence crisis I experienced—and why cultural context made it worse

✓ What menopause actually gains you (the benefits nobody talks about)

✓ The measurable impact of social support and how to build yours intentionally

✓ How to curate your information sources to avoid the negativity bias

✓ Practical strategies for creating your own supportive cultural context (since we can't all move to matriarchal societies!)

✓ What needs to change on a broader societal level

[READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE: The Hidden Cultural Factor in Your Menopause Experience →https://www.liferenomedic.com/blog/the-hidden-factor-in-your-menopause-experience-culture-social-support-and-why-it-all-matters]

If your confidence is shaken, if you feel like you're losing ground, if menopause feels overwhelming—part of what you're experiencing is the weight of cultural expectations that don't serve you.

You're not just dealing with hormones. You're dealing with a culture that doesn't adequately value aging women.

Understanding this doesn't make symptoms disappear, but it can help you see the bigger picture and seek the support you actually deserve.

[Get the full article with research and strategies →https://www.liferenomedic.com/blog/the-hidden-factor-in-your-menopause-experience-culture-social-support-and-why-it-all-matters]

P.S. How has menopause affected your confidence or sense of self? Have you felt the weight of cultural expectations about aging? Reply and let me know—I genuinely read every response, and your experiences often shape my thinking on these topics.