“Life, like many processes in nature, flows in various phases. The social, psychological and biological aspects of human life are restructured in these stages. From the prenatal period, each stage contributes to the person in its own way and at the same time produces crises that must be overcome”, Istanbul Okan University Hospital Psychology Specialist Cln. Ps. Müge Leblebicioğlu Arslan made statements.
The developmental process of human beings includes the vital balance and changes, each of which has its own characteristics, troubles, solving and adapting. All these changes, which can be described as a crisis in a person's life, are actually expected and necessary processes. This process basically starts with an effort to hold on to life with the fertilization of the sperm and egg that chose it among many possibilities. The most basic need of the newborn is to meet his physical needs and to try to create suitable opportunities for the revealing of his genetic potential by developing a secure bond with the caregiver.
Adolescence is a process that requires adaptation to physical, cognitive and social changes. This period is a painful developmental period for the adolescent in which he/she tries to make decisions about his/her life, to take responsibility, to find his/her place in the world and to solve the identity crisis.
Menopause, like other periods, is one of the periods that includes vital balance and developmental changes for women. Menopause is the cessation of menstrual bleeding as a result of loss of ovarian activity. Although the symptoms of menopause differ between women, they can usually be seen in the form of hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disorders, irritability, difficulty in anger control, self-dislike, fatigue, headache, sexual reluctance and apathy. It can be said that the appearance, intensity and duration of these symptoms are related to bio-psycho-social factors.
Fewer Menopausal Symptoms Are Observed in Cultures That Respect Women
Although menopause is a developmental period, it can cause disruption of the balance of different systems in the organism and cause psychological problems. The effect of socio-cultural factors rather than the direct effect of hormonal changes plays an important role in the cause of the psychological symptoms that occur in this period. Perceptions and attitudes towards menopause differ from culture to culture. The cultural point of view, unfortunately, plays a decisive role in the way the society handles this period of women in menopause, as it has in many other fields in recent years. So much so that this situation makes menopause visible only in terms of hormonal changes and its physical consequences. Thus, when menopause is mentioned, hot flashes and accompanying symptoms such as low sexual desire, night sweats and insomnia come to mind. It is true that there are biological changes that affect women's daily lives, health and relationships with other people during menopause. Although some of these symptoms are bodily signs of changes in hormones, the way they express their symptoms and their intensity are not independent of cultural and social influences. As a matter of fact, studies show that these symptoms, and even the way women experience menopause, are affected by the perspective of the environment, society and culture in which they live. For example, while less menopausal symptoms are observed in cultures where older women are respected, in the West, there is a perception that menopause is an issue that should be avoided for women, by attributing the negative attitudes to old age to menopause, which is considered to be equivalent to aging. In addition, it has been observed that individuals who grew up in cultures where the social value of women is equivalent to fertility exhibits more negative attitudes towards menopause. However, existing negative attitudes can increase the perception of stress by making women more open to psychosocial risks in this process and make it difficult for them to regulate their mood. This can trigger psychosomatic symptoms such as depressive symptoms and headaches. Therefore, it can be said that the problems associated with menopause are the result of negative meanings and prejudices attributed by society to old age and menopause.
“Social media plays an important role”
One of the important concepts in the menopause period is body image. The body, which is noticed from infancy, affects and is affected by physical, cognitive and spiritual development. Differences between cultures also create differences in individuals' body perceptions. While being overweight is associated with being beautiful in some societies, being overweight is rejected in the perception of beauty in some societies. Women are generally less satisfied with their weight and body size than men. This difference in body image is thought to be related to gender roles. Along with the influence of culture on gender roles, social media influence and marketing strategies play an important role in the formation of "perception of beauty". These effects from family, media and social characteristics can cause the objectification of the female body. This perception makes the woman important not with her other features, but with her body, weight, body structure and appearance. Women who internalize and adopt this perception may be less satisfied with their bodies and may be worried about their body and appearance. Especially women who are in the menopause period can express that they do not like their bodies and that they find themselves less attractive compared to a few years ago.
Negative body perceptions must be destroyed
The objectification of the body by the society can trigger depression and similar mental problems of the women who are in the menopause period. While negative body image can lead to depression, depression can also disrupt body image. However, social support has a healing effect on women's mental health in the process of experiencing and accepting menopause. However, in this period, whether the psychiatric symptoms belong to a psychiatric diagnosis or to menopause is of critical importance in terms of establishing a treatment plan. From this point of view, it is thought that working on body image in psychotherapy plays a protective role on mental health. As a result, man begins to develop the moment he realizes that he is not doomed to biology. So, like infancy, adolescence, youth and adulthood, menopause should not be considered as a deficiency, but as a natural process of women's life. When seen as a phase of transition to a more productive and more comfortable life and associated with other developments (spousal relationships, career, child raising, future plans, aging, death, etc.) It will be better understood that it is a crisis period. From this perspective, the individual and social gains of women and society will be greater. However, if you are in an intense emotional state that you have difficulty in coping with, if you have chronic pain without a physical reason, if this situation has started to affect your functionality negatively, if the symptoms continue with the same intensity or increasing, getting psychotherapy support to increase psychological well-being before, during and after menopause. very important for
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