There’s this thing, people, called perimenopause.
It’s something that starts happening to your body and your hormones before you hit actual menopause. It typically hits women in their 40s, but – happy news – it can happen to women as young as mid-30s.
It can bring on hot flashes, a lowered sex drive and irregular periods. But one of its major symptoms is The Rage.
The Rage can hit at any time. It’s why women ‘of a certain age’ suddenly have NO PROBLEM telling you exactly what they think. It’s why comments sections and letters pages are full of women getting really, really worked up about stuff that, possibly, they could be letting slide.
And it’s something that Julia Morris thinks we need to talk about more. “Why aren’t we listening to our elders? For the love of God, The Fury!”
Hear Julia telling Mia Freedman about it, here: (Post continues after audio.)
“No-one talks about it because it makes you sound old,” says Julia on Mia Freedman’s No Filter. “And if there’s one thing you’re not allowed to be in our business is old.
“I’m telling everyone. I’m shouting it from the rooftops.”
“I have had to go and start seeing a psych… Everything was giving me the dirts so much that I thought, ‘I’m going to start kicking off in public!’
Julia is busier than ever after 20+ years in the business (Post continues after gallery.):
Julia Morris throughout her career.
“So I went to see the GP and she said yes, ‘You’re definitely in menopause… all your blood tests say, so that’s a bummer… I said I can’t have happy pills, I need my brain too much.
“She said, ‘We’re going to work out a way that as you feel that fury rising you can go, ‘Is this a legitimate thought or is this an opinion… Or is it just me thinking someone’s not behaving the way I think they should…’
“For the love of God, the mentalness is out of control.”
Julia, we hear you. Thank God somebody said it.
Hear Mia’s full interview with Julia below, where she talks about everything from miscarriage to magazines, the papparazzi to her husband’s breast cancer diagnosis.
And for more episodes, find us on iTunes, download the Mamamia Podcast app, or search for No Filter in your favourite podcast app.
Top Comments
oh gods yes....the rest mist of seething head spinning fury is so very very frighteningly real....thanks goes to my very understanding GP who prescribed me a low dose 'happy pill' or l could have easily taken to drinking during the day after school drop off !! I envy those who say they don't get the anger and are very much in control of their emotions, but fuck it....sometimes you need to actually lose your shit for others in your life to step up and stop expecting mum to be wonder woman all of the freaking time.
I am in perimenopause and I can tell you that the rage is real. A red mist that is blinding in its intensity and speed. Not all the time, not at all. But it is definitely there and it's unpredictable. There is no "one thing" that I need to look out for or be aware of that says I should leave the room before I lose my temper. It could be a wet towel on the floor, a dirty plate, a question about dinner. All seemingly innocent things, but can trigger a tsunami of vitriol. So, if you don't experience that rage, then lucky for you. But please, please don't think it doesn't exist. It is horrible and frightening and unwelcome. And real.