The Wise Woman Way
Susun S. Weed
2002
Excerpt from book
Buy new or used at Amazon

This is another beautiful book from Susun Weed. She is the advocate par excellence of the most natural approach to maintaining heath using foods and herbs. Invoking the wisdom of traditional women, she recommends herbal and homeopathic remedies to counter each physical symptom of menopause. Unlike the Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine traditions, where a knowledgeable practitioner compounds herbal mixtures, she recommends "simples," one herb at a time, preferably from the plant, made into infusions and tinctures. This means the process is easy and within the reach of anyone who is willing to spend the time on learning and practicing. Herbal tinctures are also available commercially. Weed pays equal attention to the emotional issues associated with symptoms and suggests appropriate actions. 

There are basically three paths to take during menopause: do nothing - many women don't have physical symptoms that are especially noticeable; treat the symptoms by balancing the hormones (use only bioidentical hormones!); or go through the "change" - experience the effects of losing some production of estrogen, but alleviate the symptoms with herbs and other natural remedies. A nutritionally supportive diet will help in all three cases.

There are estrogen receptors all over the brain and body, which is why a woman can have a wide range of physical and emotional responses to any change in hormone levels. It is also a real transition from fertility to non-fertility, from "youth" to "age," with all the emotional and social implications that has. There is evidence (Christiane Northrup deals with this at length in her book) that our very ways of seeing and thinking are permanently altered as our hormones shift, which can leave us questioning the purpose of the life that had seemed satisfactory or at least tolerable. (See also Midlife Challenges)

Ideally, just as we would have a rite of passage into womanhood for the beginning of the menses, we would have a transition marker for menopause that honors the movement into a new phase of life and sets aside private time to experience the process. Weed mentions in passing taking a "crone's year away" -  or at least a few days for yourself! But many of us are so committed and over-committed to financial and family responsibilities that this does not seem possible.

Most of us, without making major changes in our lives, simply can't function effectively enough if we are being awakened every hour of the night with hot flashes, and  facing the emotional chaos that can arise during the day. This conflict can be a great wake-up call that it's time to begin to creatively change our lives so we do have the time to explore this new person we are becoming. But meanwhile, remedies may be in order!

Weed is firmly against hormone replacement to "suppress" the menopausal change. Because of our youth-worshipping culture, there is a danger that not only the physical symptoms but the pressure for growth and self-exploration that happen naturally at this time of life will be suppressed in the effort to keep from "getting old." This can lead to emotional stress that is a prescription for illness.

It's a trap we can easily fall into - just use any means necessary to keep hurtling down our present track; don't let anything bubbling up physically or psychologically get in the way! However, many women do successfully  use small doses of bioidentical hormones to smooth the path without losing the impetus toward growth and expanded understandign that menopause provides. But either way, this is a great book to read for a sensitive take on what is going on emotionally, and your options for remedies.

Log in or Subscribe to Membership Community to discuss this article in the Forum...