Luciana: Me and my husband, we have a cleaning business.
Luciana: Me and my husband, we have a cleaning business.Ignaz: I'm responsible for the employees and making sure that everything is going smoothly.Luciana: And I'm more on the operational side. But we're kind of a team of course. We have obligations everyday; and menopause comes, it makes it bigger. Your problem gets bigger, the way that you deal with stuff getsbigger. I hit menopause two years ago. My husband was telling me about that, "I'm telling you things and youforget all the time. Why are you forgetting stuff all the time?" We didn't know that that was related to themenopause. Hot flashes, everybody talks about the hot flashes, but I thought it was only that. And then afterthat came the mood swings growing and growing inside of you.Ignaz: Her temperament changed, especially around periods. That's when we started noticing that somethingfunky was going on.Luciana: And now, it's the most challenging period of the menopause for me, because I'm on top of thesymptoms. It's the eye of the hurricane. They say that 'it's a woman thing.' It treats you like, 'oh, you a woman,you should deal with that.' It's part of being a woman, but it's beyond that. It's beyond that. It's very brutal onwomen. It mixes with the problems that you usually have on a daily basis, like raising a kid. We have an autistickid to raise, so that's a double concern. It's a big responsibility every day. As a couple, it's not a honeymoon allthe time, of course not. And with the menopause, it becomes worse because there comes the anger, therecomes the fighting stuff, and the way that we talk to each other.Ignaz: Liam, because of his autism and everything, he pays attention to everything. So in the end, everythingturns to him. Between us, we'll find a way to get things better, but we need to look forward to get him the rightway and do things as a family for him.Luciana: Every day I face new problems related to my menopause, anger, sadness, feeling depressed. Youhave to accept that and say, "Yes, I'm weak. I have problems and I need help." I'm seeing a psychologist andtherapist of course. It's helping me a lot. I can see a light in the end of the tunnel right now, so there's someonethere that is a professional that can guide me through it.Ignaz: It takes guts to do things, to talk about yourself, and to open up to someone you don't even know. Andrecognizing that you actually need help is another big step too. Even she said that I need help. My help isdown the garage. I like to ride. I like to go for an hour or two. I also have a motorcycle to ride with my son andwith my wife.Luciana: The first thing that I remember my therapist told me, "Do things like you feel pleasure doing. Dosomething for yourself. Date yourself. You're not only a mom, you're not only a wife, you're not only a worker."It's hard finding, in life, time for yourself; but I have to make an effort.[foreign language 00:03:47]I love singing, so I sing like let's say twice in a week, I must sing. I'm part of a community of singers, so I foundand singing my space to put my voice in, and putting it out all my stress, my sadness and everything. And Icommunicate on my inner self that I'm in peace, I'm good. That's my place of peace.© The Wellness NetworkI think for every woman that could be having this message right now, the best way to do it is looking out foryourself and looking for help in the way that you can like therapy or doing something that makes you feel betterwith yourself, whatever it is. Because for yourself, it is a lonely road, let's say, but you need help. You need ahand. It's bigger than yourself.© The Wellness NetworkThis program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.© The Wellness Network
© The Wellness Network
