Menopause Has a Public Relations Problem: A TCM Perspective on the Second Spring

Menopause has a public relations problem.

For many women, it's presented as a season of loss. We hear about the hot flashes, night sweats, poor sleep, mood changes, brain fog and weight gain. It's often described as the end of something. The loss of hormones, vitality and the feeling that our youth is behind us.

If you're living through those symptoms, it's completely understandable that you're looking for relief. I know I was, but I wonder if menopause is asking us to have a broader conversation.

Many women carry a story about menopause that says this is the beginning of decline, that the best years are behind us, and that menopause is something that we need to get through or fix.

Traditional Chinese Medicine tells a different story. Rather than viewing menopause as decline, it’s understood as a natural transition. In fact, Traditional Chinese Medicine has a beautiful name for it: the Second Spring.

It sees menopause not simply as the end of our reproductive years, but as the beginning of a new season of life. A season that invites us to reconnect with ourselves and consider what this next chapter might hold.

Whether this idea resonates with you or not, I think it’s worth pausing to notice how different that story is from the one many of us have inherited.

Interestingly, research has suggested that culture may influence how menopause is experienced. One study found that Japanese women reported significantly fewer menopausal symptoms than women in many Western countries. While there are likely many factors involved, one possibility is that culture itself plays a role. In Japan, where aging has traditionally been associated with greater respect and wisdom, menopause is more often seen as a natural transition rather than a decline.  

Is that the whole explanation? Probably not. Your hormones matter, sleep matters, stress levels matter and so does nutrition. There are countless biological and environmental factors that shape how each woman experiences menopause. But I do think this research invites us to ask an important question. If the stories we inherit about our bodies shape the way we move through life’s transitions, what story have we inherited about menopause? And perhaps just as importantly … is it serving us?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing a series of articles exploring the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective on menopause and why it has been described for centuries as the Second Spring. Not because I think this life transition is easy, but because I believe women deserve a broader conversation about menopause. One that acknowledges not only its challenges, but also its possibilities.