Issues 'Middle Aged' Women may Face - By Liz Ritchie
“I think a lot of us fear change because it’s the unexpected or it’s the unknown.” - Liz Ritchie
Liz Ritchie is an Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and Psychological Therapist who discusses the various issues ‘middle aged’ women face as they experience menopause.
Ritchie explains that one of the most common issues that those who are of middle age experience are emotional consequences such as depression and anxiety, and issues with body image. The middle age group is a significant time for experiencing all different kinds of change which can also cause issues surrounding identity.
While very wise, for many women who reach the forty-five to sixty age bracket, they begin to feel that there is a shift in who they actually are; a shift in their identity, a shift in what they were, and who they are now. This identity shift can bring feelings of anxiety. as women often begin to feel that they losing control of what they are doing, what they are saying, and how they are feeling.
These feelings can be caused by lifestyle changes, commonly made at this age. Pairing these with the all-important biological and hormonal changes, Ritchie explains that this all can come together to create a perfect storm in regards to depression, anxiety, identity, and physical appearance.
Ritchie touches on body image issues. She talks about the distance we may feel from our younger selves, the body we believed could take on the world.
However, feeling different does not mean we cannot still take on the world, Ritchie assures. We take on the world in a very different kind of way. We take on the world with a lot of experience on our back and we take on the world with a lot of emotional growth due to our life experiences.
Ritchie explains that a lot of people fear change because it is a part of the unexpected and the unknown. The best work in her life, Ritchie shares, was when she was forty-five or even later.
“Self-acceptance… that’s a really, really, big thing.”
