"I don't recognize myself anymore." Why so many women feel this during menopause.

I don't recognize myself anymore.

It is perhaps the most frequently heard sentence I hear during my coaching sessions.

Not: "I have hot flashes."

Not: "I sleep badly."

But a woman who looks at me and says:

I don't know what's wrong with me. I've lost myself.

Those words touch me time and again. Not only because they show how much impact menopause can have, but especially because so many women think there is something wrong with them.

As if they have become weaker.

As if they are overreacting.

As if they just have to "get over it."

But what if that feeling doesn't mean at all that you have lost yourself?

What if your body and your life are changing at the same time?

Menopause changes more than just your hormones

When we talk about menopause, it is often about estrogen. And rightly so. The decline in estrogen affects virtually every organ system in the body.

Your sleep changes, your energy level decreases, your brain processes stimuli differently, your sensitivity to stress increases, and your mood can also change.

Many women notice that they react more emotionally, have more difficulty concentrating, or become overstimulated more easily.

Symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, and insecurity are not imagination. They have a clear biological basis.

But hormones don't tell the whole story.

And that is exactly where I think things often go wrong.

Something also changes in your identity

Menopause usually coincides with a life stage in which much changes outside your body as well.

Children become more independent or leave home.

Your career might take on a different meaning.

Your parents are getting older and need your care more and more often.

Relationships change.

Friendships change.

And perhaps, for the first time in years, you are looking not only at the people around you, but also at yourself.

That is a remarkable development.

For years, you have probably primarily been a caregiver. For your family, your work, your partner, your relatives, or anyone who called upon you. Perhaps you regularly put your own wishes second, because there always seemed to be something or someone more important.

Until one day you notice that you are asking yourself a question you haven't asked in years.

Who am I really, apart from all the roles I fulfill?

That is not a crisis.

That is awareness.

Why so many women think there is something wrong with them

Precisely because the physical and emotional changes occur simultaneously, confusion arises.

You feel different.

You think differently.

You react differently.

And because no one has explained to you that this can be part of menopause, you often draw only one conclusion.

There must be something wrong with me.

That is perhaps the biggest misconception surrounding menopause.

Because usually there is nothing wrong with you.

Your body is trying to adapt to a new hormonal reality.

And at the same time, you stand at a crossroads in your life where you get to decide anew who you want to be.

That is why I look further at Victorious Women.

At Victorious Women, I coach women not only on nutrition, strength training, or hormones.

Of course, those are important parts of a healthy body.

But ultimately, my work is about something much bigger.

I help women understand what is happening.

Because as soon as you understand why you feel this way, something special happens.

Fear gives way to insight.

Uncertainty gives way to understanding.

And from that understanding, space is created to make choices again.

Not to go back to the woman you were ten or twenty years ago.

But to grow into the woman you want to be today.

That is why, within my 1-on-1 coaching and the Victorious Women Academy, we pay attention not only to hormones, nutrition, exercise, and recovery.

We also pay attention to identity.

To beliefs.

To self-confidence.

Setting boundaries.

To dreams that may have faded into the background for years.

Because health is not just about how your body functions.

Health is also about how you experience your life.

You haven't lost yourself

Maybe right now it feels like you no longer recognize yourself.

But maybe that is not because you have lost yourself.

Maybe it is because you are saying goodbye to a version of yourself that has done what was necessary for years.

And perhaps this is precisely the moment when you may rediscover who you are.

Not despite the menopause.

But partly thanks to this phase of life.

That is exactly why The Second Half is such an important pillar within Victorious Women.

I don't believe that life shrinks after fifty.

I believe that many women find the space precisely during this phase to make choices that finally truly suit them.

And that is exactly what I want to guide women with.

You don't have to make this journey alone.

Do you recognize yourself in this story?

Then know that you are not alone.

During my 1-on-1 coaching, I help women regain insight, strength, and control over their bodies and their lives.

Would you prefer to learn at your own pace or together in a small group? Then sign up for the Victorious Women Academy waiting list. Or make a no-obligation appointment with me via the website.

Because maybe you don't need to find yourself again.

Perhaps it is time to meet the woman you are meant to become. And I would love to help you with that.

Love, Mo(nique)