It’s Not You. It’s Perimenopause.
3/31/202634 min
Most women have heard of menopause.
Far fewer understand perimenopause — the years leading up to it, when things can start to feel… off.
Mood shifts. Brain fog. Anxiety. Sleep disruption. A sense of “I don’t recognize myself.”
In this episode, Dr. Becky sits down with OB-GYN and menopause expert Dr. Mary Claire Haver to unpack what’s actually happening in the body during perimenopause — and why so many women have been dismissed or left in the dark.
They talk about how hormonal changes impact mood, parenting, relationships, and resilience — and how understandin...
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDr. Becky Kennedy· Host0:00
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Mary Claire Haver· Guest0:49
Perimenopause is when the signals coming from the brain don't work on the ovaries anymore like they used to. The ovaries go out kicking and screaming, [laughs] you know? All the processes you had put in place that you could manage the life you built start failing. If you find yourself with new anxiety, new depression, snapping at your kids, not sleeping, you're really sh- on the struggle bus. 10,000 women are not lying or exaggerating. There's a lot of data out there, but no one was pulling it out of the academic journals and bringing it to the light.
Dr. Becky Kennedy· Host1:23
Most women can tell you what menopause is. Hot flashes, the end of periods, a sort of cultural