Today is World Menopause Day and, as an organisation which has many women going through peri/menopause, we know the benefits of being active and how it can impact menopause as well as help with some of the symptoms.  Many people talk about the physical side of what happens during menopause with the change in hormone levels and weight gain etc. but it’s also mental health that is often affected too.  You only have to read the stories of increased levels of anxiety and deteriorating mental health in women going through peri/menopause to see that this can be a troubling time for many women.

There are an ever increasing number of symptoms of menopause and what we found when we spoke to the COGS, was that there just wasn’t enough information being given to them.  Why wasn’t menopause available in the curriculum when we went to school?  We all learned about menstruation and reproduction but one thing we’ve all said is “why weren’t we taught what every woman is going to experience throughout her life?”  Well, from September 2020 the subject is now being included in the Curriculum, which is great news.  Some women don’t know if they are going through peri-menopause or not.  Moreover, some didn’t even know that it existed a few years ago!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/stories-53938931

Having fun and being active is so important during peri/menopause and when we play football, we’re taken away from everything for a few hours and just have a great time!

Thankfully, there are now many organisations who are shining a light on menopause and one of those is the national charity, Women in Sport, who back in May 2021, partnered with Getty Images to launch a curation of ground-breaking images and short films that challenge the way women going through the menopause are portrayed in society.   We were lucky to be involved in their #menopossibilities campaign to show that being active at a later age is a great help with the symptoms but also to promote, with the image library that was created with Getty on a Thursday night training session in Crawley, that you don’t have to be athletic or look a certain way to get involved in a team sport and that the narrative around the imagery of female sports’ teams needs to show “real” older women, with extra weight etc.   You can check out the #menopossibilities campaign here https://www.womeninsport.org/our-work/campaigning/women-in-sport-x-getty-images-menopause-curation/ and see the wonderful photographs and videos containing relatable images that show the endless possiblities that sport can bring.

Locally, Active Sussex also raise awareness of peri/menopause with their This Girl Can Sussex Network and delivered a webinar on “Menopause and Physical Activity” which you can find here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjVwj1lzZRM

Getting active will improve your bone density and help stave off some diseases, as well as making you feel better once you’ve got out into the open air and moved around.  We believe that everyone should go at their own pace and feel comfortable playing football, encouraging a female, social community to empower and support each other, through football.

If you are going through peri/menopause and need a little help to feel better or just want to get active, we couldn’t recommend learning to play football enough!  We have a great, friendly bunch of supportive women who welcome anyone to a new session and you will find a safe, non-judgemental environment to get active in, where you will be looked after, have fun and learn new skills.  The socials are pretty good too!

Don’t go through peri/menopause on your own, come and join us!   You never know how good you’re going to feel until you do it……