How to Menopause

Fadal stresses the importance of community and friendship in this chapter. There are endless benefits to being part of a strong community, both in daily life and online. Health benefits can be as immediate as lowering stress and as long-term as lowering risk of death. Having a support group through menopause also means not feeling alone in one’s experiences. Making friends during middle age can be difficult, but it can be made easier by joining a class, a community group, or volunteering.

Not all friends are worth having or keeping, and middle age is a great time to begin exercising firm boundaries about who adds to one’s life and who does not. Toxic friendships can and should be ended, and boundaries should be put in place to make friendship rewarding, not exhausting. Fadal lists a four-part method for maintaining healthy boundaries and being able to have time for everything important in life: It starts with knowing what one wants, making time for those things, learning to say no, and learning that it isn’t possible to please everyone. Middle age can be a time of self-discovery and rejuvenation of identity, and having solid friends along for the journey makes it more rewarding.