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Woman lists 100 perimenopause symptoms in a 7-minute, unforgettable viral video

It seems like everything outside of 'breathing' is on this list.

Kari Anne Wright/YouTube

Woman lists 100 perimenopause symptoms in 7-minute video.

Perimenopause is the sort of gift you never really wanted but you can't take back because you lost the receipt. It's like the last hoorah of your fertility as it slowly makes its way out of the door, but it overstays its welcome and has to mess stuff up on the way out so that you're stuck cleaning up like the responsible adult you are.

Many people are familiar with the term menopause and equate that to symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats. But menopause is actually just the term for not having a menstrual cycle in 12 months or longer. Perimenopause is the time before the year-long absence of a menstrual period, and it can last a pretty long time, as much as four to eight years for some people.

But like a lot of things that involve women's reproductive health, it's under-researched, so even doctors may scratch their heads at some of the symptoms.

A comprehensive list of symptoms can be helpful even if some may still constitute a trip to the doctor to check for other causes, because chances are, if you're nearing 40, perimenopause symptoms are knocking loudly. Thankfully, YouTube creator Kari Anne Wright has compiled a visual list to help you feel a little less alone on this wild ride.

Everyone knows the most talked about symptoms such as hot flashes or vertigo, but Wright takes the time to list things people may not know. Heart palpitations, hair loss, joint pain and forgetfulness are all symptoms of perimenopause. But so are things like foot cramps, itchy ears, weight gain and cold flashes. Yeah, you can just randomly become freezing cold and nothing works to warm you up.

Honestly, the list of symptoms for perimenopause is so long that it feels like the only things not listed are breathing and spontaneous combustion. But having a list and knowing you're not alone may be just the thing you need to survive this inevitable part of life, so hurry and watch the video below. Save it to your favorites for when you have a moment of wondering, "Is this perimenopause or am I losing it?"

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Many parents feel hesitant to bring up the topic of abortion with their kids.

But considering that abortion isn't covered in school sex-ed classes, avoiding it leaves kids to the task of learning on their own from the internet, TV, or billboards — all littered with anti-choice propaganda and misinformation.

Talking to kids about abortion can be hard. Most of us have our own personal feelings about abortion, and many of us have our own experiences with the procedure.

But untangling abortion facts from abortion politics is important in order to help de-stigmatize a necessary medical procedure. And shattering stigma can have a profound effect on our children's future health and their ability to access certain forms of medical care.

Some parents shared how they discuss abortion with their kids. Here is what they had to say:

1. Talk about abortion as one possible outcome of pregnancy.

Sarah Tarver-Wahlquist is a member of the Tucson Abortion Support Collective in Tucson, Arizona. Sarah's oldest child was 8 when she started discussing abortion with him. When he responded, aghast, and asked if abortion was “killing babies,” she regretting having waited so long to start the conversation.

“We now talk about abortion as one possible outcome of a pregnancy,” says Sarah, “And we talk about some of the statistics — that one in three women will have an abortion in her reproductive life, and that the majority of people who have abortions are already parents — to emphasize that abortion is a normal part of life and a decision that many people will choose to make.”

Sarah explains the different ways that people can feel about their pregnancies, and she tells her kids that it's okay if it feels weird for them to think about abortion.

She tells them, "I know you remember when I was pregnant and how happy we were, and how we talked about our fetus as our baby. That was our experience, but it isn't everyone's experience, and it's our job to support people to make their own decisions about what is best for their lives."

2. Talk about the reasons people might terminate their pregnancies.

Rachel C. from Denver says, “Basically, I explained it as a woman could be pregnant and for whatever reason need not to be. Maybe she's sick. Maybe she isn't ready to be a mother. Maybe the fetus is very sick. So she can have an abortion.”

Nekole S. from Seattle reminds her girls (8 and 12 years old) that it takes a lot to raise a baby. “They also know my dad didn’t really stick around and they know some of the implications of that.”

Nekole says that personalizing it can help kids understand and relate to reasons a person might have an abortion.

Rachel adds that she reminds her kids that it's important to let pregnant people choose what they need to do to keep mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy — and that not everyone wants to do that, which is why it's so important.

“We talked about how some people don't want [abortion] to be an option,” says Rachel.

3. Talk about why the choice is important.

“My discussions with my kids haven't been because I needed an abortion myself, but because in this age they have been exposed to the idea pretty young,” says Grace A.

When Grace began to consider talking about abortion with her kids, she remembered a story from her childhood, Watership Down, that helped her understand the concept of abortion when she was a child.

“In the book, the rabbits explain re-absorption of litters into the doe's body as a gift from "Lord Frith," fulfillment of a promise made to Elahrairah the rabbit prince that no rabbit would ever be born into conditions that were not good for it (lack of food for the warren, overcrowding, sick mother, hunters close by).”

Grace used that story to explain to her kids how pregnant anythings could choose not to bring little ones into a bad situation and that we should trust that the pregnant person knows best.

4. Nerd out on the science of it.

Nekole loves to talk about the science of reproduction whenever she talks to her girls about pregnancy and birth control. She talks about the cells and how they multiply and divide, the sperm and where it comes from, and the egg and where it comes from.

When she talks about fetal development, that's when she brings up abortion. Nekole had an abortion at five weeks, and she's openly discussed it with her girls, explaining exactly what was taken out of her uterus at that stage of her pregnancy.

“I think what’s helpful is I know how I think/feel about it, so the narrative is always the same whenever we visit it,” Nekole says.

Since her abortion was the result of an unplanned pregnancy, she also uses that story to illustrate the importance of always using protection.

“My story is that I got pregnant having unprotected sex when I was still bleeding, so it's a nice segway into condoms no matter what,” she says.

5. Talk about what happens during an abortion.

When Samantha D.'s daughter was six, Samantha's friend stayed with them at their Pittsburgh home when her friend was having an abortion.

Her daughter asked lots of questions, like why their friend wasn't feeling well. Samantha's friend said that it was okay to discuss what was happening and so she was able to tell her daughter about what happens during an abortion while she observed someone experiencing one.

Sam let her daughter lead with questions, and she answered accordingly. “She asked if there was a baby in her right now, and I told her that the sperm and egg had combined, but it was not growing into a baby anymore because my friend had taken medicine to stop that process,” says Sam.

Sam's daughter seemed to understand, and Sam says she was very considerate of her friend’s comfort. “She even acted as a mini doula by serving things to her, asking her about how she was doing, keeping quiet and generally calm in her presence, and relaxing with her to keep her company as she rested.”

Ultimately, Sarah Tarver-Wahlquist says, talking to kids early and often about abortion is much bigger than a conversation about a medical procedure.

She says it's part of a bigger narrative of talking to them about the importance of autonomy, consent, and choice. And the earlier it's discussed, the healthier kids' attitudes and understanding of abortion will be.

This story originally appeared on Ravishly and is reprinted with permission. More from Ravishly:

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Family

Halsey gave a mic-dropping speech about a painful (and common) health issue.

Singer-songwriter Halsey got very real about a little-known health condition in a heartwarming speech.

The 23-year-old artist spoke about living with endometriosis at the Endometriosis Foundation of America's ninth annual Blossom Ball on March 19, 2018, in New York City.

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Endometriosis.

"I can't pretend anymore that just because I'm a pop artist and I'm touring that everything's perfect and everything's all good and my skin's always great and I'm fit and my outfits are always perfect," the artist said in her speech.

The singer discussed the challenges of dealing with the common and often painful disorder that affects roughly 1 in 10 women in the United States.

Despite how disruptive it can be, endometriosis is a complicated condition that often goes unrecognized, misdiagnosed, and mistreated. It occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (endometrium), is found in regions outside of the uterus or where the tissue should not be. Worldwide, 176 million people, typically between ages 25-35 are affected by the disease.

The illness has very real social, financial, and health implications for many people. Those who have it often experience long periods, a heavy menstrual flow, chronic fatigue, infertility, and pain during sexual intercourse.

With March being Endometriosis Awareness Month, Halsey's inspiring openness about the really challenging aspects of disease is helpful in raising awareness about the condition.

The singer even discussed the impact of the illness on her social life and self esteem.

"In the process of having everyone pick me apart and feeling so insecure, feeling less of a woman because I couldn't be intimate with my boyfriend, because I couldn't go out when my friends wanted me to, because I was dealing with digestion problems and bleeding problems and fainting and all of the other amazing things that come along with having endo[metriosis]," Halsey said. "It was really hard to feel like that confident, 20-something-year-old girl who wanted to get on the stage with her middle finger held high and make everyone sing along with her."

Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.

But Halsey made it clear that this illness won't get her down.

"[I'm] trying to normalize the conversation and say, 'It's okay to talk about reproductive illness, this doesn't make you weak, this makes you strong and you should be proud and vocal,'" she said. "And the more you talk about it, the more likely you're going to help one of your friends who might not know that they have it because they may be afraid of speaking about it, too."

Endometriosis may be difficult, but with more celebrities like Halsey speaking up, the lack of awareness could change.

Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images.

Whoopi Golderg, Tia Mowry-Hardict, and Lena Dunham are just a few of the people who also have publicly opened up about having the condition. Halsey discussed the importance of visible people sharing their stories and how it's caused her to take charge of her own health. She noted that she recently decided to undergo procedures to mitigate some of the effects of endometriosis and vocalized the importance of speaking out and pushing researchers to find preventative measures that can mitigate the condition for people living with the illness.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

"[These experiences] ... that give me hope," she said, "and make me proud to be sharing my story in knowing that because I'm talking about it, and because I'm not ashamed of it, and because I'm proud of it that more women are in this world, hopefully, can catch their diagnosis earlier, can wake up one day and realize that the pain they're living with is not normal. And that hopefully, they can live a pain free life."

Thanks to Halsey's honesty and the many others like her who are working to raise awareness, people with endometriosis can know they're not alone and that people are advocating for making life better for them all around the world.