Looking back, I’ve probably been in some kind of menopause process for the last 10 years or so, since the time my daughter was 3. I’ve been charting my cycle or whatever the hell was going on, for most of that period to give me some sort of grounding in the craziness.
Dear women, it has not been a seasonally-pretty process, no nice spring-summer-autumn-winter flow; I flat-lined in autumnal sludge for years and though I’m affected by the moon, I just don’t fall into a graceful moon cycle flow. Have a look here if you’re new to charting, it will give you the seasonal basics and you can get your own chart here. These days I seem to do a full seasonal cycle between Monday and Thursday!
You are warmly welcomed to our upcoming events
Menstrual Medicine Circle Gathering
or if you’re more towards menopause there’s
Menopause Medicine Circle Gathering
Love Your Menopause day retreat
Don’t get me wrong, noting down my feelings on the chart and journaling has been a vital tool in creating more kindness and self-acceptance in my life, no question. But my charts were a mass of dense, squiggly black ink, which made it hard to see the patterns, so I’ve started to use more colour and symbols to track my process. Just using simple emoji-type drawings has been a revelation and I can clearly see how I am affected by life events, diet, the moon etc.
I’ve drawn out what I use and added some more that might be helpful for you too.
Perimenopause and menopause literacy for all!
I’m sure you must have personal symbols you use too and I’d love to see them. If you’re willing to doodle your favourite symbols, please share them in the comments below.
Wow I love this, I feel in a similar boat with breastfeeding and I havent charted so far but this is inspiring me to take up my pen again!
Hooray! It’s such a helpful thing to do. Good luck!