Menopause symptoms can be intensified by a lack of body confidence

Lack of self-esteem can aggravate the intensity of menopausal symptoms.

Self-awareness and acceptance are crucial yet challenging during menopause.

For me, spring sets off a series of events I like to call 'I Must Clean All the Things,' and the last item on that list is always the flower beds. I put it off. It's an overwhelming and tangled mess, but I know it has to be done. But this year, I found myself avoiding this task for another reason: I couldn't bear to go outside in shorts. The weather was calling for them with degrees in the upper 90s, but I found myself shirking away from my pile of cutoff jeans in my closet. I joked that I didn't want to subject my neighborhood to all that.

But, if I were really being honest, I just didn't want to subject myself to... myself. In shorts.

My body is changing. There are veins, weird bumps, and white skin that is so pale it nearly glows. My muscles are not as muscled. My skin is not as smooth. It can be a tough thing to accept all this, and with my ever-present menopausal symptoms that seem focused on........

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