Hi, my name is Whitney. I’m a 40-year-old mother, wife, employee, and many other things. But one thing that has also become part of my story is menopause.

At 38, I entered surgical menopause. Unlike women who experience menopause naturally over time, mine happened because of surgery. My body didn’t have years to gradually adjust to the hormonal changes. One day, I was living life as I knew it, and suddenly I was trying to understand a body that no longer felt familiar.

I recently started sharing my experience publicly through mymenopausalbrain, although much of what I go through remains private.

And the more I share, the more I realize how many women are going through changes that the people around them may never fully understand.

Recently, I shared a TikTok about something as simple as sleep. Something we all need, but something menopause has made increasingly difficult for me.

Despite my efforts to maintain a healthy sleep routine, there are nights when I simply cannot get the rest my body needs.

But motherhood doesn’t stop. Neither do my responsibilities.

And that leaves me wondering how many other women are trying to meet everyone else’s needs while struggling to meet their own.

I’m fortunate to have access to workplace leave benefits. But having access to leave and feeling justified in using it are two different things.

And what about the women who don’t have that access at all?

We may share the same symptoms, but we don’t necessarily share the same resources, workplace protections, or financial circumstances.

Same medical experience. Different financial consequences.

Menopause doesn’t affect every woman the same way. So understanding what women are experiencing is only part of the conversation. We also need to understand what those experiences mean for their ability to work, care for their families, and support themselves.