From Hippocrates to "It's All in Your Head" - How Patriarchy Still Shapes Women's Health

Femme Maison series, 1946–47, Louise Bourgeois

For centuries, our female bodies have been misunderstood, controlled, and devalued in medicine. What we're experiencing today in perimenopause and menopause — when we're told "it's just stress," "it's anxiety," "you're too young for menopause" — has very deep historical roots.

This is not new.

It's as old as civilization.

The birth of medical "gaslighting*"

* Gaslighting is a form of psychological and social violence in which an individual's experience of reality is systematically denied, relativized or pathologized in order to maintain power and control. In doing so, the victim's confidence in their own perceptions, memory, emotions and judgment is undermined, leading to self-doubt, internal censorship and submission.

In ancient Greece, doctors associated with Hippocrates believed that the uterus was to blame for most women's diseases. This was called the "wandering womb."

Yes – they really believed that the uterus moves around the body and causes:

• panic attacks

• shortness of breath

• mood swings

• fatigue

• insomnia

• heart palpitations

  
  

They called it hysteria – from the Greek word hystera, which means uterus.

The women were not sick.

Their wombs were "disobedient."

Sounds familiar?

Hysteria: a tool of control

For more than 2,000 years, "hysteria" was the diagnosis for women who were:

• angry

• sad

• had sexual urges

• traumatized

• exhausted

• disobedient

In short: women who did not meet the norms.

In the 19th century, hysteria was the most common diagnosis in women.

Treatment?

• forced bed rest

• Insulation

• electric shocks

• Incarceration in institutions

It wasn't medicine.

It was patriarchy disguised as science.

Today - Perimenopause – a new form of hysteria

Today, the "wandering uterus" is replaced by the following sentences:

·       "You just have to calm down. You're too stressed."

·       "You're overthinking."

·       "It's a panic attack, women can't have a heart attack at such a young age."

·       "It's normal, come to terms with it, and in a few more years, it will get better."

Welcome to modern medical "gaslighting".

Women in perimenopause report the following:

• Brain fog

• outbursts of anger

• Breaking the heart

• weight gain

• insomnia

• chronic fatigue

• Loss of identity

• Panic attacks

• many other body signs and symptoms

And what do we hear?

• "It's all in your head."

• "But I didn't have any problems"

• "You just have to get some sleep"

• "Women who have perimenopausal problems don't have everything tidy upstairs.."

• "Try yoga/meditation/popular dietary supplements."

• "You just have to think positively"

• "You want to have everything under control – just write a to-do list for your husband/kids/. Delegate and relax, because everything will be done, nothing will fall apart (which often means – everything will wait for you)"

• At the doctor: "Maybe you should try antidepressants/anxiolytics"

Sounds familiar?

Of course. It's the same story – just different packaging.

Patriarchy in medicine

Medicine was created by men, for men.

• Women were not included in clinical trials until the 90s

• Our hormones were "too complicated"

• Our pain is still proven to be taken less seriously (women in the emergency room wait on average 16 minutes longer than men for painkillers in severe pain)

• Studies show that women are more likely to be given antidepressants and sedatives than painkillers for pain, and that we are treated less time than men

• Heart attacks in women are often misdiagnosed

• Autoimmune diseases are diagnosed only after years, because the symptoms are often attributed by doctors to the "psyche"

Why?

Because patriarchy has taught us:

Male body = norm

Female body = problem

Perimenopause: the pinnacle of gaslighting

Perimenopause is one of the least studied, but the most important stages in a woman's life.

Perhaps you:

• are raising children

• are buiding a career

• are taking care of your parents

• Yare carrying the emotional and mental burden of everyone around you

And then your body changes.

Instead of support, you hear:

"You're exaggerating."

"That's aging."

"All women experience that."

No. Not all women feel like they're losing their minds and their bodies aren't working anymore. But even if you do, it doesn't mean there's something wrong with you or "your head"

This is not a sign of weakness.

That's biology.

Perimenopause includes:

• estrogen fluctuations

• progesterone decline

• cortisol imbalance

• overloaded nervous system

Your brain chemistry is actually changing.

You're not broken.

Your body is transforming.

Why is support crucial?

Because many women:

• are not heard by doctors or in the health system,

• do not understand what is happening to them,

• feel shame, fear, despair,

Benefits of coaching:

✔ Knowledge

✔ validation

✔ regulation of the nervous system

✔ New identity

✔ Community

✔ Power back in your hands

This is not "fixing."

This is our empowerment.

Rewriting our history and creating a new story

We have enough of:

"It's all in your head."

"You're too emotional."

»This is just your hormones.«

We should say:

"My body is telling me."

"I deserve support."

"I trust myself."

The Ultimate Truth

From Hippocrates to the present day, we, women, have been:

• silenced,

• labelled as unhinged, difficult, unstable,

• often also medically abused ...

Perimenopause is not your downfall.

It's your awakening.

You are not losing your mind. But you can find your voice.