There are 48 signs of menopause – but a third of women can only name three

Claie Wilson

Published October 3, 2024 6:30am

Feeling Down — In light of these figures, campaign group GenM is working with real women to help change the perception of menopause (Picture: Getty Images)

A report out today has revealed that nearly half of women going through the menopause say they feel ‘invisible’, ‘lonely’, ‘dispensable’ or ‘irrelevant’ – with only 2% choosing to describe themselves as ‘thriving’ during the transition.

The findings, from menopause campaign group GenM, also show a worrying increase in these feelings, with 45% of women relating to them compared to 41% in 2020 – despite numerous highly-publicised menopause awareness campaigns from celebrities such as Davina McCall and Lisa Snowdon.

Additionally, their findings revealed that despite there being 48 signs of menopause, only a third of women polled could name more than three.

In response to their survey of over 2000 women aged 35-60 for their UK Visibility Report 2024, GenM has launched a ‘Live your best menopause’ campaign to help women consider the transition as a ‘liberation not limitation’, according to the organisation’s Co-Founder and CEO, Heather Jackson.

Using ‘authentic’ women who are going through the menopause in a bid to shift the rhetoric from ‘fear to thrive’, the campaign has enlisted menopause coach Emma Neville, as well as Olympian Sally Gunnell OBE, who has started her own over 45 women’s fitness scheme called Life’s Hurdle, and midlife advocate and model, Rachel Peru.

(L) Heather Jackson, co-founder of GenM, and athlete Sally Gunnell (R) are both faces of the new campaign (Picture: GenM)

‘We’re not looking to cure the menopause, we want to support it,’ Heather told Metro at the campaign launch yesterday. ‘There are 15.5million women who are menopausal in the UK at any one time and we are now living longer post-reproduction than ever before, so we need to make the menopause more visible.

‘This isn’t about “meno-washing” – it’s about meno-powering. Only 5% of women say they feel confident in themselves during the transition, so we have to find a way to put a light under the remaining 95%.’

The 48 signs of menopause

Nail changes, tingling extremities, night sweats, changes in breast size, lack of motivation, dry eyes, recurrent UTIs, nausea and digestive issues, sleep issues and insomnia, anxiety, mood swings, dizziness, changes in skin texture, dry mouth, panic disorders, sagging breasts, worsening PMS, bladder weakness, itch crawly skin, decreasing fertility, weight gain, irritability, heart palpitations, thinning hair, loss of concentration, feeling cold, bloating, acne, body odour, irregular periods, depression, altered skin sensation, brain fog, joint pain, dental problems, changes in taste and smell, changes in sex drive, burning mouth syndrome, hot flushes, muscle tension, short-term memory issues, breathing difficulties, loss of bone density, vaginal dryness, fatigue, sore breasts, headaches and migraines, loss of self-confidence and self-esteem.

The report also discovered that over 70% of women who are pre and perimnopausal admit they are fearful about the prospect of menopause, while another key finding was that although HRT is often considered the go-to treatment for menopause symptoms, 86% of women are seeking alternatives to manage the change.

In their fight to create better visibility, GenM launched the MTick two years ago, a shopping symbol placed on menopause-friendly products – from makeup and supplements to toothpaste and clothing – so consumers can find them more easily.

The new campaign hopes to light a fire under the 95% of women who don’t feel confident during menopause (Picture: GenM)

Since then, major retailers such as Boots, Sainsbury’s Tesco, Morrisons, Matalan and QVC have signed up for the signposting, which GenM hopes will become as globally recognised as the Vegan ‘V’ symbol.

‘Many women want to feel empowered during this phase of life, and to have trust, choice and visibility in the way we manage the signs of menopause,’ explained Heather. ‘No single brand, retailer or ambassador can change the visibility of the menopause on its own. But united we can all play our part.