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Naomi Watts is opening up about her experience with menopause in the hopes of encouraging more conversations around what's still a very stigmatised topic.
The Hollywood star posted a selfie on Instagram recently, asking her 1.5 million followers: "Does the word menopause freak you out?" - gently urging us to think about why that may be so.
"It's just a natural phase of life and something half the population will be directly affected by and the other half will feel indirectly," she explains.
Advertisement"When I was in my late 30s, I was finally ready to start thinking about creating a family. Then the M word swiftly blew my doors down, it felt like a head-on collision with a Mack truck. How could I figure this out when no one was talking?"
Naomi goes on to say that she hit menopause earlier than her friends and no one around her really wanted to talk about it. "It's oddly like an unwritten code of silence: women should suck it up and cope, because that's how generations passed have done it."
But Naomi, who hints in her post that she's working on a project related to the topic, is using her platform to start changing the dialogue.
"I think it's time to see women in this phase of life or this age group be well represented. We've been under-served in media, stories and marketing far too long. Particularly since more than 1 billion people worldwide will be menopausal by 2025."
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She ends her message: "Let's conquer the stigma and address the secrecy and shame we've felt and help create a healthier foundation for future generations. Getting older is a privilege and a time for us to feel proud of our cumulative experiences - to feel empowered, unapologetically so. I think being part of a change-maker generation is exciting. No more walking through this alone."
(Feature Image Credit: BAKOUNINE/Shutterstock)
