Here’s Why Shania Twain Says Menopause Has Been “Very Good” for Her Self-Acceptance
It’s easy to focus on the negative parts of menopause, but singer Shania Twain just made a case for focusing on an unexpected silver lining: more self-love and self-acceptance.
The “Any Man of Mine” vocalist recently opened up to The Sunday Times about how aging and menopause have actually helped her self-image.
“In menopause you lose control of your body…so all of a sudden I’m boating and I’m definitely not in control,” the Grammy-winner said. “Menopause has been very good for me because I’ve learned that some things you cannot control.”
The shift happened after she moved away from a restrictive diet and exercise routine that left her depleted and injured. Instead, Twain said realizing that she doesn’t have control helped her ease up on herself, which improved her self-acceptance.
Experts tell Flow Space that the hitmaker isn’t alone in how she feels.
It’s tough to quantify exactly how many women feel this way, but Dr. Dina Peralta-Reich, a board-certified obesity medicine physician and founder of New York Weight Wellness Medicine, told Flow Space that she hears this from women regularly in her practice.
It’s not menopause itself that causes self-acceptance, but rather the opportunity it creates to let go of perfection and “rethink priorities,” which can be freeing.
Lauren Tetenbaum, a licensed psychotherapist, Menopause Society-certified practitioner and author of Millennial Menopause: Preparing for Perimenopause, Menopause, and Life’s Next Period, agreed.
When interviewing hundreds of women for her book, Tetenbaum found that many actually did report higher levels of self-acceptance and confidence post menopause.
Part of why? A “lower tolerance for bullshit,” she said. As women age, they tend to break free from putting others first and conforming to cultural ideas of how they should look and behave.
“Women tend to view this chapter of life as an opportunity to be themselves without apologizing or making accommodations for others,” Tetenbaum explained. “I see this shift as a reflection of self-acceptance and the recognition that women are conditioned to make others happy before themselves — something they no longer feel they have to or want to do in this phase of life.”
This doesn’t discredit the fact that mental and physical changes from menopause can be disorienting and jarring. There’s nothing wrong with you if you don’t feel this way.
“What I find encouraging is that many women emerge from this transition with a stronger sense of themselves and a greater appreciation for their bodies—not because they look the same as they did at 25, but because they have learned to value themselves beyond appearance alone,” said Peralta-Reich.
Remember, building self-love and acceptance at any age is a process — as Twain said in her long interview — and one you don’t have to do alone.
