The difference between suffering and moving through with energy and confidence
Around the age of forty, millions of women enter a years-long biological and emotional passage that medicine has long undertreated and culture has long misunderstood. In Ferrol, the Ribera Juan Cardona hospital is responding to that silence with a public symposium on June 17th, gathering four specialists to offer women navigating perimenopause something rarely given freely: clear information, practical tools, and the assurance that what they are experiencing is real. It is a small but meaningful act of institutional care in a domain where women have too often been left to find their own way.
- Perimenopause can begin as early as forty, bringing irregular cycles, joint pain, sleeplessness, and a metabolism that seems to turn against the body without warning.
- Nearly half of women in menopause develop obesity not through changed habits but through hormonal shifts that redirect fat toward the abdomen, raising the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension.
- The emotional weight is equally real — irritability, anxiety, and grief often arrive precisely when other major life pressures, from empty nests to aging parents, are already bearing down.
- On June 17th at Afundación in Ferrol, a gynecologist, psychologist, physiotherapist, and nutritionist will convene to move women from confusion to concrete, personalized strategies.
- The hospital's integrated care model means women are not handed a single prescription but guided across physical, nutritional, and psychological dimensions simultaneously.
Around forty, a woman's body begins sending signals she cannot ignore — irregular periods, aching joints, dry skin, disrupted sleep, and a metabolism that seems to work against her even when nothing in her routine has changed. These are the early markers of perimenopause, a prolonged transition that will reshape her physical and emotional life for years.
Recognizing that women often navigate this passage alone and underinformed, the Ribera Juan Cardona hospital in Ferrol is hosting a public symposium on June 17th at seven in the evening at the Afundación headquarters. Four specialists — gynecologist Luz Marina Márquez, psychologist Belén Vázquez, physiotherapist Laura Pérez, and nutritionist Clara Caínzos — will offer practical, grounded guidance under the title "From Confusing Symptoms to Clear Answers."
One of the most consequential changes is metabolic. Around forty-three percent of women in menopause develop obesity, not because their habits have shifted but because declining estrogen fundamentally alters how the body stores fat — moving it from hips and thighs to the abdomen, a pattern linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. Early intervention during perimenopause can prevent or delay these outcomes.
Menopause is also an emotional event. Psychologist Belén Vázquez notes that women in this transition often experience a disorienting mix of irritability, anxiety, sadness, and loss — responses that are natural but rarely validated. The timing compounds the difficulty: menopause frequently coincides with children leaving home, aging parents needing care, and shifts in long-term relationships.
Dr. Márquez frames menopause not as a disease but as a life stage that deserves information, support, and preventive care. The hospital's integrated model connects women across specialties, and the symposium's aim is to translate that approach into something accessible and actionable. The difference between enduring menopause and moving through it with intention, she argues, often comes down to whether a woman has the knowledge and the professionals to guide her.
Around forty, a woman's body begins to shift in ways she cannot ignore. Her periods grow irregular. Her joints ache. Her skin dries out. Sleep becomes elusive. Her metabolism seems to work against her, even when nothing in her routine has changed. These are not isolated complaints—they are the early signals of perimenopause, the long passage toward menopause itself, a transition that will reshape her physical and emotional landscape for years to come.
The Ribera Juan Cardona hospital in Ferrol has recognized that women navigating this terrain often do so alone, armed with incomplete information and no clear roadmap. On June 17th at seven in the evening, the hospital is hosting a public symposium at the Afundación headquarters to change that. Four specialists—gynecologist Luz Marina Márquez, psychologist Belén Vázquez, physiotherapist Laura Pérez, and nutritionist Clara Caínzos—will gather to address the practical realities of menopause, moving beyond vague reassurances to offer concrete guidance grounded in each woman's lived experience.
One of the most visible and troubling changes is weight gain. Around forty-three percent of women in menopause develop obesity, a shift that goes far beyond aesthetics. As estrogen levels decline, the body's metabolism fundamentally changes. Women report gaining weight despite maintaining the same eating and exercise habits they have always kept. The fat redistributes too: where it once accumulated in the hips and thighs, it now settles in the abdomen and deeper visceral tissues, creating what doctors call an apple-shaped pattern. This shift carries real medical consequences. The weight gain correlates with increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension—conditions that can be prevented or delayed through early intervention during the perimenopausal years.
But menopause is not only a metabolic event. It is also an emotional one, and this is where the multidisciplinary approach becomes essential. Belén Vázquez, one of the hospital's psychologists, notes that women in this transition often experience a confusing blend of feelings: irritability, anxiety, sadness, anger, fear, and a sense of loss. These emotions are not signs of weakness or illness—they are natural responses to a profound life change. What makes the emotional dimension even more complex is timing. Many women reach menopause while their children are leaving home, while aging parents need care, while health problems emerge, or while their marriages shift in unexpected ways. Menopause does not happen in isolation; it collides with other major life transitions, and women must navigate all of them simultaneously.
The hospital's approach reflects a growing recognition that menopause requires attention from multiple angles. Women who come to the gynecology clinic can be referred directly to nutritionists who help reshape eating patterns, to physiotherapists who address pelvic floor weakness and other physical complaints, and to psychologists who offer tools for managing the emotional terrain. Dr. Márquez emphasizes that menopause is not a disease requiring treatment but rather a natural life stage that deserves proper information, support, and preventive care. The difference between suffering through menopause and moving through it with energy and confidence often comes down to whether a woman has access to knowledgeable professionals and practical strategies.
The symposium's title—"From Confusing Symptoms to Clear Answers"—captures what many women feel: a sense that their bodies are sending signals they do not understand, that their doctors are dismissing their concerns, that they are somehow overreacting to a normal process. The event is designed to validate those experiences while offering concrete tools. Small, sustained changes in diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management can significantly reduce the physical toll of menopause and prevent the serious health complications that often follow. Dr. Márquez's closing message is neither minimizing nor alarmist: menopause is inevitable, but its impact on health and quality of life is not. The choice to seek information, to work with specialists, and to invest in prevention can transform how a woman experiences this passage—from something endured to something navigated with intention and hope.
Citas Notables
Menopause is not a disease, but a natural life stage that requires attention, information, and preventive care to reduce its impact on health and quality of life.— Dr. Luz Marina Márquez, gynecologist
Women in menopause often experience a mix of emotions—irritability, anxiety, sadness, anger, and loss—which are normal responses to a profound life change, especially when it coincides with other major transitions.— Belén Vázquez, psychologist
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a hospital organize a public event about menopause now? Is this a new concern?
Menopause has always happened, but women have often suffered through it in silence or been told their symptoms were not serious. The hospital is recognizing that when forty-three percent of women develop obesity during this transition, and when that weight gain carries real risks of heart disease and diabetes, it becomes a public health issue worth addressing directly.
The event brings together a gynecologist, a psychologist, a physiotherapist, and a nutritionist. Why is that combination important?
Because menopause is not one thing. It is hormonal, physical, emotional, and metabolic all at once. A woman might need her gynecologist to explain what is happening in her body, her psychologist to help her process the emotional weight of aging, her physiotherapist to address pain or weakness, and her nutritionist to help her eat in ways that support her changing metabolism. One specialist alone cannot address all of that.
You mentioned that menopause often happens alongside other major life changes. Can you give a concrete example?
A woman might be fifty years old, entering menopause, and at the exact same moment her last child is moving out of the house. She is grieving that loss while her body is changing in ways she does not fully understand. Or she might be caring for aging parents while managing hot flashes and insomnia. The emotional and practical weight of all of this together is very different from menopause in isolation.
The article mentions that fat redistribution is not just cosmetic. What does that mean?
It means the danger is not vanity. When fat moves from the hips to the abdomen and settles around the organs, it changes a woman's metabolic health. That visceral fat is metabolically active in ways that increase inflammation and insulin resistance. It is why a woman can gain the same amount of weight as she did in her thirties, but this time it carries much higher health risks.
What does the hospital mean by saying menopause is not a disease?
They are pushing back against the idea that menopause is something broken that needs to be fixed. It is a natural transition. But natural does not mean consequence-free. The point is that you do not treat it like an illness; you treat it like a major life event that deserves attention, information, and preventive care.
If a woman does nothing—if she ignores the symptoms and does not seek help—what happens?
The risks compound. The weight gain increases the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. The sleep problems worsen. The emotional toll can deepen into depression. The longer she waits, the harder it becomes to reverse course. That is why the hospital is emphasizing that the time to act is during perimenopause, before the worst complications take hold.