The Changing Body - Perimenopause, Identity and What We're Really Carrying : Episode 12

🎧 Episode 12: The Changing Body - Perimenopause, Identity and What We're Really CarryingSomething is happening that remains largely unspoken, yet deeply felt.In this episode of Mind The Body, I explore the psychological and relational experience of perimenopause - a biological transition that also reshapes identity, visibility, and self-perception. This conversation moves beyond symptoms to examine what it means to inhabit a changing body in a culture that equates a woman’s worth with youth.Drawing on clinical experience, psychoanalytic thinking, and research on body image, I look at how this transition can surface long-held questions about worth, desirability, and belonging, and why, for some women, it can feel less like a passage and more like a quiet unravelling.We also explore the emotional context behind the rising use of GLP-1 medications in midlife women, asking what might sit beneath the desire to change the body at this particular moment in time.In This Episode:How perimenopause reshapes a woman’s relationship to her body and sense of selfWhy this transition can activate deeper questions of worth, identity, and attachmentThe difference between true acceptance and a quiet withdrawal from the bodyWhat may sit beneath the urge to “fix” the body, and why it often isn’t about the body at allThe emotional and cultural context behind increasing GLP-1 use in midlifeA Question to Sit With:What is this moment in your body bringing up for you?References:Szymona-Pałkowska, K., Adamczuk, J., Sapalska, M., Gorbaniuk, O., Robak, J. M., & Kraczkowski, J. J. (2019). Body image in perimenopausal women. Menopause Review, 18(4), 210–216.Murphy, M. B., Lane, A., Cuskelly, G., & Heavey, P. M. (2025). Experiences of weight and body shape changes during perimenopause. Women & Health, 65(10), 861–870.Kolod, S. (2022). I’m not myself today: Dialogues with Philip Bromberg. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 58(2–3), 321–334.eMarketer (2025). Twice as many US consumers now using GLP-1s. Retrieved from https://www.emarketer.com/content/twice-many-us-consumers-now-using-glp-1sTake a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body.Join the CommunitySubscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode.Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves.Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body NewsletterFollow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran