Age 56 - last period at 49 - first symptoms at 51

I had no idea what menopause would involve or how I would be impacted by it. I only had a general idea of when it might begin and I thought it would be over in approx 12 months. I experienced hot flushes at night, which was bearable but a bit annoying. I never experienced them during the day. The most significant symptom I experienced was related to mental well being and capacity; real and imagined. Within a space of only 4 - 8 weeks I noticed that I was feeling severely lacking in confidence, although I have always been a reasonably confident person. I was also feeling "foggy " in my thinking and finding it difficult to remember relatively simple things. I was enormously grateful at this time, and I continue to be grateful, that I work in a predominantly Female workplace which is supportive and where women openly share experiences and feelings. This would not have been the case if I had continued to work in a professional office in a professional role. My experience of working in a law firm 20 years ago was that the women in the office and in the industry more broadly did not share their feelings and intimate experiences at all, as this would have been a sign of weakness and underlined an inherent disadvantage in that women need to factor bodily functions into their lives which men don't have to. Upon reflection I now consider that this capacity by women to incorporate physical and emotional demands into their working lives generally makes them more courageous, capable and compassionate than if they didn't.