June 11, 2026 · Morning ☕
Why I Don't Recognize My Life Anymore
Perimenopause, hormones, and feeling dismissed by doctors. A morning continuation of the June 5 note.
Hey you, it's me.
How are you today?
In case no one else has told you yet, you've got this.
I have been sitting with something this morning while drinking my tea and listening to what is trending.
On June 5th, I published a note called "Why I Don't Recognize My Life Anymore?"
Then this morning, I saw BALANCE: A Perimenopause Journey being shared for Emmy consideration, and it stopped me.
Because I thought, this is the unfiltered conversation I have been having with you.
This is what so many women have been trying to say.
There is a strange kind of grief that happens when you wake up one day and your life still looks familiar, yet you do not feel familiar inside it anymore.
You are still showing up. Still doing the things. Still loving your people. Still trying to keep life moving.
Something feels different.
Your body feels different. Your mind feels different. Your patience feels different. Even your confidence can start to feel like it belongs to someone you used to be.
And when you finally gather the words to say, "Something feels off," you hope the doctor will slow down long enough to help you understand it.
Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't.
Sometimes you leave with one sentence echoing in your head: "You're aging. It's normal."
Or, "Your estrogen is low. Your body is just going through the change."
Okay.
Now what?
Because being told your estrogen is low does not automatically help you feel steady in your own life again.
I was left with more questions than answers.
I was told my bone density test showed aging more advanced than the 44-year-old woman I am. I was told we should change my hormones and add progesterone at night.
And I am not saying that was wrong. I am saying I do not think anyone fully understood the weight I was already carrying.
I had just moved. I was working. I was managing a household. I was trying to keep everything together while my body felt like it was changing the rules without telling me first.
After the hormone change, I felt depressed, emotional, scared, and completely unsteady. Two days after the move, I cried if someone said my name.
I wish I were exaggerating. I am not.
And the hardest part was feeling like no one around me really understood what was happening.
I would look in the mirror, frustrated with pimples like I was back in high school, wondering how I could be dealing with aging bones and teenage skin at the same time.
Nobody prepares you for that.
Nobody explains how you can be grateful for your life and still feel like you are unraveling inside of it.
Nobody tells you how strange it feels to wonder, "Is this me now?"
That is the part I wish more people understood. Perimenopause is not just about symptoms. It is about identity.
It is about sitting in your car after an appointment wondering if you explained it wrong, asked the wrong questions, or were supposed to just keep pushing through.
And I do not think women should have to keep pushing through without real support.
I do not think we should have to become medical detectives just to feel believed.
I do not think we should be made to feel dramatic for wanting answers about our own bodies.
That is why this conversation matters to me.
Because when a woman finally has language for what she has been living, shame starts to loosen its grip.
She can stop blaming herself. She can stop calling herself lazy, emotional, scattered, weak, or broken.
She can start asking better questions. She can start advocating for herself from a place of clarity instead of desperation.
So if you read "Why I Don't Recognize My Life Anymore?" and something in you whispered, "That feels like me," I want you to hear this:
You are not crazy. You are not failing.
Something may be shifting in your body, and you deserve care that treats the whole of you, not just one lab result or one rushed conversation.
You are allowed to ask again. You are allowed to seek another opinion. You are allowed to write down what has changed and say, "I need help understanding this."
Because you should not have to reach a breaking point before someone takes you seriously.
And you should not have to apologize for wanting to recognize your life again.
Maybe that is why BALANCE caught my attention.
Because the title alone feels like what so many of us are searching for.
Balance in our bodies. Balance in our minds. Balance in our homes. Balance in the version of ourselves we are becoming.
And maybe this is the part of the journey where we stop whispering, "Something is wrong with me," and start saying, "Something is changing in me, and I deserve support while I figure it out."
I'm waiting on your note~
Where have you been feeling off lately? What do you hope they address in this documentary? And will you be watching? Scroll down and write me back.
Write Jenn a Note ↓Because if this conversation made you feel seen, I want you to know something:
You are not alone.
Not in the questions. Not in the frustration. Not in the tears. Not in the version of yourself you are still trying to understand.
I love you.
Just stay sweet out there.
~ Jenn
Silent to Spoken in perimenopause. 🤍
Write Jenn Back
Where have you been feeling off lately? Will you be watching BALANCE?