Naomi Watts Recalls 'Spiraling Out of Control' After Experiencing Menopause Symptoms at 36: 'Not Easy'
“I truly believe that if menopause hadn’t been such an off-limits topic when I first started experiencing symptoms, I would’ve had an easier transition,” the actress said
Naomi Watts is continuing to break the stigma surrounding menopause.
The Goodnight Mommy actress, 54, opened up to Hello! magazine about how it “was not easy” to experience symptoms of menopause at such a young age without having much information about it. The menopausal transition typically begins between ages 45 and 55, according to the National Institutes of Health. However, Watts said her transition began at 36.
“Mood swings, night sweats, and migraines... I was feeling like I was spiraling out of control,” she told the outlet, adding that she had to become her “own best advocate” to push through the “challenging period of adjustment.”
“I truly believe that if menopause hadn’t been such an off-limits topic when I first started experiencing symptoms, I would’ve had an easier transition,” she added. “I was part of a cycle that desperately needed to be broken. There was a lack of open conversation and resources to help women navigate the changes we go through. That’s why I’m now so passionate about raising awareness and encouraging more honest conversations.”
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Back in October 2022 at The New Pause Symposium in New York City, Watts first reflected on the difficulty of going through perimenopause — the often years-long transition prior to menopause when hormones fluctuate and women experience a range of symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, insomnia and irregular periods. Menopause is defined as twelve months without menstruation.
"I found myself at 36 and perimenopausal, a word I didn't even know about, and at the precipice of trying to start a family. So I went into complete panic, felt very lonely, very much less-than or like some kind of failure and what was I going to do? There was no one to talk to, there was no information, basically on my visit to the doctor, who said, 'Well you're not getting pregnant ... your bloodwork is indicating that you're close to menopause' so I was freaking out."
The Mulholland Drive star acknowledged that there are more resources for women in perimenopause and menopause than there were 18 years ago, but much more education and awareness are still needed.
"I went through anxiety, shame, confusion, panic and managed to fall pregnant naturally after two years of trying and getting my system right with different alternatives, since I wasn't a candidate for IVF," she said at the time. "After the second child, I went through massive night sweats, hot flashes and I thought 'this is terrible,' and I would try to test out the community of my friends and I was sort of met with nervous laughs and shrugging it off, and I thought 'Oh wow no one else is there, I better keep silent,' and that's how it was."
Watts also asked her mother, who told her she had been 45 when she started perimenopause. "And that's all I knew," she said. "There was no detail around it. There was no hand holding from doctors. The doctors said okay, 'Here's a patch or a gel or a spray.' "
"I just knew that this is a road that no one else should have to walk through alone again without a community, because without proper care taken you are going to turn in on yourself," she said at the symposium.
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