Perimenopause Isn’t a Problem to Fix: A View from the Lens of Chinese Medicine
By Stefanie Vidal
Somewhere in our late 30s or early 40s, many of us begin to feel an internal shift. Maybe your cycle becomes less predictable. Maybe your sleep is off, your emotions feel just under the surface, or your body temperature fluctuates so much it feels like the thermostat is broken. Maybe you can’t quite name what’s changing, but you know something is.
This phase of life is often labeled perimenopause—a word that’s become synonymous with imbalance, depletion, and decline. But what if there is another perspective?
In classical Chinese medicine, this time is not seen as something to be fixed. It’s honored as a turning point—a sacred initiation into deeper self-connection and clarity.
The Ancient View: A Sacred Cycle
According to the Huang Di Nei Jing, the foundational text of Chinese medicine, a woman’s life unfolds in seven-year cycles. Around the age of 42, the sixth cycle begins. The body starts to conserve resources, and energy naturally turns inward. This is not a malfunction—it’s a redirection.
As the Bao Mai, an energetic channel between the Heart and Uterus, opens more fully, a woman may experience not just hormonal shifts, but emotional and spiritual ones as well. Questions about purpose, identity, and boundaries often arise. In this view, perimenopause is a time of reconnection with your body, your spirit, and your truth.
If we listen deeply, perimenopause becomes not a time of loss, but of deep knowing. It can become an opportunity to look at ourselves – our lifestyle habits regarding exertion and rest, how we nourish ourselves with food, and how we manage our resources, internally and externally, with intention.
Common Experiences During Perimenopause
Perimenopause typically begins in the mid- to late 30s and can last into the 50s. You may experience:
Irregular or heavier periods
Anxiety, irritability, or low mood
Trouble sleeping or night sweats
Fatigue and decreased stamina
Brain fog or forgetfulness
Changes in libido
Western medicine often focuses on hormones—estrogen, progesterone, and their fluctuations. Chinese medicine looks deeper: it asks what systems are being taxed, what energies are depleted, and what needs to be expressed or released.
5 Ways to Support Yourself During Perimenopause
Here’s how you can nourish this transition with more intention and ease:
1. Align with Your Cyclical Nature
Even if your cycle is irregular, your body still flows with the rhythms of Yin and Yang. Listen to when your body calls for rest vs. when it feels more energized. Living cyclically—seasonally, monthly, even daily—can soften the intensity of symptoms.
2. Nourish Kidney and Spleen Qi
Your Kidneys govern longevity and hormonal balance; your Spleen governs digestion and emotional steadiness. Eat warm, grounding foods. Prioritize rest. Avoid skipping meals. Acupuncture and herbs can help restore energy and support these organ systems.
3. Create Space to Reflect
As the Bao Mai reactivates, your Heart wants to speak. Make time to journal, meditate, or simply sit in stillness. This is not a luxury—it’s medicine for the soul.
4. Move Stagnant Liver Qi
Repressed emotions and overwork can cause tension, irritability, and sleep disruption. Gentle movement, acupuncture, expressive practices such as dance, singing, qi gong and yoga, and even honest conversations can help move this energy and restore flow.
5. Seek Community & Support
This transition can feel isolating, but it’s meant to be shared. Women’s circles, one-on-one acupuncture, or simply talking with a trusted friend can remind you: you are not alone.
Reframing the Midlife Years
Perimenopause is not the end of your vitality—it’s the beginning of a new kind of power. In Chinese medicine, this phase is honored as a return to the self. Your energy is no longer just moving outward—it’s coming home.
If you’re moving through this transition and want to feel more grounded, clear, and supported, acupuncture can be a beautiful tool to help you reconnect with your body’s wisdom.
You don’t need to push through or “fix” this phase—you can learn to move with it, honoring your body every step of the way.
If you’re navigating these changes and feel the call to reconnect with yourself, know that you’re not alone—and you don’t have to walk it alone.
“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door; if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much that you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.”
— Clarissa Pinkola Estés
This transition is not the closing of a chapter—it’s the opening of a doorway. Let yourself walk through it.