*Halle Berry is using her platform to destigmatize menopause, revealing her struggles during a June 9 Bare It All women’s health panel alongside Christina Aguilera.
Speaking to moderator Tamsen Fadal, the 58-year-old Oscar winner shared how, at 54, she was blindsided by menopause symptoms, particularly vaginal dryness, which she feared would end her sex life. “I had no idea that I was in menopause at this time of my life,” she said, PEOPLE reports. “I was 54 years old, no doctor that I had had even mentioned the fact that I would enter into menopause. So I had this unrealistic idea that maybe I would — okay, don’t laugh — but maybe I would just skip it.”
Berry’s symptoms emerged as she began her relationship with partner Van Hunt, leading to fears of losing her femininity. “I was really afraid at that time that I would never enjoy that part of my femininity again and that I had lost that,” she admitted. “I finally found my person and now the worst joke in the world happened to me.”
Initially misdiagnosed with herpes, Berry learned she was in perimenopause, a phase she discovered can start as early as the late 30s. “I realized after the fact that is a symptom of perimenopause,” she noted at a prior summit.
This experience spurred Berry to research menopause, uncovering a lack of awareness among women and doctors. She founded Respin Health and partnered with Joylux CEOs Colette Courtion and Dr. Sarah de la Torre, whose products, including a lubricating gel and pelvic floor device, restored her intimacy.
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“They serviced my very first needs when I realized that I was in menopause, they helped me get my intimacy back and my sex life back,” she said.
Berry now champions open menopause discussions. “It takes being bold, talking about it, being loud about it, not being afraid to talk about it, not feeling shame, giving other women permission to talk about it,” she urged.
“Get angry about it,” she added, calling it a human rights issue requiring collective action.
MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Halle Berry Opens up About Misdiagnosis with Herpes and Perimenopause Journey
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