Expert Panel

Farah Idris

Working through perimenopause in a government office

Health and working-life contributorKuala Lumpur

I hit perimenopause at 48 in the middle of a demanding office job, with meetings I could not walk out of every time my face flushed. Nobody at work was talking about it and I did not want to be the one who did. I write about what it took to keep working — the adjustments, the sleep, the appointment I finally made — because I think a lot of women in their forties and fifties are managing this quietly and alone. I am not a doctor and this is general information drawn from my own experience.