Melyssa Ford will demystify menopause with her new podcast, Hot And Bothered.

In 2018, Melyssa Ford was involved in a automotive accident that might have claimed her life. While recovering, her mother informed her that Ford’s body, which had already undergone a serious test, could also be preparing for an additional challenge – early menopause.

“I was 41 years old. I just had a fatal car accident, so I have brain damage. I don’t feel well. And my mom says to me, “Oh, by the way. I should let you know that I started going through menopause at the age of 42, so it will probably happen to you too,” the previous video vixen turned media personality tells ESSENCE.

Shortly after this conversation, premenopause began. A Google search provided her with little relief.

“Menopause research is really in its infancy,” she says. “You really can’t throw a stone and find an expert. There are very few of them and they are very rare.”

Confused by the lack of expertise available on the time, Ford turned to older friends and acquaintances for help. They weren’t coming. “I still have girls who are in complete denial that they are perimenopausal and they are older than me,” she says.

So she decided to talk up. Known for serving her body and appearing as a sex symbol in popular hip-hop and R&B videos of the late ’90s and early ’90s, her openness about “change” got here as a surprise. But that also got here as a relief. Before she knew it, women from all walks of life desired to contact her and tell her what they were going through.

“When I became very vocal in regards to the undeniable fact that I used to be going through perimenopause, many ladies desired to share with me what they were experiencing. Because of all of the stigma and shame, they couldn’t find anyone who was willing to speak about it,” he says.

This growing community inspired her to begin a podcast exploring the wellness and lifestyle practices of ladies of their 40s. It features interaction with experts and what she calls “experienced” women.

Ford selected this cheeky name not only as a play on perimenopausal symptoms, but in addition to reject the concept that this stage of life makes an individual less attractive. “People think that when we reach this stage of life, we lose all sense of attractiveness, vitality and vigor. That’s not true,” he says. “Women, as far as I’m concerned, we get better with age.”

“Women feel enormous shame about this particular moment in our lives,” she continues. “It’s a natural process. You are blessed to be going through this since it means you might be still alive and still strong.

On the podcast, Ford and her guests open up about all the pieces, including the symptoms of menopause that transcend the comically intense hot flashes portrayed within the media. According to “Menopause symptoms are quite common; “They are so bothersome that almost 90% of women turn to their doctor for advice on how to deal with it.”

These include weight gain, vaginal dryness, severe genital pain, poor sleep, decreased cognitive performancedepressed mood and increased anxiety levels.

“One of the very, very scary statistics is that between the ages of 45 and 54 there is a high statistical rate of suicide among women and it directly correlates with them going through menopause and the mental problems that we experience during that time, lack of concentration, mental fatigue, brain fog,” Ford says. A 2023 study found that “women who experienced the onset of menopausal transition was associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation.”

While navigating her own transformation, Ford experienced mental health issues after losing her mother in 2020 to the Covid-19 pandemic. She moved around it alone. “I couldn’t tell if it was perimenopause or sadness or a combination of both that made me feel suicidal so often,” she says. “That was definitely one of the reasons I wanted to start this podcast.”

It’s also price noting that they exist ethnic disproportions originally of menopause and perimenopause. This manifests itself otherwise in numerous people. Black and Latina women have been found to disclose symptoms earlier. They are also susceptible to more severe and long-lasting symptoms. According to Cat Bohannon’s 2023 book, there may be a scarcity of attention to all of ladies’s medical challenges, especially during menopause.

“We’re starting to realize that the medical industry basically ignores women and our health issues after we reach reproductive age, and that’s very telling because it allows women to know in no uncertain terms that we have no value once we reach reproductive age and that’s the saddest thing,” says Ford, who has no children. “It’s infuriating when over half the world’s population feels this way.”

With this in mind, Ford desires to demystify not only menopause, but in addition aging.

“I don’t have 20-year-olds anymore and I don’t have 30-year-olds anymore. I’m approaching 50.” says Ford. “But I don’t want to be my younger self anymore. I like the journey I’ve been on.”