you’re Oprah Winfrey. I wasn’t gonna have you die on me.”
Research confirms Winfrey’s findings. According to health reports, Black women do often suffer from heart disease and other cardiovascular problems.
However, heart palpitations aren’t always a sign of a serious underlying health problem. In fact, they can be harmless and stem from various causes, including menopause. This could be due to low estrogen levels and the rearranging of hormones as the female body prepares to undergo the inevitable “change.” What was thought as a threat to her livelihood, turned out to just be the body’s natural response to change.
Living In A Society Obsessed With Anti-Aging
These days, the slightest sign of a health problem in an older woman spells death to some doctors. Oprah Winfrey’s doctor assumed that because of her age and race, her heart palpitations were more than likely a sign of heart disease.
Perhaps the doctor didn’t want one of the wealthiest women on the planet to die on her watch and dearly cared for her well-being. However, her response is a sign that society has become obsessed with anti-aging.
Additionally in the episode, Shriver and Winfrey discussed the topic of living in a culture where women shouldn’t want to age and go through menopause.
“The whole culture is set up to tell you that the thing that is most natural — we’re surrounded by these beautiful trees here that literally get better with age. I think we all get better with age — the culture is set up to tell us, in our particular society, that it’s the wrong thing,” Winfrey says.
The star goes on to say that women try to resist the “change” their body goes through. Though, there’s no use in doing so. “In the end, aging is gonna win,” Winfrey says.
Everyone says to never get “old” but we don’t really have a choice. While we can’t control the aging process, we do have the power to change how we age.
Through diet, exercise and caring for our bodies, we can live out our best life even after 50. In reality, “old” is truly a type of mindset a person has.
A woman in her 80s can outrun a 20-year-old in a marathon race. Society’s idea of a woman after menopause has only been seen through one, outdated lens for the longest time. It’s time to change the stigma.