In one (hot-tempered) flash, Drew Barrymore made menopause cool

There are already many reasons to love 48-year-old Drew Barrymore, but happily watching her experience her first hot flash on TV has taken falling in love to new heights.

While interviewing Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler about their new movie Murder Mystery 2, Barrymore suddenly stops and says; “I think I’m having my first hot flash for the first time.”

Instead of lowering their eyes in hideous silence at such a topic of conversation, as has been the case throughout human history since Aristotle pointed out that women are simply imperfect men, Aniston and Sandler cheerfully join the chat.

If proof was ever needed that menopause had gone mainstream, this was the defining moment. Barrymore — who has discussed perimenopause before — wasn’t ashamed of her hot flashes (or “flashes,” as it’s known in the United States).

What a great day for menopausal women worldwide to have a beautiful moment to moment A-lister doc.

She tried not to ignore her obviously sweaty face, but encouraged her two eager accomplices to keep talking. What a great day for menopausal women worldwide to have a beautiful moment to moment A-lister doc.

I have seen several friends who had hot flashes. Often feeling the need to apologize, they fan their faces and become even more horny and uncomfortable with the (unnecessary) embarrassment.

Hearing and seeing an intelligent, successful and witty woman like Barrymore speak so openly about this subject is like having a giant cool flannel pressed against our collective burning cheeks.

The atmosphere was a bit like an adult party if I’m honest. I’m not entirely convinced of that, as much as I approve of the celebration of female fertility and hormones. But much better than secrecy and the suggestion that bleeding in women is uncomfortable.

Besides, there’s someone you’d like more on your first hot flash than a woman’s wife, Jennifer Aniston. “I’m so honored,” she says, fanning Barrymore’s face.

Barrymore is just the latest in a long (very long) line of high-profile women in the United States saying that — surprise! – 50% of humanity goes through menopause, and that’s more of a biological fact than an embarrassing secret.

She mentions that she just attended a panel on menopause with Oprah, and the audience cheers.

Actor Naomi Watts was also open about the transition. “When I first arrived at[perimenopause]the marketplace for products and information was lonely, scary, painful…and embarrassing.” To that end, Watts developed their Stripes line of perimenopausal products. Others include Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek – “People mistakenly assume that (menopause) is when a woman stops being sexy” – and Michelle Obama.

A hot flash, for those of you lucky enough not to know, is said to be experienced by up to 80% of women during peri- or menopause. The part of the brain that controls body temperature is the hypothalamus. When estrogen drops, it can become very sensitive to temperature changes, and if it thinks you’re overheating, it will falsely and counterproductively try to cool you down with a hot flash.

“People have the wrong assumption that menopause is when a woman stops being sexy – Salma Hayek

Hot flashes generally start in our 40s or 50s and there is no time limit; Women in their seventies and even eighties can still tolerate them. Some women have as many as 30 a night. It is no exaggeration to say that they can seriously affect the quality of life, and I have personally interviewed or read the stories of hundreds of women who have found them distressing and embarrassing, especially in work environments where all too often unsympathetic colleagues can feeling humiliated.

Solutions include HRT and other medications for those who don’t want to or can’t take them, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and practical suggestions like ventilators, wearing natural fibers, and avoiding triggers like alcohol, coffee, and spicy foods.

As much as a hot flash is a rite of passage for many, as far as I know no one has welcomed it to this day. Host Mariella Frostrup, with whom I co-wrote the book Cracking The Menopause, described the feeling of intense heat, like hitting a campfire, and flowing through her body, “in a matter of seconds, makes me feel like a modern woman.” Joan of Arc just as her ordeal at the stake began.

By so publicly normalizing and even celebrating a hot flash, Barrymore has helped push boundaries. Frostrup is also chair of the Menopause Mandate campaign group and she tells me, “Drew Barrymore represents the cool and refreshing breeze of change when it comes to the tradition of menopause = shame and women’s sense of needing to hide our symptoms. She broke a taboo on her own (or bare-faced) and very publicly.

Sandler points out that perimenopause is associated with anger and mood swings. “Maybe you’ll be able to get that out soon, too.”

And Barrymore frowns at him as the crowd cheers again. It’s a shame you can’t get Barrymore on prescription, and she deserves some sort of accolade for what I’d consider the greatest achievement of her life.