After receiving a shocking diagnosis, Naomi Watts admits, “I was spiraling out of control.”
Naomi Watts has talked openly about receiving a shocking diagnosis almost 20 years ago and the effects it had on her.
The 54-year-old actress discussed the difficult time she went through when she entered early menopause at the age of 36, which left her feeling like she was “spiraling out of control.”
“Going through menopause at such a young age was not easy, especially during a time when there was so little information available about it,” Watts said in an interview with Hello magazine that was published on Monday. I was experiencing mood swings, night sweats, and headaches, and I thought my life was getting out of control.
According to the Mayo Clinic, menopause typically starts around the age of 51, making Watts’ experience at 36 abnormally early.
She did, however, find a positive in the hormonal shifts she experienced. “This journey helped me gain a deeper understanding of who I am, and I emerged from it feeling more like me,” Watts said. The self-acknowledgment brought about a lot of freedom.
Despite the voices in the back of her head that kept reminding her of how old women are put to pasture, she continued: “There was a lure to this desire to be authentic, to crawl from behind the invisible wall and just acknowledge for me something that everyone could have probably guessed.”
Watts joined Menopause Mandate, a nonprofit group working to enhance midlife support for American women, after seeing that menopause was frequently regarded as a taboo subject. She felt that her transition could have been smoother if menopause had been discussed more freely when she first started experiencing symptoms.
In order to assist women going through menopause, there was “a lack of open conversation and resources,” according to Watts. She is now driven to spread knowledge of this normal stage of life and to promote more open discussions about it.
The actress also discussed how attitudes have changed regarding aging in Hollywood. When the defining story used to be that if you were just a little over 40, you were essentially pushed into retirement, she added, “I’m proud to still be working; seeing that shift, that’s empowering.”
Although the industry has advanced, Watts thinks there is still potential for improvement in how menopause is effectively portrayed in movies. She stressed the value of women’s experiences throughout life and expressed hope for more honest and commonplace discussions regarding menopause.
Watts sees numerous ways to use storytelling to highlight the experiences of women in their mid-life. Menopause can have a big impact on a woman’s life in a variety of situations, such as caring for aging parents or changing careers.
On a more personal level, Watts discussed how she had to wait until she was older to fall in love with her husband Billy Crudup. She thinks that in order to create empathy and understanding in a relationship, it is essential to be open and honest about one’s experiences.
After three years of dating, Watts and Crudup secretly wed in New York City last month.
