What is menopause? The plain-words definition

Menopause is the point when you've gone 12 consecutive months in a row without a period, caused by your ovaries winding down egg release and most of their estrogen production, with no other cause explaining the gap [1][2]. It's a single point in time, not a phase — you confirm it only in hindsight, once the full year has passed. For how this fits with the years before and after it, see the menopause guide.

This page was written by the Softa editorial team using NICE and NHS guidance. It has not yet been clinically reviewed — see our editorial policy.

What does "menopause" actually mean?

The word comes from Greek roots meaning "month" and "ending" — literally, periods ending. Clinically, menopause is defined as 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, not caused by pregnancy, breastfeeding, a medical condition, or hormonal contraception [1]. It marks the point your ovaries have essentially stopped releasing eggs and producing the levels of estrogen and progesterone they did during your reproductive years [2].

Is menopause a single day or a longer phase?

Technically, a single day — the day the 12-month count is complete. In everyday speech, people often say "menopause" to mean the entire transition, including the years of changing cycles and symptoms beforehand. Clinically, that longer stretch has its own name: perimenopause. What's the difference between perimenopause and menopause walks through the distinction in more detail, and menopause vs postmenopause covers the terminology on the other side of that single day.

What does menopause feel like?

The definition above is about timing, not symptoms — but most people reach menopause already experiencing some of the common symptoms of this transition, such as hot flashes, sleep changes, or mood shifts, since these often start in perimenopause and continue into the menopause and postmenopause years. See menopause symptoms for the fuller picture, and menopause age for when this typically happens.

What signals that menopause has been reached?

There's no symptom, test, or sensation that signals the exact moment. The only marker is time: 12 consecutive months without a period. That's why menopause is always confirmed retrospectively — you realize you've reached it once you look back and see the gap, not on the day it technically occurred. This is part of why a single hormone blood test isn't used to pin down the moment; NICE guidance recommends diagnosing menopause from age and this 12-month history rather than from a lab value [1].

What's the difference between menopause and "the change of life"?

"Change of life" is an older, informal term for the same broad transition most people now call perimenopause and menopause together. It isn't a clinical term and doesn't map precisely onto a specific stage — some older usage includes the years of hormonal change before periods stop, some means the point periods stop, and some stretches to include the years after. Clinically, using the specific terms (perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause) is more useful because it says exactly which point in the timeline you mean.

What causes menopause?

Natural menopause happens because the ovaries' supply of egg-containing follicles declines with age, and the estrogen and progesterone they produce declines along with it [2]. Menopause can also be caused directly by surgery (removal of both ovaries) or by medical treatments like chemotherapy or pelvic radiation, in which case periods can stop abruptly rather than gradually [1][2]. Premature menopause covers menopause that happens earlier than typical, including from these causes.

What is menopause not?

Menopause is not a disease, and it isn't something that needs "fixing." It's a normal biological transition every person with ovaries goes through if they live long enough. It also isn't the same as perimenopause (the transition before it) or postmenopause (everything after it) — and it isn't a medical emergency on its own, though specific symptoms that occur around it, like bleeding after the 12-month mark, do need prompt medical attention.

Start the check Trying to work out where you are in this transition? Softa's short assessment helps you see what your own answers look like. Start the check →

When should I see a doctor?

See a doctor promptly for any bleeding after you've reached 12 months without a period — this is one of the clearest signals in the whole transition and always needs checking. Also see a doctor for periods stopping or becoming significantly irregular before age 45, chest pain, a sudden severe headache, or thoughts of self-harm.

How Softa fits in

Softa doesn't diagnose menopause or tell you the day you've reached it — only time and the 12-month count can do that. What it can do is help you log your cycle, symptoms, and anything else worth tracking over the months and years of this transition, so you and a doctor have real information to work from instead of trying to reconstruct a timeline from memory. See the menopause guide for the full picture, including symptoms, stages, and treatment options.

Sources

1. NICE. Menopause: identification and management (NG23). 2015, updated 2024. nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23
2. NHS. Menopause. Accessed 2026. nhs.uk/conditions/menopause