'I'm Back From My (Meno)Pause': Maria Bello Returns To IG To Share Journey

Actress Maria Bello is opening up about her journey to the "second half of life" in her first Instagram post in more than two years.

The "Coyote Ugly" star hopes to inspire other women to "embrace" menopause through sharing her story of accepting her "newly emerging self."

Calling her break from Instagram a "meno(PAUSE)", Bello shared her journey and how she crossed over into the "second half of life" in the hopes of inspiring and empowering other women going through the same thing.

"So I’ve decided to come back to Instagram after a two-year (meno)PAUSE. I went through the first half of menopause during Covid and tried everything to keep it at bay. I took bio-identical hormones (and still do), dieted harder and faster but still managed to gain 15 pounds, tried Ozempic for a week but gave up after constant nausea and vomiting, got rid of the waddle on my neck, tried Botox, fillers and lasers, face creams, cellulite machines, face threads, teeth straightening and more," she wrote in the caption of the Instagram photo that marks her return to the app.

"I did copious amounts of therapy, including micro-dosing psilocybin, left Hollywood and all social media, and at the end of it all finally moved to Paris. That was October of 2021."

She then explained that she decided to "really delve into the PAUSE in menopause" and get serious about the seven tasks of mid-life that Carl Jung spoke of.

"Jung said the mid-life point is marked by disillusionment and depression. He said to cross over successfully to the second half of life, one needed to complete these tasks," she continued. "Now after finally coming out of my cocoon of self-reflection, I want to share my journey over the last two years to accept my newly emerging self."

The "Grown Ups" actress concluded her caption by saying that she hopes her posts "will help anyone crossing over to the 'second half of life' and inspire them not to avoid menopause but to embrace it."

While menopause hasn't always been something many talk openly about, Bello's social media followers left comments thanking her for being so transparent and sharing her experience to help others.

"Thank you looking forward to helping with the second half of life," one person wrote. Another added, "Thank you so much we need your help. Please let us know all about it!!!"

Another follower shared her story and said she appreciated hearing all about Bello's journey:

"I am in menopause right now it is nothing like I expected so was really not prepared and honestly I think the care for women going through this or any type of hormonal issues is not as good as it should be so I have taken control and I am working my way through so I will appreciate your post and listening and learning how you navigated your way through."

Another person shared a similar story:

"I am trying to embrace peri/menopause but sometimes I feel like it’s taking over my body and my mind and it’s just taking me down. It was wonderful to read this post to know that it’s not just me and that I’m not completely losing my mind."