“I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life”. Maya Angelou.
Why do people shy away from the topic of menopause with their loved ones?
Are you between the age of 45 and 55? Do you realise this is when menopause occurs for the majority of women, one in one hundred being between the age of 35 and 45? When I was 48 years of age, a GP friend of mine made the comment that I may be going through menopause. My first thought was, ‘I’m not old enough.’ How naïve was that? I went to the doctor as I was feeling quite low to have a full ‘MOT’ blood test and was shocked when she said, ‘You’re post’. I didn’t know what she was talking about.
I was one of the lucky ones. I have reflected as to why I was so lucky. After interviewing the guests for my YouTube and podcast, Mental Health Chats, I have worked out it is probably because I had completely changed my lifestyle to be healthier for the last 17 years, not realising it would help menopause.
What did I do differently?
- 17 years ago I did a detox and stopped caffeine as it made me feel great.
- 10 years I stopped drinking alcohol as I did a ‘sober for October’ and felt great when exercising and slept better, so continued to not drink alcohol.
- I have been exercising regularly and eating a much healthier diet for the past 11 years, mainly to get rid of the weight I had gained when having my fourth child.
- I love drinking water and drink at least 8 glasses a day.
These 4 things reflect what my guest for Mental Health Chats, Emma Dawson (nutritionalist) advises for menopause. Also, interesting were my feelings after I found out I was post menopause. I actually went through a grieving process, for what I had lost, not feeling as feminine and feeling like I was old. I have turned a corner on this and I am now celebrating my time as an over 50 lady. I am feeling much more confident in myself and feeling like I am wiser and can celebrate all I have done in life.
New figures show women going through menopause are 4 times more likely to suffer depression than women under 45. Women over the age of 50 are the fastest-growing portion of the UK workforce, and most of these will go through menopause during their working lives. This reflects 2 of my guests on my YouTube and podcast. At the age of 38, Lauren Chiren believed she had early onset dementia. Kathryn Colas was led to believe she had bipolar. Watch both their YouTubes, as well as Emma’s on https://www.youtube.com/mentalhealthchats. If you prefer podcast, they are due to come out in December on https://anchor.fm/clare-davis4.
The aim of mental health chats is to open up conversations. I chose the topic of menopause because despite a large percentage of the UK workforce being women over the age of 50, the topic of menopause within most workplaces remains taboo. As a result, many women experiencing menopausal symptoms go unsupported and struggle to continue to succeed at work. We need to change this.
I am also excited to announce the launch of my Positive Mental Health Book, “Emotional Fitness: A-Z for Positive Mental Health.” The self-help book is aimed to help people bring positive mental health into their everyday life. It is not a theoretical book. It is a practical book with actions. The book is available to order through my website on https://www.novaassociates.co.uk/mental-health-book.
