Middling Along (Emma Thomas)

Join me as I chat to queer feminist activist, author, educator, artist, teacher, organizer and innovator, Heather Corinna. Finding there were no books on menopause and ageing that spoke their language, they wrote one, full of pithy anecdotes, interviews with a wide range of experts, accessible (and relatable) explanations on what may be happening to our bodies, and what we can choose (or not) to do about it. Heather's book is the paper equivalent of your BFF wrapping you in a warm hug and telling you 'it's ok, I got you' - whilst giving you all the info and potential coping strategies you could need to know to help you navigate through peri/menopause. 

You can buy a copy of Heather's brilliant book here: https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/heather-corinna/what-fresh-hell-is-this/9780349425689 and find them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/heather.corinna/

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

 

 

My guest this time is Lizzie Penny - an entrepreneur and a campaigner for ‘workstyle’ - the freedom to choose when and where you work. She is fascinated by how new working practices can fundamentally redefine inclusion at work, whilst also improving wellbeing and step-changing productivity. She has co-authored a book on Workstyle with business partner Alex Hirst, published October 2022.

Having undergone treatment for breast cancer herself at the height of the pandemic, she is now supporting her husband through his own cancer diagnosis, whilst also coming to terms with her own early menopause brought on by cancer treatment - oh and she’s also mum to three young children. 

So much to unpack in this episode - we talk in detail about what ‘workstyle’ is (and why it is different from flexible or hybrid working) - and why it is is so important for levelling the playing field for groups who might be structurally excluded from the workplace: older workers, carers, those with chronic illness or disabilities, those with mental health challenges, parents, and neurodivergent people. 

By 2050 21% of the UK population will be over 60 - and with many of us needing (or wanting!) to work for longer, and with many industries struggling to attract skilled workers, organizations must get to grips with adapting current working practices and appealing to a range of ‘workstyles’.

We talk about how creating a trust-based culture underpins the success of remote-first, autonomous teams, and how we need to make technology work for us (not the other way around) to build in healthy work-life boundaries. 

We discuss Lizzie’s own experience of going into early menopause as a result of her cancer treatment - and hear how connecting virtually with others has been a tremendous source of support. Lizzie eloquently puts forward the case for workstyle as a key component of allowing those going through perimenopause, or who are post-menopausal, to stay engaged with, or return to work, in a way that suits them.  

You can find Lizzie and Alex’s book ‘Workstyle: A revolution for wellbeing, productivity and society’ here https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/lizzie-penny/workstyle/9781399802949/ and you can find out more about Hoxby at 

https://hoxby.com/ 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

Siobhan Daniels is a retired BBC journalist and pro-age campaigner, part of the retirement rebellion. Almost two years ago she gave away her non-essential possessions, bought a motorhome, and started her solo travels around the UK. Not long afterwards, the global pandemic hit, and her plans came to a dramatic halt.

 

Now that she is 'on the road' again, I catch up with Siobhan to talk about why she decided to rebel against the stereotype of a quiet retirement of gardening and crosswords, what is was like surviving lockdown alone in a campervan, and how she picks the next spot on her almost-completely-unplanned route. We also cover positive aging, why we need to challenge ourselves as we age, and the book she is working on to inspire other women to take a chance and take on new challenges.

 

You can follow Siobhan's adventures at https://www.instagram.com/shuvonshuvoff/ 

 

(Update: her book, Retirement Rebellion, is now published: https://www.adventurebooks.com/products/retirement-rebel 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

In this episode of the podcast I’m joined by New York Times bestselling author Kirsten Miller to talk about her debut adult novel The Change – described on her website as “Big Little Lies meets The Witches of Eastwick—a gloriously entertaining and knife-sharp feminist revenge fantasy about three women whose midlife crisis brings unexpected new powers—putting them on a collision course with the evil that lurks in their wealthy beach town.” 

Kirsten spent twenty-five years as a strategist in the ad industry – an experience that inspired several memorable scenes in the book as we flash back through protagonist Harriett’s career and the events that have led her to develop some rather unorthodox new hobbies that are ruffling the feathers of Mattauk’s residents. She is soon joined by Jo, whose perimenopausal rages manifest in unexpected ways, and Nessa, who hears the voices of the dead girls who bring the trio together, sending them on the dramatic hunt for answers that puts them at odds with the powerful men of Mattauk. 

Power is the thread that runs through this book, from the new-found powers the women are learning to channel, and to live with, to the traditional male power that takes what it feels entitled to (and fully expects to get away with whatever damage it causes as it does so). 

As Kirsten points out during our interview, Gen X - the cohort of us that are now coming into our menopausal years - are the most powerful generation of women in the history of the world. We are in uncharted territory, and only really learning the full extent of that power, and how we pass it on to younger generations. As a consequence, there are many places where this has led to a backlash that will try to squash and push back those hard-won rights and powers. 

 

We talk too about shame, and how we absolutely need to be embracing conversations about our bodies without shame – Kirsten contrasts the experiences of her own teenage daughter’s generation, so much more fearless and so unwilling to put up with stigma around topics like menstruation. She likens perimenopause to “a wave you have to ride” – which I absolutely love. We also touch on the topic of rage: perhaps, Kirsten suggests, there are very good reasons for us to be angry, and instead of ‘treating’ the symptom, instead we need to channel and focus that anger, harness it and feel its power. 

Kirsten is currently working on her next two books. The Change is published in paperback here in the UK on 13th April. https://www.kirstenmillerbooks.com/

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

 

Eliza Finch is having a bad day, scratch that, year.

 

Her dog just died, her mojo is MIA, and her teenage daughter may have just live-streamed her menopausal meltdown to the whole internet...

 

Join me as I chat to novelist Fiona Walker about her new novel 'Woman of a Certain Rage' (written under her pen name of Georgie Hall) as we cover the ups and downs of midlife menopausal mayhem, coming up for air 'on the other side' and the power of a good story - and a good (belly) laugh.

 

Woman of a Certain Rage is available in hardback and paperback https://fionawalker.com/books/woman-of-a-certain-rage/ 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

 

 

Join me this week as I talk to writer and filmmaker Kate Muir. Kate’s book - Everything you need to know about the Menopause (but were too afraid to ask) has recently been released in paperback. She is also the producer of the Channel 4 documentaries with Davina McCall: ‘Sex, Myths and the Menopause’ and ‘Sex, Mind and the Menopause’ (with another instalment due for release later in 2023). 

 

Kate and I are both ‘daughters of Alzheimers’ (Kate’s mother passed away from this cruel disease and my own mother is now in the later stages) and we kick off by discussing some of the research into the impacts of HRT on Alzheimer’s risk and cognitive decline. 

Kate is a vocal proponent for HRT and we delve deep into Kate’s own experience (which included taking 5 years to get her HRT settled and stable), the various health benefits that HRT can confer, the different HRT types (including progestins vs progesterone), and the ongoing struggles of accessing appropriate treatment on the NHS. 

We talk - of course, how could we not! - about the Channel 4 documentaries, which were turned down twice “because menopause is boring and for old women” before being commissioned by Dorothy Byrne as her final project before stepping down as Head of Current Affairs. Since the first programme aired, half a million more women are now taking HRT - often dubbed the ‘Davina Effect’ - but despite (or perhaps related to) this increased awareness and uptake, there continue to be HRT shortages. 

Kate is currently working on two new books - one looking at the contraceptive pill and how this impacts on our brains, and another which looks at midlife and how we can age well. 

You can find Kate at https://katemuir.co.uk/ (including links to the book), on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/menoscandal/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/MenoScandal 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training.

 

In this episode I chat to writer, blogger, influencer and content creator Gabrielle Blair, aka Design Mom herself, from award-winning blog DesignMom.com, about her new book 'Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion.'

After writing a (deliberately provocative) stream of Tweets in 2018 on why men are responsible for 100% of unplanned pregnancies which (of course) went viral, Gabrielle has been parrying responses (both positive and negative) ever since.

After four years of additional research, she's turned her thoughts into a small, but perfectly-formed book (road tested on all 6 of her children!) which she hopes will radically shift the focus of the abortion debate (a hot topic since Roe v Wade was overturned) on to preventing unwanted pregnancies.

We talk about why women have for years shouldered the vast majority of responsibility for contraception, why making this a 50/50 responsibility seems so radical but actually makes a whole lot of sense, given the facts around mens' fertility, and why this is a perfect time to reframe the debate, given how impossible it is to have nuanced discussion around abortion and bodily autonomy.

We also talk about how and why we need male allies to step up in support of the ideas in the book, and how critical it is that teens and young people engage with the topic. 

You can find Gabrielle at www.designmom.com on Twitter https://twitter.com/designmom and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/designmom/ 

Ejaculate Responsibly is published by Workman Publishing and is out on 4th October: https://www.workman.com/products/ejaculate-responsibly/paperback   

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

In this extra podcast episode, we dive into the recent BBC Panorama documentary’s portrayal of the menopause industry.

Our guest, Dr Beth Thomas, GP, British Menopause Society accredited specialist at Everything Menopause, and clinical lead at Managing the Menopause, shares her expert insights on the complexities of menopause treatment, the importance of individualized care, and the implications of the documentary on both healthcare providers and women seeking menopause support.

This episode covers

• A brief look at the documentary’s critique of a prominent menopause clinic and its implications for the wider industry.
• Beth explains the current British Menopause Society (BMS) and NICE guidelines for oestrogen dosing. Risks of oestrogen doses beyond current guidelines, and why individualized care is essential.
• Common issues with absorption and how switching between patches, gels, and sprays can improve outcomes for some women.
• Discussion of the challenges faced by women in accessing quality menopause care through the NHS.
• The need for more research and clinical trials on HRT and menopause treatments.
• The importance of patient consent and shared decision-making.
• Recognizing that HRT is not a cure-all and the value of a holistic approach during the menopause transition.

 

Links and Resources:

• Watch the BBC Panorama Documentary on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0023jdn 
• Advice on HRT: https://www.womens-health-concern.org/help-and-advice/factsheets/ 
• Previous interview with Paula Rastrick, a participant in the Panorama documentary: https://middlingalong.com/episodes/middling-along-paula-rastrick-on-our-brain-body-connection-in-perimenopause-could-you-be-an-hsp/ 

 

If you enjoy the podcast please help us grow by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

Joining me this time on the podcast  is Sarah Williamson, co-founder of Women Wise. Sarah is a nutritional therapist and researcher: with first hand experience of the limitations of current menopause support and after getting increasingly frustrated and worried about friends' difficult menopause experiences, she was determined to do something about it.

She carried out two and half years of research in the process of designing the Women Wise product from the ground up - motivated by her fascination with why people experience menopause symptoms in such different ways, and determined to create a solution that would also include those who could not use HRT, chose not to, or found that it provided no significant benefit when they tried it.

As part of my research for this episode I trialled the full Women Wise service, which includes a comprehensive symptoms questionnaire, testing for cortisol levels, insulin sensitivity, Vitamin D levels, thyroid function (TSH, T3 and T4) and iron/ferritin levels, plus the (optional) genetic tests which offer additional insights including an assessment of how well we metabolise and clear oestrogen from our bodies (tune in to find out exactly why that part is so important!). 

I found the whole process fascinating and insightful - not least because I was lucky enough to go through all my results with Sarah herself and got a detailed understanding of what my test results meant and what I could do to improve my health outcomes. 

The results include a detailed action plan - which I’m gradually starting to implement - and ongoing support for 12 months afterwards. 

To find out more about what Women Wise offers go to 

https://womenwise.health/ 

https://www.instagram.com/womenwise_health/ 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

My guest this time is registered nutritional therapist Thalia Pellegrini. After a decade as a broadcast journalist for the BBC, presenting programs including Newsround and The Travel Show and reporting for Holiday, she followed her passion and retrained at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition in London. Her specialist interest is women’s health with a focus on perimenopause.

In our discussion we cover:

• living with chronic fatigue syndrome/ME in her twenties and how working with a nutritional therapist allowed her to go back to living a normal life;
• the role of permission and self-compassion as an antidote to guilt and overwhelm;
• Midlife as a powerful opportunity to invest in our longer term wellbeing
• stress management - how stress trumps everything. It impacts digestion, hormonal balance, weight gain, sleep... the list goes on. 
• How losing two good friends in just three years brought her own midlife health into sharper focus
• Tips for dealing with bloating and constipation

 

One thing that will stick with me from this interview is Thalia’s invitation to ‘Hold your own wellbeing sacred’ - midlife is definitely a time where we need to recognise that prioritizing our health and happiness is not selfish - quite the opposite.

Thalia has a list of breakfast ideas available from her website https://discover.thaliapellegrini.com/5-minute-breakfasts-for-mums-in-a-hurry/

You can also find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thaliapellegrini_nutrition/

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment and Symptom Checker' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

 

My guest this time is Lou Featherstone - aka Luinluland: fashion legend and accidental midlife influencer who is proud to be growing old disgracefully!

Lou’s story of midlife reinvention is simultaneously hilarious and heart wrenching. Tune in to find out how and why a vicar’s daughter ended up leaving behind her marriage of 20 years and driving from one side of the USA to the other in a bus with over 400 vibrators on board!

Lou and I talk about:

• how moving to America was the catalyst for the breakdown of her marriage
• the dramatic event that sparked her mission to drive 6,000 miles from one coast of the USA to the other in a converted school bus…
• the story of how Lou came to own Susie the 32 foot long converted schoolbus and create the Self Love Revolution Tour
• the most defining - and hairiest - moments of her US trip
• what she misses about living in the US and what she definitely doesn’t
• and much, much more besides!

You can find Lou at:

https://luinluland.com/pages/about-me 

https://www.instagram.com/luinluland

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

My guest this time is Barbie Boules - a registered dietitian and certified health coach with over 22 years of experience.  Her goal is to help her clients achieve optimal wellness without the pseudoscience and unsustainable rules of faddy dieting.  

 

She tells us about her holistic approach to wellbeing and aging well, emphasizing nourishing foods, quality sleep, daily movement, managing stress and prioritizing self-care. We talk about what foods and nutrients we need to prioritize in order to age well - with a particular focus on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (something that both our mothers have in common)...did you know women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as men are?

 

We also cover the impact of alcohol on our brain health, why women (especially in midlife) can find alcohol more challenging to metabolize and why we might want to reassess our relationship with the booze if we aim to age well. 

 

Barbie has recommended some great books to read if you’re interested in learning about the links between nutrition and brain health, namely: 

Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety by Dr Drew Ramsey (https://drewramseymd.com/books-publications/eat-to-beat-depression-and-anxiety)

Brain Food by Dr Lisa Mosconi (https://www.lisamosconi.com/brainfood - we also touch on Dr Mosconi’s excellent new book The XX Brain)

This is Your Brain on Food by Dr Uma Naidoo (https://book.umanaidoomd.com/) 

and The MIND Diet by Maggie Moon (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-MIND-Diet/Maggie-Moon/9781612436074) 

… all of which are going onto my teetering to-read pile!

 

You can find Barbie and her brilliant down to earth advice (and some yummy recipes) on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_cognition_dietitian/ and at www.barbieboules.com 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest today is Leila Ainge - an accredited psychologist with 20 years of cross industry business consulting experience. Leila’s research focuses on how entrepreneurs experience imposter phenomenon - but is relevant for all of us! She’s also the host of the Psychologically Speaking podcast which is currently exploring various experiences of imposter phenomenon.

We start by delving into why Leila prefers to talk about imposter phenomenon or imposter feelings, rather than imposter syndrome and review the origins of the term ‘imposter’ in this context.  We move on to how Leila approaches and interrogates her own imposter feelings, when they arise - beginning with her first imposter experience with a small baby in the NICU and then fairly soon after, the arrival of anxiety in perimenopause.

Leila’s advice on managing imposter feelings includes: interrogate your current surroundings and context - who are you around at that moment? What’s different? What is this environment giving or not giving you? What else is going on for you? 

It’s easy to feel like you’ll always feel like this, but actually imposter is a transient feeling…it comes and goes. 

We talk about social comparison and context collapse, particularly in the technology and online sphere, and the problems that stem from the speed at which we adopt technology - we don’t have the ground rules!  We also touch on navigating online spaces with the myriad individuals and relationships to factor in - and how a lack of objectivity can cause us to struggle.

Often in online spaces there is a bit of ‘shiny new thing’ syndrome! 

We discuss the importance of establishing boundaries around how we use online spaces and compare the experiences of using LinkedIn and Instagram - should we be putting more responsibility back on to platform providers?

We move on to the positive side of comparison for women in business - finding ‘pockets of belonging’ where we can be authentic and gain objectivity. 

We wrap up by looking at the topic of Leila’s PhD: ‘what do we get out of being online?’ - and I ask Leila what it’s like to start a PhD in later life! 

I do hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed chatting to Leila - who is a friend as well as an interviewee! You can find Leila and her brilliant podcast at https://www.leilaainge.co.uk/

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

In this episode of the podcast I speak with Coral Short (they/their) - a somatic therapy practitioner and performance artist. After some persuading on the part of their partner, Coral decided to celebrate their menopause transition with a menopause party earlier this year. We talk about why rituals and celebrations like this are such an important way of breaking through the stigma around menopause and aging, and modeling to future generations that this can be a time of great joy and possibility. In the face of society's fear of aging, taking up space and unapologetically claiming our wisdom, power, and experience is a rebellious act! We also talk about how the pandemic made many of us re-evaluate what we want out of our lives, and also promted us to reconnect to nature - so many of us feel disconnected from both nature and our own bodies, and this transitional time can be a key turning point for rediscovering those connections. Why not listen to this one in a forest near you! 

You can find Coral at www.coralshort.com and on Instagram @coralshort 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

 

Joining me on the podcast this time is Petra Coveney - founder of Menopause Yoga™ - an international teacher, trainer, author and guest speaker specializing in supporting people through the stages of perimenopause to post menopause 

 

Petra has trained over 700 Menopause Yoga teachers in 40+ countries and is the author of the book ‘Menopause Yoga - a holistic guide to supporting women on their menopause journey,’ which brings together modern western medical science with ancient eastern wellbeing. She positively reframes the menopause as a Second Spring awakening with an opportunity for long-term health and happiness.

 

What a lovely and wide-ranging conversation this was! We start with a little time-travel, back to 2013 when Menopause Yoga first launched, and the conversation around menopause was vastly different than it is today! 

 

I was fascinated to learn that Petra and the teachers she trains use subtly different types and combinations of yoga for perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause… Petra describes how in perimenopause - a  time of turbulence, instability, rewiring of the brain they use a combination of yin-yang yoga (stretching), breathwork, meditation and restorative yoga…helping support acceptance of changes.  (We also talk about the similarity to teenagers - who also get very tired as their bodies and brains are changing - just as ours do in perimenopause…!)

 

I loved her analogy of  us “ladling out the soup to everyone else all our lives, and in perimenopause, really scraping the bottom of the soup pot”…such that if we don’t make time for rest and recharge, our bodies will find a way to make us stop, whether through illness, fatigue or something else.

 

The in menopause (our ‘wintering’ phase) there is potentially more anxiety, overwhelm, insomnia, fatigue, joint pain, and muscle tightness - so the combination shift to provide more flowing, somatically releasing joint and muscle pain, toning the vagus nerve, together with meditation, and restorative practice.

Then in the post-menopause stage there is another subtle shift to prioritize balance, muscle and bone strengthening, and even some weightlifting.

We talk about the therapeutic approach to yoga practice and the importance of community, before moving on to look at reframing menopause and choosing to see this as a ‘second spring’ awakening - how our voices change not only physically, but how we commonly ‘find’ our voice in this life stage. 

 

You can find Petra online at: https://www.menopause-yoga.com/ and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/menopause_yoga/?hl=en

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

My guest this time is Cindy Gallop - consultant, coach, keynote speaker, and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn. I’ve been a fan of Cindy’s since I first watched the interview on the Style Like U channel that saw her become an older female role model not just to me, but to thousands of women of all ages (and apparently a few men too!). I was also lucky enough to finally meet her in person at the Upfront conference earlier this year where she gave the brilliant closing keynote - I had my own ‘Upfront’ moment asking her to come on the podcast and she graciously agreed. 

We talk about the genesis of her sex-tech business MakeLoveNotPorn.tv: a place for ‘socialising, normalising and destigmatising real-world sex’ and Cindy reminds us that when we don’t talk about sex ‘porn becomes sex education by default’... I was fascinated to learn more about MLNP - from the rigorous checking and vetting processes that all content and comments pass through to create safe spaces for all concerned, how empowering and healing many of the ‘stars’ find the process of sharing their videos, to hearing about how hard it is for sex-tech businesses to attract funding (prompting their current round of equity crowdfunding: see https://wefunder.com/makelovenotporn/ if you want to find out more). 

For those of us who do have kids, particularly younger children, the ready availability of pornographic content online is a huge concern - Cindy’s next goal is to fund https://www.makelovenotporn.academy/ to create a platform for age-appropriate sex-education for individuals of all ages that will also serve as a way for sex educators to make a living from providing their content (currently most struggle against platforms that censor even educational content). (This: https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/27/more-than-300m-children-victims-of-online-sexual-abuse-every-year is the article I refer to in the course of this episode - shocking statistics and a stark reminder that we can’t afford to be complacent in talking to our children about sex, no matter how tricky we may find those conversations. Cindy shares with us her two tips for how to navigate those conversations - advice that I know I’ll definitely find hugely useful. 

Last of all we cover ageism in the advertising industry and Cindy’s determination to change societal attitudes towards ageing - creating a culture where ‘living older’ is aspirational and ads are created by and for older audiences and as a result. Music to my ears!

 

You can find Cindy at https://www.instagram.com/cindygallop and MLNP at https://makelovenotporn.tv/ 

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

My guest this time is Lyndsey Simpson: founder & CEO of 55/Redefined. Recognising a gap in the market for a brand that answers the call of the ‘bet-your-ass-I-can’ over-50s, Lyndsey set up 55/Redefined to fly the flag for those who may be getting older but have no intention of slowing down (inspired - not retired!). 

 

Just five years ago, Lyndsey was planning to retire early from her role as CEO of an HR firm when a special assignment lit a fire in her imagination. She was shocked that the hundreds of retired bankers she recruited for that assignment almost all agreed that retiring had been a huge mistake…

 

The statistics are quite stark: by 2030 50% of the UK workforce will be 50 and over (and in places like Spain, Italy, and Germany they are already almost hitting that marker). 

 

Over 50s now are healthier and wealthier than previous generations: we don’t dress or think like our parents did and mostly don’t want the same things - but society (and the world of work) has not caught up with this…

 

Listen in to our fascinating chat to find out more about:

 

• 100 year lives and how many of us will want or need a more harmonious and blended life phase of work and life in our Third Quarter (50-75) and potentially even into our Fourth Quarter;
• How the over 50s are the only growth talent pool and the only growth consumer pool;
• How, despite the extent to which advertising is skewed to youth (at present), 75% of all wealth is held by 50-70 year olds and by 2040 62p of every pound spent online in the UK, will be spent by an over-50 consumer (brands take note!);
• Why companies who ‘get it’ are seeing great results from mirroring demographics across customer service roles, product design, marketing, and advertising, and focusing on multigenerational teams;
• The work 55/Redefined is doing to smash inaccurate stereotypes around older workers: for example, the data shows that over 50s are 200% less likely to take a day off sick and five times less likely to leave for another job within their first 18 months in a company than employees under 30;
• Why we are all underestimating our own longevity by decades: a 40 year old now will have a life life expectancy of 98!
• The massive benefits that come from creating blended intergenerational teams;
• The need for a radical shift in working patterns, since flexibility is THE number one thing that would keep people in work for longer (whether that is in order for them to balance caring responsibilities, change careers, find better work life balance or spend time travelling) - and that mindset shift will need to come from both companies and individuals;
• How mindset shifts around salaries, prestige and self-worth will also open up opportunities for change and growth in our Third (and Fourth) Quarter;
• Lyndsey also shares the example of her own brother, who, after 30 years working in supermarket retail, has retrained as an audiologist in his late 40s and started an entirely new career 

 

If you want further inspiration and examples of people who have pivoted and careers check out https://life-redefined.co/ 

 

If you’d like to check out roles from employers that are actively hiring over 50s take a look at https://jobs-redefined.co/ 

 

If your organization wants to read the research and reports created by Lyndsey’s team (or work with them), check out https://work-redefined.co/ 

You can follow Lyndsey herself on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsey-simpson-045b034/?originalSubdomain=uk

If you enjoy the podcast please help us grow by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

Join me this time as I chat to Abi Adams - mum of two, female health change-maker, emotional liberator, and founder of Prøject Wøman.

Abi is ridiculously passionate about raising the bar on feminine health and has been on a fascinating and enriching journey to expand her skills and knowledge that has enabled her to create a unique way of living in harmony as a woman.

Abi has such an infectious enthusiasm for life and an ease about her that I challenge anyone not to warm to her immediately! Prøject Wøman is the culmination of Abi’s 20 years of experience spanning kinesiology, mixed movement, yoga and cycle awareness.

 

We cover plenty of interesting topics in this episode, including (but not limited to): the impact of emotions on health, understanding our cycle, how to exercise in harmony with cycles, deeply listening to our bodies, and the process of Wintering - and how moments of quiet can feel incredibly difficult for those who have experienced trauma.

 

This Spring, Abi is hosting the Project Woman Experience - an opportunity to recharge, reset, and refuel before going back out into the world with a better understanding of your needs. With a stunning location and plenty of space, music, exploring how our body holds emotion and releasing that through movement - plus a full weekend of being cared for and well-fed, it sounds like a wondrous start to Spring if you can make it! 

 

You can find out more about Abi and the ‘retreat that’s not a retreat’ at https://www.abiadams.co.uk/project-woman-march-retreat and you can find Abi on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/abiadams_projectwoman/ / https://www.instagram.com/we_are_project_woman/ and at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyx08SrcUSgh-GdhaSdQdg 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com   

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training. 

My guest this time is Amy Bennie - Amy is the chair of Daisy Network, the only charity dedicated to providing medical and psychological support for women with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency. 

Amy was just 16 years old when she was told her ovaries just were not working - and for many years thought perhaps she was the only one in the country as she’d been told it was very rare. For several years, having no real understanding of what was happening to her, she suffered with anxiety, agoraphobia, and panic attacks…it was only in her early 20s that she discovered the Daisy Network and realized she was not as alone as she had thought.

For 90% of those with POI, there’s currently no discernable underlying cause - which can be hard to come to terms with. We also cover why hormone therapy is so vital for those with POI, to prevent osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, and promote good brain health. 

Amy is now dedicated to helping those through their diagnosis and raising awareness of POI within the wider community. She is author of the book 'Daisy Network - Our Guide to Premature Ovarian Insufficiency' and works as a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor.

You can find out more about the support offered by the Daisy Network at:

https://www.daisynetwork.org/ 

https://www.instagram.com/thedaisynetwork/ 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest this time is Anna Allerton…a former journalist and TV producer who spent 17 years at Sky where she was an industry leader in women’s sports journalism and was listed in Management Today’s ‘35 Under 35’.

She’s the founder of Allerton Coaching and is a business coach and consultant specializing in perimenopause. 

Anna started to experience crippling anxiety at the end of her maternity leave with her second child, at just 38 years old, compounded by horrendous brain fog whilst dealing with sleep deprivation, and a stressful job. 

Like so many others, Anna was fobbed off with anti-depressants multiple times, and only her dogged journalistic skills and refusal to take no for an answer led her to an eventual perimenopause diagnosis… Her experiences led her to change career and retrain as an executive coach - listen in to find out more about what an exec coach actually is (and does - or doesn’t do), as well as hearing more about why Anna is passionate about sharing her story to help others who might be dealing with outbursts of rage, raging insomnia, or a whole host of other symptoms, whilst juggling the demands of toddler tantrums, potty-training and weaning feel less alone!

 

We also cover:

• the most common issues that her clients tend to struggle with in the workplace;
• some of the practical strategies that Anna has seen work really well to overcome some of these
• why she is a huge fan of symptom logging to help us work smarter
• what parallels she sees to recent developments in women’s sport that she has applied in her work

 

You can find Anna at https://www.allertoncoaching.com and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/allertoncoaching/

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

My guest today is Clare Bourne - Clare is a specialist pelvic health physiotherapist and author, based in London, with a passion for supporting women and men throughout their lives. She believes in talking openly about taboo topics and ensuring everyone feels comfortable to get support for problems that may feel embarrassing to talk about.

She worked extensively in the NHS before starting up her own private practice she’s the co-founder of the Pelvic Health Practice, a specialist team of pelvic health physios providing home visits across London and the founder of All About Mum which provides postnatal education cards, webinars and ebooks to support women with all the information they deserve.

Clare is also the author of Strong Foundations: Why pelvic health matters, an empowering guide to your body, which aims to support women to understand their bodies better. 

 

In our chat we’ll cover:

• Why our full life story - from childhood onwards - it critical in getting a full picture of our pelvic floor health
• Why the first part of her book looks at basic biology and unpicking the lack of understanding we have around our own anatomy
• Constipation in childhood and later in life and why this is so important to address
• The importance of oestrogen for our pelvic floor health
• Why kegels are just one tool in the toolkit and what is the bare minimum she recommends we do daily…
• Clare’s three part strategy: Fluids, Fibre, and Movement
• Prolapse - it’s more common than you think, and how to advocate for yourself with your GP

You can find Clare at https://www.clare-bourne.com/ and her new book at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strong-Foundations-Clare-Bourne/dp/0008604223

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

 

This time on Middling Along I chat to novelist Tracy Bloom about her latest book The Time of Her Life, which follows midlife heroine Kim through the disintegration of her marriage and her subsequent reinvention. 

We discuss the increase in midlife female protagonists - that TV is doing so well with the likes of Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley. Fiction has been somewhat catching up over the last five years, showcasing the issues facing women in midlife for Gen X who have grown up on Bridget Jones novels. Midlife as a time of re-evaluation and reinvention, opportunities and change, is fertile pasture for novelists…

Tracy talks through her process of learning to become an author, and gives us some tips for anyone listening who is thinking about writing a book. We also discuss Tracy's recent favourite reads and what she is looking forward to delving into next.

The Time of Her Life is out now in paperback (https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-time-of-her-life/tracy-bloom/9780008619114) if you’re looking for your next holiday read, and Tracy’s next book, The Secret Santa Project will be out later in 2024 (available to preorder at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Santa-Project-heartwarming-friendship/dp/000861914X)

 

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

This episode I’m joined by Steph Douglas, CEO and founder of Don’t Buy Her Flowers. I’ve been following Steph online since the early days of her blog, and then watching DBHF go from strength to strength, so was really excited to sit down with her and talk to her not just about building a business, but a whole raft of other topics. 

 

I’m always intrigued to hear about how people launch and grow a company: DBHF launched in 2014 with three packages for new mums, but really ‘went viral’ when Sarah Turner from The Unmumsy Mum mentioned the business to her followers. The small matter of the Covid pandemic landing in all our lives right before Mothers Day in 2020 was another enormous turning point for the business, and we discuss what it was like navigating that alongside parenting three small children (remember those heady days of ‘homeschooling’ - shudder…).

 

We also touch on:

• The step-change of going from 2 kids to 3
• Mum guilt
• The pros and cons of social media and why ‘Instagram holidays’ help Steph manage overwhelm
• Why gratitude journaling ended up surprising her with its effectiveness
• The mental load and de-programming relationship stereotypes
• Parenting preteens in the social media age

 

And with Mothers Day right around the corner, maybe now is the perfect time to have a look at https://www.dontbuyherflowers.com/ for gift ideas! 

You can also find Steph at https://www.instagram.com/steph_dontbuyherflowers/ where she presents her wonderfully unvarnished take on parenting three kids and juggling that with running her business with a big dollop of humour…

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training. 

This time I welcome Simona Stokes, Counselling Psychologist and the Founder of Menopause CBT Clinic, an independent psychology practice which aims to support the psychological wellbeing of women going through the perimenopause and menopause. Based on her extensive clinical experience in this area, Simona has developed EMBERS® Menopause CBT Model which is centered around the psychological principles supported by the best evidence-based research and interventions in the field of mental and emotional wellbeing. She holds professional registration and accreditation with several bodies including the BPS, BABCP, and BACP and has been working in the mental health field for over 20 years. 

We begin with an explanation of what CBT is and how it works for anyone who is not familiar with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.  Simona explains little more on the different types of CBT, and her experience is that ‘third wave’ CBT approaches seem to work best with those experiencing perimenopause symptoms.

The draft NICE guidelines issues at the end of 2023 caused quite a media stir with the increased focus on CBT as a treatment for menopause. We discuss why the headlines were misleading and how CBT can help with hot flushes and sleep disturbances, as well as psychological and emotional symptoms. As Simona outlines, even individuals who are taking HRT sometimes struggle with their mental health and access to CBT can be helpful. Medication alone cannot address struggles with confidence, self esteem, self-worth, and identity.

We delve deeper into menopause as a psychological developmental stage - just as pregnancy and puberty (see Lisa Mosconi’s book The Menopause Brain for more on this). In all these life stages our brains are remodelling themselves - we are updating who we are and our perspective on the world…a process some of us will navigate on our own or with support of our own networks of support, and some of us may need a little extra help and support from professional - space where we can safely explore these topics.

Simona explains that the way we think about physical symptoms can amplify the symptoms themselves…CBT helps us look at the kinds of stories we tell ourselves and write new ones. It can support us to make meaningful change in areas that help us regulate our bodies and thereby mitigate symptom severity. 

Unfortunately as Simona highlights, the types of CBT available on the NHS are not always tailored to the needs of women going through the menopause and that can lead to sub-optimal experiences when people do choose to pursue CBT as an option. We end by agreeing that there is certainly scope for more practitioners to be trained in menopause-informed CBT practices. 

You can find Simona at https://www.menopausecbtclinic.co.uk/ and https://www.instagram.com/menopausecbtclinic 

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

My guest today is Dr Stella Duffy OBE - she is an existential psychotherapist, has recently completed her PhD, has written 17 novels, 15 plays, and 70 short stories, and in previous incarnations has been an actor, theatre-director, comedian and much much more…including being on the steering committee that started the Women’s Equality Party!

Having previously survived two encounters with cancer, last year, with no warning, she suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm that very nearly killed her. Despite this, she recovered and went on to finish her PhD exploring the experiences of post-menopausal women.  

We start off with me asking Stella to explain what existential psychotherapy is (because I definitely had no clue!). She outlines the approach as asking clients, “what choices have you made; what choices do you want to keep making; what choices are you making because you believe you have no choice; where do you want to change; and where are you right now?”  

We also talk about how her second round of breast cancer felt like “a big slap in the face,” having made a subconscious deal with the Universe that trading the loss of her fertility due to aggressive cancer treatment would allow her to fully recover and continue to live cancer-free. 

We move on to discuss the dearth of “post-menopausal” voices in the Menosphere - something I hope the podcast can go some way to addressing even in small part. The “industry” doesn’t want to hear from happy, satisfied, thriving post-menopausal women, Stella points out, because then we won’t buy in to needing to be “fixed” in quite the same way… As she herself can attest: “It’s better ‘out the other side’…”!  On the flip side, her theory is that as regards the diverse voices we’re not hearing (the women who aren’t talking about their symptoms) their voices are absent not because they aren’t experiencing symptoms but because other, even harder stuff is going on in their lives. When people haven’t needed to deal with difficulties in life before, then menopause comes as a shock. She also argues that perhaps the anger and anxiety that often accompany menopause are valid responses to being surrounded by patriarchy, sexism and misogyny? 

We also look at different global experiences of menopause: she cites research that compared Highland Mayan Guatemalan women to those in the US - where despite similar levels of osteoporosis, the Guatemalan women had no fractures due to diet and lifestyle differences (high calcium in their water, exercise throughout life (carrying water for miles well into their 70s), and absence of alcohol. (They also call their hot flushes: “the rising of the animal spirit” which I think perhaps should be a ‘thing’ here too!). What else can we learn from other cultures - especially where older adults are treated with respect - but also what can we learn from studying those who have ‘sailed though’ menopause - what were they doing differently in earlier life that might be influencing their experiences? 

We move on to confronting our own internalized ageism and finding our own ways to age on our own terms - to articulate what we want from our ‘one wild and precious life.’  Flexing those “I want” muscles doesn’t always come easily - and as we agree towards the end of our chat…We don’t have to figure it all out overnight!

You can find out more about Stella and her work at https://stelladuffytherapy.co.uk/

If you enjoy the podcast please consider sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

In this Episode, I chat to writer Elizabeth Joseph about navigating perimenopause with humour, and a lot of trial and error via natural/alternative/complementary therapies and products aimed at menopausal midlifers. You name it, she's tried it so we don't have to: from cold water therapy to sound baths, mouth taping to EFT tapping, cacao ceremonies to RTT (rapid transformational therapy), Elizabeth writes with candour, dry wit and down to earth honesty about what has and hasn't worked for her symptoms. We also talk about how rubbish many of us are at prioritising ourselves and how that needs to change in midlife. There's also a lot of giggling and silliness, just in case you thought that all sounded terribly serious - enjoy!

 

You can find Elizabeth at https://www.instagram.com/elizabethjosephnavigating/ 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

 

This time I’m joined by author Cathy Kelly - Cathy is a former journalist whose debut novel, Woman To Woman, became an instant number one bestseller. Since then, she has published 22 novels, which have sold millions of copies globally. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland since 2005 and has visited many countries to report on UNICEF's work. When not writing with a small dog nestled at her back, she reads voraciously, dances round the kitchen, travels pillion on a motorbike, has a variety of textile art projects on the go and pretends to Marie Kondo the house.

 

Cathy’s latest novel Sisterhood is - of course - about two sisters - Lou and Toni. Lou is someone who habitually puts herself last…until the events that unfold at her 50th birthday party push her to stop pleasing other people and decide to finally put herself first.

 

This prompts us to discuss how commonly those of us coming up to 50 are prompted to examine our lives, sometimes interrogating what we have been putting up with and questioning, asking ourselves… “What am I for?”

Cathy also talks about her own treatment for cancer - another life inflection point that makes you question everything…

 

We move on to talk about the appeal of historical novels and Cathy is kind enough to share a few recommendations for books that she has loved recently: the Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard (https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/fiction/cazalet-chronicles-books-in-order) and A Discovery of Witches https://deborahharkness.com/all-souls-world-home/the-all-souls-world-books/  (and I mention one of my all time favourite historical novels: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-needle-in-the-blood/) 

 

Cathy calls out the misogyny and snobbishness around fiction written ‘by women, for women, about women’s lives’ and we touch on the evolution of the so-called ‘chick lit’ writers now hitting their 50s and writing about this new age and stage of their lives.

 

We also head off on a few tangents, reminiscing about carefree pre-Internet times and 80s fashion!

 

Find out more about Sisterhood at https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/sisterhood-cathy-kelly?variant=40276782973006 - out in hardback now, and in paperback in March 2025…

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

Join me as I chat to award-winning freelance health journalist Sarah Graham - she is the founder of the Hysterical Women blog, specializing in health, gender and feminism and writes for the i newspaper, the Telegraph, the Guardian, the BMJ and many others. 

Her book, ‘Rebel Bodies - A guide to the gender health gap revolution’, was published on 5th January and it is a compelling account of all the ways women, trans, non-binary, and queer people are gaslit, ignored, and let down by the medical establishment. Rebel Bodies grew out of, and weaves in stories from, the blog, and covers topics from endometriosis to menopause and everything in between. (Content warning: there is brief discussion of baby loss, and suicide/suicidal ideation in this interview.)

We discuss:

• The intersection of Sarah’s own pregnancy with the process of writing the book - including a chapter that included some harrowing tales of other people’s experiences - and how that impacted on her own experience of pregnancy and birthing.
• The story from the book that had, and continues to have the biggest impact on Sarah, and the one she knew she had to include.
• Some of the shocking statistics highlighted in the book, for example: that endometriosis is estimated to cost the UK economy £8.2 billion a year and that women are seven times more likely than men to be misdiagnosed and discharged in the middle of a heart attack. 
• The ‘suicide gender paradox’ - it was news to me that women actually attempt suicide at higher rates but men are more likely to die from their attempts - again, the suicide rate for women peaks around the time of peri/meno - yet often when we try to point this out the argument is shut down because rates are far higher in men, so this seems to me to be a really important consideration. 

 

We of course had to cover the current NHS crisis and the impact of many years of underfunding, and Sarah gives us her analysis of the Women’s Health Strategy for England, published in 2022.  

I’ll leave you with this quote, which talks about PMDD but could just as easily apply to the peri/menopause, and which really resonated with me: “From a feminist perspective, how do we acknowledge the very real impact of PMDD on sufferers’ mental health without fuelling the idea that women’s menstrual cycles make us irrational, overly emotional and less competent, trustworthy, or reliable?”  

 

You can find Hysterical Women at https://hystericalwomen.co.uk/ and Sarah is on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahgraham7 and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarahgraham7writer 

Rebel Bodies is published by Bloomsbury: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/rebel-bodies-9781399401142/ - please do consider supporting your local indie bookstore if you buy a copy!

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training.

 

Join me this time as we chat to Dr Zoe Schaedel: Zoe is a GP and an accredited British Menopause Society Menopause Specialist.  She is currently a member of the British Menopause Society’s Medical Advisory Council, the Primary Care Women Health Foundation’s Education Committee and NHS England’s Menopause Improvement Programme Clinical Reference Group. She has developed a special interest in sleep and sits on the British Sleep Society Education Committee, is the co-founder of The Good Sleep Clinic, and has published articles on Menopause in The Lancet and Post Reproductive Health.

 

What a great, informative episode this is: did you know that sleep disturbances are one of the most common symptoms of the perimenopause? 40-60% of women report difficulties staying asleep, and waking more during the night! 

 

We’ll cover:

• How our bodies need to stay at a low and stable temperature to stay asleep
• The impact of our symptoms (such as anxiety, needing to wee more, and hot/cold flushes and night sweats) on sleep and getting back to sleep between our 90 minute sleep cycles
• Sleep hygiene tips (including light, temperature, and bedtime routines - bath, book and bed isn’t just for the kids!)
• Why alcohol (yet again) is not our friend and leads to less REM sleep and more ‘micro-wakings’
• What is sleep drive and why is it important? 
• The role of adenosine in sleep drive, how to increase it, and how caffeine acts on adenosine levels
• How ‘putting the day to rest’ can help stop our busy brains keeping us awake and running through the mental load list at 4am!
• How HRT can help with sleep in perimenopause
• How CBTi works even on chronic insomnia

 

You can find Zoe at https://goodsleep.clinic/ and www.mylahealth.co.uk and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/zoemenopausedr/ 

 

The CBTi based sleep apps we discuss in this episode are Sleepio and Sleep Station.

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training.

Free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

 

My guest this time is Dr Lucy Ryan, Lucy is a leadership coach, consultant, author, and a passionate advocate for women’s professional development. She has a Masters in Positive Psychology, lectures in Positive Leadership at the University of East London and is an honorary research fellow at the University of Liverpool.  Her doctoral research project explored the phenomenon of midlife for professional women and resulted in the publication of her latest book gloriously entitled Revolting Women: Why midlife women are walking out and what to do about it 

In our conversation we talk about:

• How Lucy struggled to get a University to accept the topic of her PhD
• The ‘tsunami of stuff’ that converges for many of us in midlife forcing many to a point where they feel they have no choice but to step out of their role
• How elder care is ‘flying under the radar’ in terms of workplace policies
• How the ‘Career Clock’ typically looks different for men and women
• How women are ‘revolting' against the insistence on full time work
• Lucy’s Ten Provocations for Change in organisations (including normalising conversations around menopause, adding gendered ageism to their diversity data, finding out why women are actually leaving, and conducting midlife check-ins for all employees) 
• The need for conversation around creative solutions for job flexibility, squiggly careers and the 50 year career
• Why sponsorship (as opposed to mentorship) matters so much

Can't waitr for you to listen!

You can find more about Lucy and her work at : https://www.lucyryan.co.uk and find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlucyryan/ 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

My guest this time is Steve Rawlings, founder of Cool Embrace. Steve and his wife Lisa moved from London to leafy, rural Shropshire after Lisa suffered a brain tumour, to get away from their hectic business life and adopt a slower and more tranquil way of life. They were both involved with the fabric industry, Steve in a career spanning 50 years, mainly in specialist textiles relating to military, police, aerospace and temperature-controlling applications.

When Lisa started having night sweats, Steve harnessed his knowledge of the use of these types of fabrics to invent the Cool Embrace intra-blanket, as he couldn’t bear to see her suffer any longer. After Lisa tried the intra-blanket for the first night and slept through for 8 hours straight, she was determined that he should share this revolutionary invention with other women who could benefit from it’s permanent cooling properties. 

Steve talks us through how the blanket works - which is a combination of heat dissipation and moisture control - fascinating if you’re a science geek like me! The blanket has five different layers which in combination help to move water and heat away from the body and spread heat throughout the blanket to ensure the user stays at an optimal and comfortable temperature all night. 

I’ve road-tested the blanket myself over several months, and whilst I don’t suffer from severe night sweats, I can definitely see a difference in how well I sleep and, let’s say, ‘comfort levels’ especially on hotter nights. Cool Embrace has a couple of versions of the blanket in different fabrics and sizes, as well as a silk pillow case that incorporates the cooling technology. 

They have kindly offered listeners a 10% discount code - just enter MTM23 at checkout. They also have a full money back guarantee if you find that the blanket does not work for you - that’s how confident they are that you will love yours too! 

 

https://coolembrace.com/

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

In this slightly shorter than usual episode we welcome back to the podcast Dr Katie Barber, GP and menopause specialist. Our topic is the draft NICE guidelines for menopause, which caused quite a lot of attention in the media when the draft was released for consultation earlier in 2023 - particularly with reference to the focus on CBT for symptom management.

The consultation process closes in early January 2024, and no doubt the final version of the guidelines will be significantly different to this draft version. That said, I’m really grateful to Katie for giving us the benefit of her measured and nuanced take on this emotive topic, including:

• What the NICE guidelines actually are, for anyone who isn’t familiar with them;
• That CBT isn’t a ‘new’ addition to the guidelines, and can be a part of a ‘toolkit’ of options, including for those who can’t take HRT;
• The need for more research in several areas, including those on gender-affirming hormone treatment and HRT, breast cancer patients, and outcomes for ethnic minority groups;
• The overarching need for informed choice - as always - with both the benefits of HRT being clearly articulated as well as the risks. 

You can find Katie at https://www.oxfordmenopause.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/oxford_menopause/ and previously on the podcast at https://middlingalong.com/episodes/middling-along-dr-katie-barber-helps-us-get-to-grips-with-testosterone-dos-and-donts/ and https://middlingalong.com/episodes/middling-along-23-dr-katie-barber-on-menopause-myths-and-misconceptions/

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

My guest on the podcast this time is coach and speaker Madeline McQueen. In a career which spans 35 years, she’s inspired the workforces of brands ranging from Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy to Google, Sky and Nike. If the hormone rollercoaster of midlife and perimenopause is messing with your confidence levels, buckle up - Madeline has some great advice for you! 

 

So often when we start a new job or move on to a new challenge we feel like we’re starting over (when of course, we’re generally starting from experience!). Madeline is a big proponent of ‘evidence-based confidence’ - keeping track of what we have done, skills and learnings we have gathered along the way, as a way to damp down the anxiety we often encounter when we start over. Tune in to find out more about the ‘pink envelope’ and how it can help us. 

 

We also talk about the four stages of competency that we move through each time we do something new: unconscious incompetence > conscious incompetence > conscious competence > unconscious competence - again, helpful grounding to remember, we’ve done it once, we can do it again! 

 

We’re very much on the same page too when it comes to the need for us in midlife to put ourselves at the top of the To Do List - and learn to say no more often - something else we can lean in to more and more in midlife. 

 

One of my favourite quotes of our interview is her insistence that we not “Own the Problem in the Room” - too often, as women in the workplace, we are quick to jump in to fill an awkward silence and offer our services up for the ‘emotional labour’ of the workplace that does us no favours when it comes to progression. 

 

Last but by no means least, I ask Madeline about her advice for raising strong, capable daughters - her answers will resonate with you whether you have daughters, sons, nieces or nephews! 

 

You can find Madeline at https://www.madelinemcqueen.com/ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/themadelinemcqueen/ 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

Jackie Jarvis is a Walking Business Coach and author of Transform Your Life by Walking which documents her time walking the various pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. She runs Netwalking events, and helps business owners and professionals use ‘walking and talking’ as a transformational tool to stimulate clarity, change, strategy and greater wellbeing. 

After the breakdown of her relationship, Jackie took the decision to go solo to walk the rest of the Camino routes, and we talk in this episode about all the life (and business!) lessons that her solo travels to date have provided. We cover:

• lessons in letting go of the things get attached to (ie too much stuff, people, a plan);
• solo travelling as a woman, learning to love the silence, and getting out of your comfort zone;
• trusting the process, and trusting ourselves;
• advice for anyone considering a solo walk like this (including the Buen Camino app which Jackie used to navigate);
• what was her one non-negotiable travel ‘luxury’; 
• the liberating joy of less.

You can find Jackie at https://www.walkingbusinesscoach.com/about-jackie-jarvis and buy a copy of her book here https://theendlessbookcase.com/books/transform-your-life-by-walking/

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

Gemma Westall began her perimenopause journey at just 27 years old but didn't actually realize for another 12 long years. Despite repeated doctors appointments and expensive specialists trying to figure out what was wrong, Gemma finally understood that she was perimenopausal when she happened to watch an Instagram Live between Davina McCall and Caroline Hirons!

Starting HRT at 39 changed her life - within days her brain fog lifted and the persistent UTIs she had struggled with for so many years became a thing of the past. With renewed enthusiasm and energy, she started to question the ‘information gaps’ for those entering perimenopause earlier in life. Any information she could find was aimed directly at menopausal midlifers, which lead her to creating Ageless Menopause Information on Instagram, signposting others to the information she wishes she'd had in her twenties. 

Gemma is also a yoga teacher and teaches menopause yoga workshops - we talk about how yoga helps her quieten down the outside world so that she can listen more intently to what her body and mind need right now.  After years of negative self-talk and fearing her own body, Gemma is now bolder, stronger, and using her energy to help others on their perimenopause journey. 

You can find Gemma at www.instagram.com/ageless.menopause.info

Don't forget to follow the podcast over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love! 

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

 

Join me as I chat to Mona Smith, who overcame years of chronic back pain when she discovered powerlifting at the age of 50 - despite not being a 'gym person'. Not only did she start competing, but in the space of two years had managed to win her first Commonwealth medal.

It was really heartening, and perhaps a little surprising for me at least, to hear about how inclusive and welcoming the powerlifting community has been for her. We also discuss the positive impact her strength training has had on her overall health, including menopause symptoms, and the need for women in midlife to think seriously about adding an element of strength training to help prevent conditions such as osteoporosis in later life.

If you want to hear more about the impact of strength training in midlife/menopause, go back and find my interview with personal trainer Amanda Thebe, talking about her book 'Menopocalypse'...

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest this time is Dr Nicky Keay: Nicky is a medical doctor with expertise in the field of exercise endocrinology and a lecturer at University College London. Her clinical and research work is focused on women experiencing peri/menopause and with exercisers, dancers and athletes.

Her book Myths of Menopause was published at the end of 2024 and Nicky has taken a novel approach to the subject, using the theme of Greek mythology, with Athena, goddess of wisdom as the cover star!  

 

The book itself brings together chapters from a wide range of experts in their individual fields, from brain health to bone health to exercise. Nicky and I discuss some of the most prevalent myths of menopause in this episode, not least the negativity around menopause and the ‘narrative of decline’ that links in to the pervasive gendered ageism in society (or Western society at least!). We discuss lifestyle changes and the temptation to believe in (and spend money on) ‘quick fixes’ that are out there. 

 

We also touch on myths around HRT, risks relating to breast cancer, and the under-emphasis on cardiovascular disease, which ultimately causes the deaths of many more women each year.  Nicky also offers advice for those who are under 45 and struggling with symptoms but not being listened to by their doctor. 

 

You can find out more about Nicky at https://nickykeayfitness.com/ and Myths of Menopause is available at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Myths-Menopause-Increasing-Wisdom-Sequoia/dp/1914110404 

 

If you enjoy the podcast please help us grow by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

Join me as I talk to Mona Eltahawy, journalist, activist and author. (Note that there is liberal use of the F word throughout - as Mona herself proclaims, profanity is one of the ways she claims her power!)  We discuss her last book "The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls" - including why it is so critical we stop teaching girls to express anger. Here's one of my favourite quotes from the book: “What if we nurtured and encouraged the expression of anger in girls the same way we encourage reading skills: as necessary for their navigation of the world? What if we believed that, just as reading and writing help a girl to understand the world around her and to express herself within it, expressing her anger was also a necessary tool for a girl making her way through life.”

We then move on to talk about the anthology she is currently working on entitled "Bloody Hell! And Other Stories: Adventures in Menopause from Across the Personal and Political Spectrum" a much needed lens on a subject where many of the voices we hear are White, Western, and straight. We cover Mona's own disbelief at how unprepared she was for perimenopause, why global, and gender-expansive voices and stories are so important, and why the patriarchy really (really) hates it when older women discover their power and become shameless...and how it tries to silence and shame us all the more. Oh...and why we all talk about moisturising our faces...but heaven forbid we should talk about moisturising our v@ginas!

Mona's anthology will be published by crowdfunding publisher Unbound and you can find out more and pre-order a copy at https://unbound.com/books/bloody-hell-and-other-stories/

You can find Mona on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/monaeltahawy/

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

In this episode I chat to Tracy Acock, founder of The Wellbeing Wisdom Club. Tracy retired from a career in breast cancer nursing and retrained as a women’s life coach with a focus on health and wellbeing. Whilst maybe not an obvious career pivot, she uses many of the same tools to work with her coaching clients - such as mindfulness, meditation and EFT (emotional freedom technique, or tapping).

 

We cover such a wide range of topics including:

• the benefits of cold water swimming
• how we are often disconnected from ourselves in midlife and how to get back to who we are and what we want
• changing our mindset to break free of negative self-talk and our cosy comfort zones
• looking for the things that light us up
• building more movement into our lives 
• Tracy’s own menopause experience ten years ago and why the conversation is so different now…

You can find Tracy at  https://wellbeingwisdomclub.com and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thewellbeingwisdomclub/ - but be warned, all those beautiful photos of Cornish beaches will make you want to move there if you don’t already!

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training.

You can get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

My guest this time is Tate Smith - an award-winning trans activist, consultant, and speaker. Tate's accolades include being named one of Attitude Magazine's 10 LGBTQ+ Trailblazers To Watch Out For In The Future, and in 2022 he was selected as a LinkedIn Top Voice, and nominated for PinkNews' Community Role Model.

He speaks on topics including the effects of testosterone, intersectionality, family and workplace acceptance, toxic masculinity, men’s mental health, trans male menopause, male privilege and more.

I confess, before this interview my understanding of trans lived experiences was fairly minimal. Tate shares with us his transitioning journey - starting aged 16 when he first realised his discomfort living in a female-presenting body was something that he could do something about, through coming out to friends and family, going back into the closet for two years, and then undergoing surgery and testosterone therapy. 

Tate explains gender dysphoria, and a little of the physical, mental, and financial toll of waiting to transition (opting to do so privately instead of waiting many years to be seen on the NHS).

He also explains how hormone therapy propelled him headlong into an early menopause, something that neither he, nor the medical professionals he saw were prepared for, and a topic that is not really spoken about in the trans community. Tate is now working with NHS researchers to develop practical guidance for GPs, to help others who go through this in future.

We discuss the steps that workplaces can take to be more inclusive and how we as individuals can be trans allies (see some of the resources he mentions, listed below). We also talk about how parents and carers can best support young people in their lives that come out as trans or express curiosity about transitioning.

You can find Tate at https://www.tatesmith.uk/ and at the links below

 

Resources:

https://www.wecreatespace.co/glossary 

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/list-lgbtq-terms 

Disclosure on Netflix 

Tate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tate-smith-6331b2152/ 

Tate on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tatemichaelsmith/ 

Charities: Gendered Intelligence and Mermaids - both offer support for families and children, residential camps etc

Find out more about the annual trans day of visibility here https://www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/blog/trans-day-visibility-global-perspective 

Join me as I chat to all-round awesome GP, Dr Beth Thomas, who also happens to be my sister-in law!

 

We discuss how best to talk to your GP (and what to do if you feel that you're not getting anywhere); different types of HRT and risks vs protective benefits (especially regarding breast cancer); the difference between body identical and bio identical HRT; how to assess your osteoporosis risk; how and why your GP might prescribe testosterone; and why hormone testing is not helpful if you are over 45.

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

Joining me this time is Karina Antram - registered nutritionist and executive coach, and author of Fix your Fatigue. Karina is hugely passionate about health and wellbeing after her own health struggles led her to seek out naturopathic practices. After being diagnosed with IBS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Lyme Disease, Karina tried out a multitude of tests, diets, health practices, different foods and herbs to try and combat her debilitating symptoms which, at times, led her to being hospitalised. Karina is now recovered, having made numerous changes to her diet and lifestyle, but is fully aware that consistency and continuity is key.

Fix Your Fatigue is designed to be easily accessible, helping the reader identify what is draining their energy and begin to take action.

In this episode we cover: 

• the difference between ‘normal’ levels of tiredness and fatigue
• energy leaks - what they are and how to address them - including some that might not be obvious
• the impact of stress and exposure to toxins on our mitochondria and how well they function to provide us with energy
• micronutrients in our food, why they are so critical for our energy production process, why we might not be absorbing them well, and when we might think about supplementation
• using nudge theory to help ourselves with healthier habits and making changes
• Karina’s tips for making water more palatable, making your own healthy ‘nutrient toppers’ and other health hacks
• What to do first if you’re really struggling with fatigue…

Fix Your Fatigue is published by Penguin https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454007/fix-your-fatigue-by-antram-karina/9781405954693

 

You can find Karina at https://nocohealth.co.uk/ 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Take our quiz: www.managingthemenopause.com/quiz 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

Join me as I chat to Jo Moseley, who describes herself as a ‘joy encourager, midlife adventurer, and beach cleaner’. Jo came to stand-up paddleboarding at the age of  fifty-one and has built a reputation as a speaker, magazine contributor and as host of The Joy of SUP – The Paddleboarding Sunshine Podcast. 

In 2019, she became the first woman to paddleboard coast to coast, raising funds for 2MinuteBeachClean and The Wave Project along the way. A film about her journey, entitled 'Brave Enough – A Journey Home to Joy' has been shown at various festivals.

We talk about her own journey through menopause (though for years she attributed her symptoms to stress), a biscuit-aisle breakdown that finally prompted her to reach out to a friend for help, and how that lead to her many paddleboarding adventures - before SUP was everywhere!

We cover everything from basic tips for those of us taking up SUP to navigating loss and injury, to her rebellion against the 'empty nester lonely mum trope.'

Jo's book 'Stand Up Paddleboarding in Great Britain' can be ordered at

https://www.adventurebooks.com/products/stand-up_paddleboarding_in_great_britain?_pos=1&_sid=87fc9d8d7&_ss=r&utm_source=Jomoseley&utm_medium=promo&utm_campaign=jomoseleypromo

 

You can find her on Instagram @healthyhappy50 and on her website https://www.jomoseley.com/

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

 

Karen Newby is a registered nutritionist with over 10 years’ experience coaching women through the menopause - she’s also the author of The Natural Menopause Method, published in October 2022. 

Karen’s beautifully designed and easy to read book is a comprehensive guide to nourishing our bodies and our minds at this critical stage of life. It’s the kind of book that I know I’ll keep to hand to dip in and out of, refer back to and remind myself about better nutrition whenever my good intentions slip! The book is peppered throughout with “Small Shifts” which are a great place to start if you’re feeling a little bit of overwhelm at trying to change too much too quickly. There’s also a whole section dedicated to ‘symptom troubleshooting’ (eg aches and pains, allergies and intolerances, brain fog, fatigue, hot flushes, insomnia and more…) - including explanations of ‘why is this happening to me’ and therapeutic foods that may help. 

 

Karen’s food philosophy is very much ‘eat more, not less’ - making sure we are giving our bodies the right fuel and ‘spark plugs’ as she calls the key nutrients! We cover so much in this episode - from how to move away from ‘beige food’ for kids to family meals we can all enjoy, and ditching our reactionary approaches to eating in ‘fight or flight’ mode and moving towards a state of rest and digest. 

 

We also look at the impact of falling oestrogen on our sensitivity to sugar and why increasing our intake of anti-inflammatory foods at this time of life is so important. 

 

You can find Karen at https://karennewby.com/ and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/karen.newby.nutritionist/ 

 

Karen also talks in our interview about her recipe collections available at https://my.whisk.com/

The Natural Menopause Method: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-natural-menopause-method-a-nutritional-guide-through-perimenopause-and-beyond-karen-newby?variant=39740126167118

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/

 

You can also listen to past episodes and subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love! 

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

Join us this time for something a little different: earlier this year I sat down with my husband Stephen, to get a partner's view of peri/menopause...we weren't even sure whether or not to release it, but hopefully it makes for helpful listening for other partners out there...we talk about how his fears of menopause have been (mostly) unfounded, how the male urge to fix things isn't always the most helpful approach to perimenopause, and some tips for how to actually support someone in your life if they are struggling in peri/menopause. 

Hope you enjoy it!

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

 

Join me this time as I chat to ‘recovering people pleaser’ Natalie Lue - author of The Joy of Saying No, and founder of Baggage Reclaim, one of the longest-running self-help blogs in the world. 

 

Most of us (as with our own parents) will have been raised during The Age of Obedience - socialized (especially if we identify as women) to be good and compliant - little wonder then that so many of us exhibit people-pleasing behaviours. 

 

Perhaps it hasn’t been a huge issue for us before, but perimenopause impacts on our ability to ‘multitask’ in the way we might have managed before now and for many of us holding up our people-pleasing tendencies can become exhausting, even debilitating. 

 

Natalie talks us through the five different styles of people-pleasing: gooding, efforting, avoiding, saving, and suffering - how these tendencies might have arisen in the first place, and helps us to identify which style we most identify with. The chapters that focus on the five styles also highlight ‘things to watch out for’ and some ‘quick shifts’ to help the reader start changing their behaviours. 

 

The later parts of the book provide a framework for instituting healthier boundaries and troubleshooting when we might get pushback from others or indeed from ourselves! Natalie also suggests invoking ‘the power of the pause’, and explains the difference between a ‘hard no’ and a ‘soft no’ - and when we might want to use each of them. 

 

Last of all we discuss why saying ‘No’ to some things opens up space for us to say ‘Yes’ to the things we truly value and find joyful. 

 

I’ll leave you with this little nugget of wisdom from the book: 

“Every time you do something from a place of guilt, fear, or obligation, it always leads to resentment. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon.”

 

The Joy of Saying No is out now, published by Harper Horizon, and you can find Natalie at www.baggagereclaim.com and https://www.instagram.com/natlue 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at www.middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get your free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

Join me this time for a joyous conversation with Karen Arthur: Karen is a fashion creative, host of the Menopause Whilst Black podcast, speaker, model, writer, and dropper of truth bombs! 

We talk about how her anxiety and depression during perimenopause prompted her departure from a long teaching career. We move on to unpack how three years of therapy, a lot of unlearning, and her dedication to living more truthfully and authentically led to her reinvention and curation of the next stage of her life - which includes leaving London to live by the sea, saying ‘Yes’ to things that bring her joy and ‘No’ to the things that don’t.

 

We touch on why therapy is the best money she’s ever invested in herself, why being honest is addictive, and how it’s easier to stay in our comfort zones than admit why those are no longer serving us and then do something about it. 

 

Karen talks about why she is so protective of her boundaries in both her personal and professional life, how we can all focus on deeply knowing ourselves and prioritising ourselves in the run up to midlife and perimenopause, and how post-menopause can be a liberating and positive stage of life. 

 

You can find Karen at https://www.thekarenarthur.com/ the podcast at https://www.thekarenarthur.com/menopausewhilstblack and she is on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thekarenarthur/ and https://www.instagram.com/menopausewhilstblack/

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest this time is Sara Gregory - a contemporary portrait painter based in London. She belongs to a collection of artists called ‘Studio Fridays’ who have a studio space in Whetstone, Barnet. Having originally studied Fine Art in Stourbridge College of Art she became a teacher of Art which she did for 25 years before leaving to pursue her own practice. She is also an art tutor for children which she does in schools around Hertfordshire.  In 2022 she was a contestant on the popular ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’ competition. Her series of self portraits documenting her seven year struggle with the menopause before starting HRT cover such subjects as hot flushes, insomnia, anxiety and rage.

 

We talk about:

• Why she decided to begin her series of menopause self-portraits
• How perimenopause symptoms impacted her and how little help she was offered to help with her insomnia
• How showing the paintings to friends and fellow artists, as well as on social media, has opened up conversations and created permission for others to talk about their symptoms 
• Her creative process - the role of ‘acting out’ a self-portrait and how as an artists you convey a feeling

 

Since we recorded the episode Sara has been shortlisted as a Finalist for the Women in Art Prize - https://www.instagram.com/womeninartprize_/ - congratulations and good luck Sara! 

 

You can find Sara on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/saragregoryart/ 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

My guest this time is Abby Langer - Abby has been a Registered Dietitian since 1999 - she has worked extensively both in clinical nutrition, and nutrition media and consulting, has won awards for her teaching and has served for three years on her regulatory college’s council. She’s passionate about all aspects of nutrition, from physiology to teaching to cooking. Her approach to nutrition is permissive and relaxed, and she is a true believer in living your best life without dieting. She has written in depth about debunking fad diets and nutrition myths - some of which we’ll be covering in this interview!

 

We kick off talking about the ‘firehose’ of nutrition information available on social media that can be either overwhelming, misleading, or both. Abby recommends some dependable accounts to follow over on Instagram (other than her own of course - and these are listed out below).

 

We also cover:

• Why she doesn’t recommend intermittent fasting or ‘no carb’ diets
• The cultural pressures to stay slim and not age visibly
• Why alcohol may be sabotaging our efforts to improve nutrition, and the uptick she has seen in women’s alcohol consumption over her career 
• Inflammation - what is, and isn’t ‘inflammatory’ and why the internet loves to demonize specific ingredients
• Eggs are great (happily for me, because I’m a huge egg fan)
• Why dietary fibre is the unsung hero that needs a better PR team, and how to get more of it
• Why she doesn’t feed her family organic food 
• ‘Red Flags’ to look out for when consuming content online about nutrition
• Her ‘pet peeve’ nutritional nonsense
• And finally her top three tips for midlife 

 

You can find Abby at https://abbylangernutrition.com/ and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/langernutrition 

 

The other accounts Abby recommends are:

https://www.instagram.com/bdccarpenter/

https://www.instagram.com/soheefit/

https://www.instagram.com/drjengunter/

https://www.instagram.com/amanda.thebe/ (you can listen to my interview with Amanda here: https://middlingalong.com/episodes/middling-along-4-amanda-thebe-on-why-strength-training-is-so-critical-for-midlife-women/) 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

Maybe midlife has you pondering a change of direction and you want to start something new? Or maybe your career path suddenly feels a bit...meh?

Join me as I chat to career and confidence coach Ekua Cant, author of 'Be your No 1 Cheerleader', about how examining our values can help us dig into what we want, and how to build 'positive mental muscle'. We also discuss the need for women to shout about their successes and celebrate wins along the way - something I for one need to work on! 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

I’m delighted to welcome today’s guest, journalist and author Rosamund Dean. Former Deputy Editor of Grazia magazine, she’s the author of Mindful Drinking: How Cutting Down can Change Your Life, and her latest book, Reconstruction (How to rebuild your body. Mind, and life after a breast cancer diagnosis) which is a pragmatic but positive handbook for anyone navigating a diagnosis of primary breast cancer. 

 

Rosamund’s book is not only an exploration of her own personal experiences of breast cancer, but a warm, relatable, practical guide to what to expect at each stage, even down to what to pack in your hospital bag…

 

In this episode we’ll cover:

• How it feels to receive a breast cancer diagnosis (in the middle of a pandemic!
• The crushing fatigue of cancer treatment and being forced to stop and rest - and how this impacts on someone’s identity
• Dealing with early menopause symptoms when HRT isn’t an option - and the reality of how poor the provision of information is for cancer patients
• That treatment can induce a second menopause in post-menopausal women who undergo treatment for BC
• Menopausal symptoms and their similarity to the side effects of chemotherapy - disentangling which is which
• The treatment that Rosamund is now taking to strengthen her bones
• The strain of looking out for symptoms of recurrence of the cancer
• The important of exercise not just for multiple facets of physical and mental wellbeing but for reducing risk of recurrence by between 30-60%
• Life - and living well - after breast cancer treatment

 

You can find Rosamund on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rosamunddean/ and Reconstruction (https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Reconstruction-by-Rosamund-Dean/9780008585204) is available wherever you like to buy your books! Rosamund also has a regular newsletter, Well Well Well, which you can subscribe to here: https://rosamunddean.substack.com/ 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

My guest this time is Skylar Liberty Rose, a writer and coach who helps introvert women embrace their 40s and 50s with joy and confidence.  Born in London, Skylar moved to New York City when she was 40, and reaching her mid-40s, she found herself feeling despondent about aging and struggling with her appearance. It was this experience that prompted her to disentangle herself from the clutches of an anti-aging culture. She now helps other women do the same through her Visible course and You to Bloom membership.

 

We cover a raft of topics including:

• How it felt to change her birth name post-divorce and why it was the best decision she’s ever made for herself - though we don’t recommend doing it three weeks into a new job! 
• How midlife and menopause hits a little differently for introverts - we may feel the urge to spend a lot of time alone, but this is a time when we need to connect and find our community
• Trading NYC life for the countryside
• The societal pressures to keep our looks and age gracefully (whatever that means!) we are so used to it we rarely recognise or question it any more…
• Her brain tumour diagnosis, surgery, and recovery
• Comparing notes on starting HRT - and Skylar’s struggles with anxiety
• ADHD - masking, coping, and overwhelm…perimenopause can be a time when the cracks start to show

You can find Skylar at https://www.skylarlibertyrose.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/skylarlibertyrose/

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

This time I welcome Mari Williams - author, leadership coach, podcaster, therapist and mediator. I connected with Mari online about three years ago, and when we caught up recently she mentioned that she really wanted to share her experiences of perimenopause, HRT, progesterone sensitivity, and how deeply the psychological symptoms of perimenopause had impacted her - even as someone with her background in therapy and coaching…

As someone who, in her words, was used to ‘good mental health’, Mari was taken aback by the extent of her psychological and emotional symptoms - so much so that her life was turned upside down by them and she experienced suicidal thoughts. The imposter thoughts, lack of confidence, and social anxiety also led to her seriously considering scaling back her successful business. As someone who had previously suffered with PMDD, it took this crisis in her mental health for a specialist to diagnose that she was reacting badly to the progesterone element of her HRT - once her oestrogen had been increased and the progesterone was changed to being taken vaginally, her mood lifted dramatically in just five days. 

We also talk a little about how childhood trauma can impact on severity of perimenopause symptoms, the importance of listening to our own bodies, and how important it is to look into family histories and patterns. 

 

You can find Mari online at https://www.mari-williams.com/

If you think you may be sensitive to progesterone you can find out more at https://www.balance-menopause.com/menopause-library/prgesterone-intolerance-factsheet/ 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

Join me this time as I chat to Bethan Thomas (no relation!) - who is one half of Hot Tea Mama - we talk about founding and growing the company with good friend Kate, initially with teas to support pregnancy and nursing mamas, but then more recently expanding the range to support those experiencing perimenopausal symptoms.

We cover Bethan's fascinating journey to become the first non-Chinese person to get a degree in Tea Science from the University of Agriculture and Forestry in Fujian, after more than 15 years of working as a tea buyer and blender. We look at the active ingredients in the Take a Pause tea (green tea, raspberry leaf, gingko biloba, ginseng, valerian, sage and liquorice, if you're curious) and how each of those can help as part of a 'Perimenopause Toolkit'.

Hot Tea Mama is also working with Gen M on changing the way brands think, talk and act about menopause, and we discuss the wider societal changes impacting on how products for those of us going through this life stage are marketed and sold.

 

You can find Hot Tea Mama at https://www.hotteamama.com/  and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hotteamama/

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest this time is Rachel Hope, who walked away from the high life in Dubai, her job, and her marriage, to start over at 50. Unfortunately for her, her initial false start - combined with the surprise appearance of a menopause she decribes as "hell on wheels" - meant that her glorious reinvention took some time coming. Her experiences however did lead her to setting up Soul Sisters Community, and she now runs retreats for women feeling 'stuck', just as she was, and helping them find a clearer path through to their new chapters. Join us to find out how journalling her way out of a bleak time helped Rachel, and can help us too, and why tarot might not be entirely what you thought it was...

 

You can find out more about Rachel's retreats at https://www.soulsisterscommunity.com/

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest today is Christine Armstrong, a keynote speaker, researcher, and author focused on the world of work. Over the past four and a half years, she has produced more than 200 videos in her weekly vlog, addressing major work-related topics such as hybrid working models and the role of AI in productivity. Each Friday morning, over 6,000 viewers from more than 20 countries tune in to gain insights into the future of work. Christine is also the author of The Mother of All Jobs: How to Have Children and a Career and Stay Sane(ish), published in 2018. This book is based on six years of interviews with working parents, employers, leadership experts, and caregivers.

We begin our discussion by exploring the recent trend of larger companies implementing Return to Office (RTO) policies and the public’s reactions to these changes. Christine references U.S. research indicating that 43% of Americans would prefer to divorce their partner rather than return to the office full-time! She highlights that flexibility is often sacrificed for what she terms “endless contactability,” where employees feel compelled to check emails late into the evening. Unfortunately, many older male leaders, who have benefited from traditional work models, struggle to understand this shift. Christine also cites research by Nick Bloom, which shows that since the pandemic, companies have begun hiring from broader geographical areas, resulting in doubled commute times and making full-time office work less appealing. She predicts that we will see a variety of working arrangements tailored to each company's brand and talent pool.

In terms of making the most of time spent in the office, Chistine’s advice is to be strategic about using that time: use it to build strong networks, figure out ‘who do I want a relationship with?’, ‘how do I build that?’ 

 

We hear a lot now about the importance of personal branding and I ask Christine for her advice on how to do this when we have been socialised not to brag about our achievements and doing it gives us the ick? First of all, she suggests we initially have to accept and get comfortable with the fact that some people just won’t be ‘our people.’  Her second piece of advice is to imagine talking about ourselves to our friends - if what we’re saying feels uncomfortable it’s probably too showy, but if you talk about what you’re good at and it’s objectively true, then go for it! If you can, use humour, and vulnerability always tends to endear your audience to you. 

 

I ask Christine about AI in the workplace and where she sees this having the most impact on the workplace in the next 5 years. 

Her response was that some jobs will require people who can manage the AI in combination with very strong technical skills (using AI to enhance what they are doing already), many other roles will require strong communication skills, ability to make ethical decisions, and to be able to strategize.

I was interested late last year when I saw Christine talking about how she and her husband use an adapted version of the ‘Workshop your life’ methodology to plan out their year ahead. As Christine advises, we need to stop seeing work and life as separate and start to view it as one system and think about the whole and how it all fits together.  Doing this exercise once a year helps them to tackle tricky issues but not in the heat of the moment and get aligned so that they are not constantly bumping up against negotiating those difficult conversations when flashpoints occur. I’ve included a few links below in case you feel like giving it a try yourself! 

 

We conclude by discussing the current trends Christine and her team are exploring, particularly the rising unpredictability, polarization, and stress levels in today’s world. In uncertain times, people tend to adopt black-and-white thinking, become more anxious, and prioritize immediate concerns. Therefore, the role of leaders is crucial; they must provide reassurance, clarity, and effective communication.

 

You can find more on Christine and her work at https://www.armstrongpartners.co.uk/ and if you fancy watching her weekly vlogs, sign up to her newsletter, or watch via her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechristinearmstrong/ 

Find out more about how to Workshop your Life here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/relationships-are-the-source-of-results_workshop-your-life-9-exercises-for-high-quality-activity-7271839576732712960-LkXo/  

The Year Compass (https://yearcompass.com/) is another good option. 

 

If you enjoy the podcast please help us grow by sharing this episode, or writing a review.

You can find me at www.thetripleshift.org and connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmacthomas/

 

Join me this time as I talk to Sam Evans, co-owner, with her husband Paul, of Jo Divine - an online store selling skin-safe sex toys and irritant-free lubricants. (Content warning, there will be sex chat!) From the earliest days of Jo Divine (featuring the Trolley of Love, tune in to find out about that...) to her starring appearance in the famed Davina documentary on menopause (and the subsequent 'Davina-effect' of a sell-out on the toy that featured in said documentary...) we cover a LOT.

For Sam herself, using the products they stock led to the discovery that ingredients in the lubes she had been using were the cause of her recurrent thrush and other infections, which cleared up within a week of using 'skin-safe' products. Tune in to find out why glycerin, parabens, and polypropylene glycol are all things you do NOT want on your lady parts...  I mean, most of us are pretty choosy about what we slap on our faces, so why wouldn't we be equally discerning about what we apply to one of the most  sensitive (and absorbent) parts of our bodies?? 

As a trained nurse, and now writer on sexual health and pleasure, Sam dispenses advice not just on her Instagram account, but daily through the Jo Divine email and phone line. With happy customers well into their 90s, Jo Divine is proof that the fun doesn't have to stop, if you have the right tools!

We also talk about 'Honest', the new book that Sam and Paul's daughter Millie Evans has written for teens and young adults, covering the kind of inclusive, frank, open and honest sex-ed that we wish we all could have had in our formative years.

You can find Sam on Instagram @samtalkssex and @jo.divine and the website is https://www.jodivine.com/

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

This time on the podcast I’m joined by Victoria Hardy (otherwise known as @GingeUnhinged on Instagram) as she talks us through her experience of medical and surgical menopause aged just 33, the breakdown that followed, and how she has used her experiences to help others going through the same situation feel less alone. 

 

She has now gone one further and written a book ‘My Menopause, My Journal, My Rules’ to be the friendly guide and confidante that she would so dearly have loved 7 years ago…  

 

We cover:

• The process of going through first medical, and then surgical menopause in her early 30s, and how ill-prepared she was by the medical establishment
• How the lack of support led her to a breakdown, then to therapy, where she turned her creative flair and a way with words into an outlet for processing her grief and trauma, that ultimately became a source of support for others on social media
• Why connection to community on social media is so important
• How and why she decided to write her book and why it’s different from most other menopause books out there already…not least because it’s partly a book you write yourself (40% of the books is journaling space - you’re even encouraged to rip out certain pages if you feel the urge!)
• What was the hardest chapter to write - it might not be what you’d expect

 

You can find Victoria on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ginge_unhinged and the book is now available to preorder from gingeunhinged.com 

 

You can also find us over at  https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training.

In this episode of the podcast I chat to Professor Joyce Harper - an award-winning educator, author, podcaster, academic, and scientist. She is Professor of Reproductive Science at University College London in the Institute for Women’s Health where she is Head of the Reproductive Science and Society Group. I’m very grateful that Joyce agreed to come and chat to me about her work leading the development of a UK Menopause Education and Support Programme.

Joyce and her team are already well into the discovery phase of researching what the programme should include - and here’s the fun part - if you’re listening to this close to the release date in 2024, you can participate in their research by completing this survey: https://ifwh.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8CVKG2I1RZzHGXI or by joining one of the focus groups: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/global-health/uk-national-menopause-education-and-support-programme 

 

The team is very keen to get feedback and input from as broad a range of participants as possible - so if you have things to say, please get in touch with them! 

We also talk about Joyce’s podcast - Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me This? - and her love of cold water swimming - she's even co-authored a scientific paper all about the impact of cold water swimming on menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38271095/ (free to read)

You can also find her at www.joyceharper.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok and Linkedin

https://joyceharper.com/podcasts/

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

Join me this time as I chat to Sam Rice, author of The Midlife Cookbook and The Midlife Method as we talk all things food and nutrition. We discuss food strategies for dealing with 'nutritional "shoulds" overwhelm', how meal planning is one of the best things you can do to help set yourself up for success, and her favourite 'food hacks' for those of us who feel like we struggle to find the time to eat a healthy balanced diet - particularly pertinent as we approach the Christmas festivities and all the opportunities that presents to over-indulge! 

You can find Sam on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/midlifekitchen/ where she posts load of enticing recipe ideas! 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

In this episode of the podcast I welcome back author and health coach Susan Saunders - Susan’s first appearance on the podcast back in November 2022 focused on preventing Alzheimer’s disease and has been one of our most popular episodes.

 

Susan’s latest book The Power Decade published soon after that and will be out in paperback on 8th June (link below). The book takes us through how to thrive after menopause, and focuses on the ‘window of opportunity’ we have in, and soon after, menopause to take action to prevent the chronic diseases of aging – such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and dementia. 

 

In countries where the average age of menopause is 51, and the average life expectancy is 83, we’re potentially living half our adult lives in a post-menopausal state. The Power Decade explains the impacts of the menopause transition on our metabolic health, heart health, bone health, and brain health. 

 

Susan talks about the ‘protective cloak’ that our reproductive hormones wrap us in pre-menopause, and how the drop in those hormones impacts all areas of our health, helping us understand the changes that happen in the body and what we need to do to remain healthy. She quotes The Lancet as calling menopause “a cardiometabolic turning point for women” - so I ask her to explain more about cardiometabolic health and why it becomes so important to keep top of mind post-menopause.

 

Her book is peppered with interviews with postmenopausal women who are thriving, explaining what they have done to get there, providing a sense of hope and renewal, and showing us that post-menopause can be a positive time where we experience a ‘rebound’ and renewed energy. 

 

You can find Susan at www.susansaundershealth.com  and on Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/susansaundershealth/ 

 

The Power Decade: 

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-power-decade-how-to-thrive-after-menopause-susan-saunders/7644592?ean=9781472291615 

 

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

In this episode we catch up with Dr Beth Thomas - who works with me at Managing the Menopause as our clinical lead, is a GP, and a menopause specialist seeing private clients with Everything Menopause.

 

We are covering - only a little belatedly - the latest research and developments that were presented this summer at the British Menopause Society conference. So if you’d like to find out more about what an expert in menopause is excited about, listen on to hear about:

• Fezolinetant (Veozah) - and when we might expect to hear more about this new class of drug for vasomotor symptoms being available for those who can’t take HRT 
• Why rates of endometrial cancer have greatly increased over the last decade
• The ‘Rule of 20’ for addressing weight gain in menopause
• Some fascinating facts about our gut microbiome and why this is the next big thing
• Ethnic differences in menopause symptoms, onset, and access to care
• Female-specific risk factors for increased risk of cardiovascular disease
• How to deal with sleep disturbance - and why you should care about ‘WASO’
• And last, but by no means least, tune in to find out about ‘Beth’s Rule’ and why we might all want to Be More Beth! 

 

You can find Beth at https://www.instagram.com/dr.beththomas/ and both of us at www.managingthemenopause.com 

 

My guest this time is Helen Tomlinson - Head of Talent Development at The Adecco Group and the UK government’s first ever Menopause Employment Champion.  

In this voluntary role, Helen’s focus is on encouraging employers to create more supportive environments to help women experiencing menopause to stay and progress in work. 

We discuss some of the changes that Helen is hoping to enable over the next few years, to help organizations of all sizes support menopausal employees. There are exciting developments on the horizon, including a new hub for sharing and disseminating best practice, and a national allyship program, to provide support for those who are working in SMEs that simply don’t have the same resources available as larger companies.

We also talk about the free support already out there, including the new BSI free standard on menstrual health and menopause in the workplace (available at https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/standards/understanding-menopause-and-menstrual-health/) 

We cover the ‘less visible’ symptoms - loss of confidence, brain fog, not sleeping, anxiety - which can have more far-reaching impact than physical symptoms on those in more senior roles. Symptoms which are not only harder to articulate, but harder for employers to practically support with reasonable adjustments  - which makes it even more important for employers to find individualized solutions to allow them to remain in their role.

Helen gives us a great personal example of how a manager leaping into solution mode and making assumptions can actually be counter-productive.  

We also delve into the many ways companies can help create cultural change:

• senior people sharing their experiences
• top-down support
• vulnerable leadership modelling openness to others within the organization 
• allyship 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training.  

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

Suzanne Noble started up her site 'Advantages of Age' five years ago to bust through the negative narrative around aging, we also discuss her Startup School for Seniors (and startup culture more generally), and her newest venture nestful.io which aims to make co-living for the over 50s as easy as ordering dinner on Deliveroo... If you've ever harboured not-so-secret dreams of growing old disgracefully with your girlfriends on an alpaca farm in Wales (just me?) then you'll really enjoy this one!

You can find Advantages of Age at https://advantagesofage.com/ and Startup School for Seniors at https://startupschoolforseniors.com/

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

Join me today as I chat to women’s health coach Kate Rowe-Ham about her journey to founding the Owning Your Menopause app. 

 

Kate started out offering free workouts on Instagram to time-pressed parents after struggling to find the time to work out following the birth of her third child. The build up of (what she now knows were perimenopause) symptoms - serious joint pain, night sweats, panic attacks and palpitations - left her feeling desperate. Unable to get a clear diagnosis from her own GP, she was forced to seek private medical advice to get her perimenopause diagnosis and on to HRT. 

 

This led her to pivot her business and to the development of the Owning Your Menopause app, which offers daily workouts, plus advice from experts in nutrition, sleep, breathwork, and access to specialist GP advice. We talk about how critical strength training is for this midlife transition (and beyond) for preventing osteoporosis, improving cardiovascular health, strengthening our joints, and reversing the decline in muscle mass that begins after we turn 30 (increasing muscle mass in turn elevates our resting metabolic rate).

We also discuss the importance of rest, and adopting a sustainable approach to exercise - plus how to start when you really don’t feel like you can do anything at all, if symptoms are all-consuming. As busy parents we both know how challenging it can be to fit in a daily workout - the Owning Your Menopause app helps make that less of a chore with encouragement from like-minded members who are all there cheering one another on - and offering empathy on bad days…

 

You can find Kate at https://www.instagram.com/katerh_fitness and Owning Your Menopause at https://owningyourmenopauseapp.com/gym/Owning-Your-Menopause/ 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

What more fitting way to end this week - which included World Menopause Day - than to release this interview with Fiona Clark, Founder of the Menopause Research and Education Fund.  

Fiona is an Australian journalist who previously worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and was a correspondent in the Soviet Union at the time it collapsed. She returned to Australia and worked as a reporter on and then supervising producer of its equivalent of Newsnight before leaving the ABC to move to medical publishing in the early 2000s. She then moved with her family back to Russia for what was supposed to be a year, but ended up being around 10 years. She then moved to London where she set up Harley Street Emporium with the aim of delivering evidence-based information about skincare to women, but which quickly evolved to cover menopausal health and for the last 5 years she has carried out thousands of interviews with menopause experts and many amazing women about their experiences.

Most recently she has launched the Menopause Research and Education Fund and that’s why I asked her to come and tell us more about why such a charity is needed and what their plans are for the future.  

MREF is fundraising to obtain charity status and its mission is to:

- fund independent research into menopause (including topics such as migraine, HRT post-cancer, mental health, joint pain, impact of longer term HRT usage and more)

- make sure all healthcare professionals have the education they need to help women adequately and appropriately and,

- that all those who go through menopause have the evidence-based information they need so they can make informed decisions.

 

With so many of us likely to live over a third of our lives in a post-menopausal state, it’s critical for our understanding of long-term health and wellbeing that all aspects of menopause and perimenopause get the independent research that we are crying out for. 

To find out more about MREF and donate to their work visit https://mref.uk/

If you enjoyed this epside it would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

Breeda Bermingham is an award-winning menopause coach on a mission to change the global story for menopausal and midlife women. Breeda coaches women individually and in group settings focusing on symptom management along with the positive aspects of menopause transition. She is a staunch believer that the taboo around menopause continues to limit and disempower women in their middle years, and needs to be removed in order to enable women to thrive. She’s also the best-selling author of  “Midlife Women Rock - A Menopause Story for a New Generation.”

We talk about how our generation is finally bringing about the tipping point for societal change to break through the shame, stigma, and taboo surrounding menopause. Back in 1910, the average age of reaching menopause was 56, with an average life expectancy of 58, so it’s clear to see where the correlation between ‘old age’ and menopause is rooted - but now with many of us spending upwards of 30 years post-menopause, that narrative is both inaccurate and damaging. Midlife women have so much to offer in terms of their creativity and their potential for leadership. 

Breeda and her fellow campaigners have succeeded in bringing the topic of menopause mainstream in Ireland with the launch in October 2022 of the nationwide education and awareness campaign which resulted from the government’s 2019 Women’s Health Taskforce. 

Since then much has changed globally of course around the narrative, with more of us sharing our stories. That said, we still have a long way to go in breaking taboos - most critically in the workplace - where a few courageous voices sharing their experiences can make a huge difference to creating a culture where the topic is as normalized as any other life transition. Breeda is leading the way in telling a new, more positive story about the second half of women’s lives, one where our changing hormones allow us to recalibrate, refocus, and tap into our full power. 

You can find Breeda at https://midlifewomenrockproject.com/ and her book at https://midlifewomenrockproject.com/book/ 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

In this episode I chat to Emma Bardwell, registered nutritional therapist and co-author of The Perimenopause Solution, written with menopause specialist Dr Shahzadi Harper. 

 

The book is designed to be easily accessible, and evidence-based, with a really nice bullet point summary at the end of each chapter to refer back to, and a whole chapter helping the reader to 'eat to beat their symptoms'.

 

We touch on topics such as why lack of oestrogen has such a wide-reaching impact on the body, and the effects of stress on perimenopause symptoms. Emma strongly recommends making small, incremental changes, to help support our bodies with positive nutrition.

 

You can find Emma on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/emma.bardwell/ 

 

The Perimenopause Solution is published by Penguin: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1443523/the-perimenopause-solution/9781785043642.html

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

 

My guest this time is Tanith Carey: Tanith is an award-winning writer and author of 12 books on psychology, parenting and social history, her writing has been featured in the Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, The Spectator and the Sydney Morning Herald. Her latest book is called ‘Feeling ‘Blah’?: Why anhedonia has left you joyless and how to recapture life’s highs.’

 

In this interview we cover:

• How she noticed a ‘lack of joy’ in her own day to day life and subsequently discovered the term “anhedonia” for the first time whilst late-night Googling
• the clash between our 'cave-dweller brain' and our 'always-on/more, more, more' modern world of comparison culture and how this hijacks our dopamine reward circuits to create a perfect breeding ground for anhedonia 
• what dopamine is actually ‘for’ - it may not be what you think…
• our inbuilt ‘negativity bias’ and how to combat it
• “glimmers” - little moments of joy that can help reduce cortisol levels
• how oestrogen and our other hormones impact the 'feel good chemicals' in us as cyclical beings and especially in peri/menopause
• how stress is the greatest enemy of joy there is…and how anticipation of ‘planned in’ activities that bring rest, enjoyment, or feed our ‘spark’ can make such a big difference to how we feel
• how joy is actually made up of three different components, rather than being just one thing
• how behavioural activation works 
• how we 'get our mojo back' - the ‘water pump’ analogy
• the impact of exercise and gratitude on our mood
• the difference between anhedonia and depression

 

And much, much more!

You can find Tanith at https://www.instagram.com/tanithcarey and https://www.instagram.com/no_more_blah_book and you can buy Feeling Blah fromhttps://www.waterstones.com/book/feeling-blah/tanith-carey/9781801292375 or wherever you buy your books!

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

This time on the podcast my guest is Tina Backhouse, General Manager at Theramex. Tina joined Theramex in 2020 to lead the UK Women’s Health business, helping to establish them as the largest supplier of HRT & Menopause Products in the UK. She is passionate about ensuring equality of care for all women regarding their health in the UK, and that women have choice in their healthcare options.

 

She joins us to discuss the recent research the company funded to investigate disparities in access to menopause support: for example, just 5% of black women are on HRT vs 20% of white women, and individuals in areas of social deprivation are significantly less likely to be prescribed the newer, safer forms of HRT. 

 

We also cover some of Tina’s ongoing frustrations at the lack of prioritization and funding available for women’s healthcare - such as the fact that NHS England developed a public health campaign for menopause that was never launched due to lack of funding.

 

Would it surprise you to know that the UK currently has the largest gender health gap in the G20? We also have a staggering 35% gender pension gap.

The report, published in April 2024 interviewed a range of clinicians and allied healthcare professionals, and is available to download at:  https://www.theramex.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Theramex_Tackling-Unequal-Access-to-Menopause-Care.pdf - we discuss the five recommendations that the report concludes with, including better training for GPs and other allied healthcare professionals, and the creation of a national formulary to end the current postcode lottery whereby some newer HRT is available in some areas but not others.

 

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

Join me this time as I chat to author and health coach Susan Saunders as we talk about aging well and what we can do to reduce our chances of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

 

Susan's determination to age well grew out of her personal story. She spent 12 years caring for her mum, who had severe dementia. When her mum was diagnosed, Susan was 36 years old with a toddler, a new-born and a full-time job. Her world was turned upside down – not only was she mum, wife, and boss, she was now a carer too. What made this even harder to bear was that, as a teenager, she’d watched her mum going through the same thing with her mother. 

 

Susan started researching everything she could about aging well. That led her to start The Age-Well Project blog and then a book of the same name, written with her friend Annabel Streets, plus a follow up book The Age Well Plan. Susan is only the third person in the UK to qualify as a coach with neuroscientist Dr Dale Bredesen, author of The End of Alzheimer's, and she now helps women across the world reduce their dementia risk through her coaching programmes. 

 

We talk about the influence of the APOE4 gene - which apparently 20% of the population carries - and how the impact of lifestyle is considerably more important to our risks of developing Alzheimer’s than our genetic make up. 

 

Susan’s next book is on post-menopausal health (due out summer 2023) and she talks us through the ‘window of opportunity’ post-menopause to take action to prevent the chronic diseases of aging - such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and dementia. 

 

One new piece of information I learned in our interview was that our bones are constantly being remodelled and renewed - and that oestrogen and progesterone are critical to driving this process - so when our levels of these hormones drop away, our bone health can dramatically deteriorate if we don’t take action to counteract those changes.

You can find Susan at https://susansaundershealth.com and more info on her books at https://agewellproject.com/our-book/ or find her at https://www.instagram.com/susansaundershealth and https://www.instagram.com/agewellproject 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

Join me this time as I chat to lovely Charlotte Ellison (aka ‘Moodswings and Other Things’ on Instagram) about the hormonal roller coaster we call perimenopause! 

Charlotte (Lotti on Insta) has been assiduously documenting the physical and mental challenges of perimenopause and her mixture of vulnerability, humour, honesty and a nifty turn of phrase has won her a dedicated following over there. An introvert in ‘offline world’ Charlotte talks about using Stories almost as a sounding board…

 

We also talk about:

• how our partners cope living with our meno-rage, noise sensitivity, and the abrupt shift from adept multitasker to bumbling idiot…and the only way through the confusion is total honesty
• the maelstrom of hormones living with two teenage daughters…and what her girls think of her social media exploits…
• giving up alcohol and how for so many of us it doesn't agree with us in midlife and menopause, leaving us the next day with low mood, irritable, impatient 
• the camaraderie and joy of connecting with the midlife/ perimenopause community on social media 
• How taking prescribed antidepressants made her feel 10 x worse but ultimately galvanised her to educate herself about what was going on with her hormones and what she could do to mitigate her symptoms

 

You can find Charlotte over at https://www.instagram.com/moodswings_and_otherthings

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training

My guest on this episode is a well-known voice in the UK menopause community and a hero to many (though she'd be far too humble to accept the accolade I'm sure): Diane Danzebrink. Her campaign, #MakeMenopauseMatter has over 170,000 supporters at the latest count and she has been instrumental in changing the dialogue around menopause, and campaigning for better education - in schools, in workplaces, and yes, for our GPs too.  She talks about how her own surgical menopause brought her to the darkest of places, and how her experience - and her rage at how many other women were suffering needlessly - led her to start the non-profit organisation Menopause Support from her kitchen table. We talk about how much has changed since she started out in 2015 as a lone (and often lonely) voice speaking out about her experience and campaigning for change, the recent successes, her plans for the future and what she hopes the menopause landscape will look like in 2027...

Diane's non-profit Menopause Support can be found here https://menopausesupport.co.uk/

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

This week I delve into ‘the Big O’ - aka Overwhelm, with Carla Miller.  Carla is a leadership coach and best-selling author of ‘Closing The Influence Gap: A practical guide for women leaders who want to be heard’ which reached #1 in the Amazon charts for Business Leadership Skills and was a finalist in the 2023 Business Book Awards.  Carla was CEO of Tiny Tickers and then Managing Director of Charity People, a leading charity recruitment consultancy alongside founding her own coaching business. She is also the host of the chart-topping podcast – Influence & Impact for Female Leaders 

 

We start with chatting about Carla’s own brushes with overwhelm, and move on to examine how overwhelm and burnout are linked, plus Carla’s experience of early menopause and why menopause can often contribute to feelings of overwhelm. 

 

Carla tells us a few of her strategies for managing overwhelm including:

• Normalising that most people feel overwhelm at some point in their lives. No one is giving 100% all the time.
• Figuring out what we might be able to ‘care less’ about at times we might be struggling.
• Coping with company cultures that have a tendency to keep overloading employees: I love Carla’s suggested wording “that sounds amazing, we are fully committed at the moment, so if we are going to start doing that what are we going to stop, to make the space for that?”
• How to avoid over committing - how many ‘shoulds’ are real and how many are our own expectations of ourselves or perceived expectations of others.
• Unless it’s a ‘hell yes!” don’t commit to things on the spot - buy yourself some time to think about it before saying yes and then regretting it (or worse, resenting them!).

 

We also cover ‘non-promotable tasks’ in the workplace (aka office housework), as well as the differences in the types of feedback that men and women get in the workplace. Coincidentally, the same day I wrote these shownotes, I came across these stats from a recent report: About 76% of top-performing working women received negative feedback from their bosses compared to just 2% of high-achieving men (according to a new report from management software company Textio, which analysed stats performance reviews for more than 23,000 workers across over 250 organisations). About 88% of these outstanding women workers receive feedback on their personalities, while the same is true for only 12% of their male counterparts, according to the report.

 

As Carla rightly points out, prioritizing our own needs is not selfish. Many of us feel uncomfortable advocating for ourselves (in and out fo work), but the only person that’s going to be the best advocate for you, is YOU! (I wish I had understood this better in my 20s and 30s…and 40s!).

 

You can find Carla at https://carlamiller.co.uk/ and if you want to work on ‘how to say no’ then why not sign up for her free 5 day “how to say No” challenge at carlamillertraining.com/sayno 

And if you struggle with people-pleasing behaviours, you might also find this episode with Nat Lue helpful: https://middlingalong.com/episodes/middling-along-natalie-lue-helps-us-discover-the-joy-of-saying-no/

 

If you enjoy the podcast please help us grow by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

Follow me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

Join me this time in the first of a (slightly serendipitous) series of three episodes on the topic of aging well. 

  Dr Nichola Conlon is a scientist specialising in the study of healthy aging.  Nichola has a passion for sharing the latest breakthroughs, with a skill for translating science in a digestible and engaging way, encouraging people to age well.  

 

We talk about the science behind some pernicious peri symptoms - brain fog and fatigue - how and why our diminishing oestrogen levels play havoc with our many millions of mitochondria which then leads to a drop in our energy levels. Did you know our hormones are responsible for creating neural connections in the areas of our brain involved in memory and learning? Mind, blown...   We dig in to why our chronological age and our biological age might very well be different. Shockingly research has shown that in just six months of perimenopause our biological age can increase by up to nine years - and by the end of perimenopause our biological age may have jumped up by a total of 20 years!   The good news though is that only 20% of our rate of biological aging is predetermined by our genetics - the other 80% is modifiable through lifestyle changes.    We also cover how oestrogen levels dropping impacts our immune system, creating chronic low-grade inflammation in our cells - and how we can tackle that to improve our overall cellular health.   We then move on to how critical NAD is for both energy levels and cellular repair, how wildly inconvenient it is that levels of NAD start to fall at the same time we experience falling levels of oestrogen and how we can boost our levels of NAD - tune in to find out more.    As a science nerd I found this whole conversation absolutely fascinating - I hope you do too!   You can find out more about Nichola's company Nuchido here: https://nuchido.com/ - she has kindly offered podcast listeners a 20% discount on introductory orders for their NAD supplements if you care to give them a try (code is MIDDLING20).   You can also find her on Instagram here: www.instagram.com/drnicholaconlon where she discusses all things science and aging  

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest this time is psychotherapist Paula Rastrick, creator of The Brain-Body Method - an integrated trauma informed approach to menopause for Highly Sensitive Women.

 

Paula’s story has a good many twists and turns - from a career in HR to moving into sports science and medicine working with a Premier League football team, to then setting up her own physio, yoga and pilates business…in her own words “a high-functioning stress-head”, she started to unravel as she unwittingly hit perimenopause. 

 

An ad for a private menopause clinic in 2017 led her down the path of believing HRT would be the answer to her prayers, but unfortunately for her, the high dose of oestrogen that she was started on only led to further ‘unravelling’ - including leaving her husband and young son for a time.

 

Persistent heavy bleeding combined with the psychological symptoms that were worsening eventually led to the realisation that the prescription she had been given was out of balance - with high oestrogen unopposed with sufficient progesterone. Her subsequent research, delving into her own history of complex childhood trauma, and how this, combined with being a Highly Sensitive Person, made her more susceptible to the impacts of oestrogen have formed the body of her current work on the interplay between trauma, SPS (Sensory Processing Sensitivity) and perimenopause. 

 

In this conversation we dig into:

• What it actually means to be a Highly Sensitive Person (aka someone with Sensory Processing Sensitivity) - how many of us may be HSPs and how that impacts on the brain and nervous system
• How unsafe environments, particularly in childhood, prime our nervous system to be hypervigiliant, and trauma rewires the developing brain
• How HSPs may be more sensitive to medication - including hormone therapy
• How repressed trauma often pops us in perimenopause
• How “shoving the sh*t back in the cupboard” tends to backfire eventually…

 

If, like me, you’re fascinated by the interplay between trauma and menopause symptoms, then you won’t want to miss this one!

 

You can find out more about Paula’s work at https://thebrainbodymethod.com and find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mrspaularastrick/ 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

My guest this time is Katie Windle: Katie is a qualified hypnotherapist and psychotherapist and uses solution focused methods to help those who are being held back in life by anxiety and limiting beliefs to get control back and live a life of joy and ease.

Katie’s own experiences with anxiety, brain fog, overthinking and sleep problems, combined with a stressful teaching career caused her to seek both a solution to her symptoms, and ultimately a change of career. 

In this episode we cover:

• How our brains work under stress and why living in constant ‘survival mode’ with a full ‘stress bucket’ creates so many problems
• How getting back into the intellectual part of our brains makes us calmer, more motivated, happier and can cope more easily (sounds good right?!)
• How our brains work whilst we sleep to empty our ‘stress bucket’ and how hypnotherapy can help us to do the same – and create new patterns of responding
• How long it generally takes to create new neural pathways in the brain
• The range of issues that hypnotherapy may be able to help with

 

Fascinating stuff! You can find Katie at https://www.thehypnotherapyden.co.uk/ and https://www.instagram.com/thehypnotherapyden

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

 

If you're currently going through divorce, or considering it - this episode is for you.

Farhana Shahzady is a Director, Family Law Solicitor, Collaborative Lawyer and Mediator at Family Law Partners. She is ranked in Legal 500 and has practiced for over 20 years specialising in divorce, finances and children. In 2022, Farhana founded the Family Law Menopause Project, with the aim of raising awareness amongst the family law community of the significant impact of menopause on many women so that family lawyers can ensure that their client care and advice is attuned and reflective of this important issue which affects so many women and families.

According to the research conducted by the Family Law Menopause Project and Newson Health Research and Education in 2022, 7 in 10 women (73%) who took part in the survey blamed the menopause for the breakdown of their marriage with a further 67% of the 1,000 women taking part worryingly claiming it increased domestic abuse and arguments. Unsurprisingly, 80% said that perimenopause had placed strain on their children and family life. 

 

In this episode we cover:

• the fact that - given divorce is a stressful life change - this stress may ‘mask’ the symptoms of perimenopause, and at present, most family lawyers simply don’t think to check with clients whether they may be perimenopausal
• the long term financial implications for women if their earning capacity is or has been impacted by perimenopausal symptoms (especially if they have left work as a result), including the ‘pension gap’ - and why this would need to be borne in mind for financial settlements
• why it is important for lawyers to bear in mind the impact symptoms might have on a client (eg extra time for completing complex forms, difficulty remembering certain facts or chronology, difficulty dealing with confrontational situations)

 

You can read more about the research we talk about in the interview at https://www.nhmenopausesociety.org/menopause-puts-final-nail-in-marriage-coffin/

 

You can also find Farhana’s practice at www.familylawpartners.co.uk and the Family Law Menopause Project is on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/lawmenopause 

 

You can find the podcast on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too!  

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training.

The one is not to be missed! Join me as I chat to Kate Moryoussef about how she came to be diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 40, joining a 'Lost Generation' of women who were not diagnosed in childhood, but instead spent years believing they were somehow 'broken' or 'failing' because they were unable to do what other women seemed to do effortlessly.

We talk about the damaging stories this causes women to carry around, and how EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique - or 'tapping') can both help calm down the busy ADHD brain, and release that heavy baggage. 

You can find Kate on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kate_moryoussef/ or follow the links at https://www.coachingbykate.me.uk/quicklinks to find her new podcast dedicated to Womens Wellbeing and ADHD

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest this time is Angelika Buettner, a professional fashion and beauty photographer, who gradually became disillusioned with the lack of representation of older women in the shoots and campaigns she was working on, and decided to do something about it. The result, her seven-year labour of love, is the stunning book entitled 'I AM: Celebrating the Perfect Imperfect' which features the nude portraits and stories of 121 women over 40, redefining our ideas of age and beauty.

Having started off shooting her close friends, she gradually won over the trust of each of her subjects, finding the right locations and giving the women an opportunity to tell their own stories in their own words alongside these stunning images. Most of her subjects had never posed for nude photos before and many found the process transformational in accepting and appreciating their bodies.  Each of these stunning images is a love letter to the female form in all it's many shapes, colours and textures...

Her latest project will be interviewing mothers and daughters, exploring the impact of social media on body image, and we talk a little about that too. In a world that profits from making us feel bad about our bodies, our appearance and our age, loving ourselves exactly as we are is a radical act!

You can find Angelika's work, and buy her book, over at https://www.iam-themovement.com/the-book and on Instagram @iam_by_angelikabuettner

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest this time is Victoria Tomlinson - chief executive and founder of Next-Up - the company she launched in 2018 (at the age of 63), to help businesses and their employees use the skills and talent of the 50+ generation in new ways, before and after retirement.  [Note that our chat was recorded on the eve of the 2024 general election so before the current government was elected!] 

 

A former director at EY, Victoria is a bestselling author and an international speaker on unretirement, personal branding and using LinkedIn strategically as well as on leadership and women on boards. Through Next-Up, she is on a mission to combat age discrimination and get society and employers to value and invest in 50+ employees and use their skills to create the workforce of the future.

Shockingly fewer than 1 in 10 organizations are tackling ageism as part of their EDI strategy and age discrimination is rife. 

 

Victoria quotes hearing from an HR Director at an event that they personally “won’t even look at an applicant’s CV if they’ve worked in one organization for 20-30 years” - and they’re surely not alone… It seems ageism is the one ‘ism’ that no-one is really cracking down on - though Victoria fully expects discrimination cases to increase in the near future. 

 

Despite very well-publicized stats that the share of the population aged 50 and older will increase from 37% in 2020 to 45% in 2050 and widespread skills shortages, many recruiters are still blatantly discriminating against older applicants, and when Victoria posts (as she regularly does) on LinkedIn, she is deluged with hundreds of examples of individuals who have first hand experience of that discrimination. 

 

Next-Up is tackling this in range of ways, with progressive employers, and Victoria mentions a few that are leading the charge, like Unilever (their ‘U work’ model provides a basic contract and benefits, and then employees can contract on top of that for projects of all sizes and shapes that fit with their individual circumstances), and Fullers Brewery who are using Restless to recruit older workers and combat skills shortages. 

 

With multi-generational workforces of five (and soon seven) generations in the workplace, companies need to figure out how to manage the differing needs of all employees for whom traditional 9-5 models just do not work. Also to focus on multi-generational working – purposefully designing boards, projects and everyday work with generations threaded through it all.

 

Victoria also offers her pointers for what older workers can do to ensure that we are not being 'left behind' which include:

 

• Taking advantage of free courses to upskill in tech, and AI in particular, since older individuals have a key role to play in helping companies better understand AI and the places where it needs to be refined - a huge opportunity;
• Data and cyber risks - again , lots of free courses;
• Being mindful of the language we use: avoid saying things like “oh we didn’t do it like that in my day;”
• Respecting, mentoring, and forging relationships with younger people;
• Being curious and cultivating a growth mindset.

 

She also shares her advice for finding ‘age inclusive’ employers and her dream for a future where Unretirement means people retain long term relationships with their employers wherein they come back to to mentor colleagues, companies make use of their valuable knowledge and use them as an interim resource – to cover holidays, maternity leave and more; and individuals retain purpose and value in their work. 

 

You can find Victoria at https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriatomlinson/ and Next-Up at  https://www.next-up.com/

https://restless.co.uk/ is the other organization that Victoria mentions.

Find out more about U Work at https://www.unilever.com/sustainability/future-of-work/future-workplace/ 

If you enjoy the podcast please help us grow by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our weekly newsletter, The Messy Middle: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

My guest this time is Erica Davies - a former fashion editor who has worked with some of the UK’s biggest newspapers, magazines and brands…She founded the hugely popular blog the-edited.com and now has an audience of more than 200,000 followers on Instagram. She’s passionate about encouraging women to make bold, confident and happiness-inducing choices through their clothing and interiors, and her most recent book, Style Chapters, was published earlier this year…and would make a fab Christmas present if you still have any friends or family members to buy for!

 

We talk about 

• where the inspiration for the book came from
• Erica’s advice for changing body shapes in midlife and rethinking what might have worked for us before but doesn't now
• Insider fashion editor tips for figuring out what is flattering - for example for anyone feeling ‘tummy-self-conscious’ 
• Her advice for getting out of a 'style funk'
• Getting the best out of second hand/preloved shopping
• Tips for staying chic whilst dressing to cope with menopause symptoms 
• Dopamine dressing and being more playful with our fashion choices for increasing our confidence 
• And just for fun, Erica’s three ‘Desert Island Dresses’ that she’d pick if she could only keep three…

 

You can find Erica at the-edited.com or https://www.instagram.com/erica_davies

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

This is the 100th episode of the Middling Along podcast! 

In a week of overwhelming world political developments, this podcast feels particularly timely...

This time I welcome Nahid de Belgeonne: Nahid has had a varied career having previously worked fashion, publishing, technology and wellness.  During her perimenopause, she swapped bricks and mortar studios in central London for her online clinic and now lives by the sea.

Her Soothe Programme helps women recover from Burnout, anxiety and trauma and she has translated all her expertise into a book called ‘Soothe, the book your nervous system has been longing for.’  

Nahid talks to me about her own struggles with chronic anxiety, stress-related skin conditions, neuralgia, and almost dying from gangrenous appendicitis because she refused to listen to her own body - and subsequently learning how to ‘rewire’ the brain through movement.  Her in-depth research into why certain things work and why they are good for you led her to write ‘Soothe’ and the programme it is based on. 

 

Listen to our chat to find out more about:

• How we are conditioned to do more, and more, and more…putting ourselves at the bottom of the priority list;
• How if you regulate yourself you also non-verbally regulate those around you - a win-win;
• How important it is to carve out time when your brain is not being constantly stimulated;
• How, if you are wholly engaged with what you are doing, your levels of contentment go up;
• That you feed information to your brain through your senses, interoception - listening in to the signals your body is sending you;
• Why we need to internalize our comfort instead of externalizing it;
• Why we need to be dealing with microstressors as they happen throughout the day instead of saving them all up and trying to ‘deal’ with them at the end of the day. 
• What the seemingly simple act of rocking can do for our bodies and brains.

As Nahid says in the book: “The brain’s job is to keep us alive by budgeting our resources…Your brain is constantly predicting what will happen to you next…”

Our brains are working so incredibly hard in the modern world aren’t they? Did you know that our visual distance gets fixed if sitting all day looking at a screen, which sends alarm signals to the brain. Walking in green spaces is a great antidote, even just for a short period of time - but walking in general is also helpful, the way our eyes move when we walk is also calming for our brains!  

 

Nahid also suggests that we treat your phones as a rare and precious commodity rather than an appendage! The importance of social connections and interactions for a healthy nervous system cannot be underestimated...there's so much more in this episode I'd love you to discover.  

For now, I’ll leave you with my favourite quote from the book:

“...what if ambition, speed and acquisition were not the only human goals? What if we also valued sensing, exploring, learning, the beauty of the process, resting, creating, pausing, resetting, repairing, calibrating, or even compassionately being?” 

 

You can find more about Nahid’s work on her website:

www.thehumanmethod.co.uk 

Buy the book at https://www.waterstones.com/book/soothe/nahid-de-belgeonne/9781800817104 

You can find her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehumanmethoduk/ 

You can also find her on Substack: https://nahiddebelgeonne.substack.com/ 

If you enjoy the podcast please help us grow by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

In this episode I welcome Dr Angela Wright from Spiced Pear Health. Angela is a GP, Menopause Specialist and Clinical Sexologist. She is particularly interested in improving sexual function and menopausal symptoms in women who have undergone cancer treatment. Angela is passionate about women’s health and sexology and is frequently asked to teach or talk about this subject. She is a registered trainer for the BMS & FSRH, involved in training future menopause specialists and is an active committee member of the British Society of Sexual Medicine, and the education committee of the Primary Care Women's Health Forum.

 

We covered so much in such a short space of time!  We started by talking about the impact of localised (vaginal) oestrogen vs what systemic HRT does - both for GSM (genito-urinary syndrome of menopause) and for sexual dysfunction.  For anyone wanting to know more about GSM, or pass information on to their GP, Angela recommends the British Society of Sexual Medicine consensus statement on GSM that’s available on their website (linked below). 

She goes on to explain that there is no increase in recurrence risk for oestrogen receptor positive breast cancers when using localized oestrogen to treat symptoms (and that it can be used alongside letrozole and tamoxifen). We discuss the need for patients to be able to make an informed choice about risks vs benefits, which can be challenging when healthcare professionals are not taught to understand the impact that GSM and sexual dysfunction can have on quality of life - certainly male sexual dysfunction gets a lot more attention and usually pretty rapid treatment! 

 

We move on to discuss ‘sex tech’ and the burgeoning menopause ‘market’ in this area, including laser therapy (TLDR: more research needed, long term effects not known, it’s expensive, and vaginal oestrogen would be more effective in the majority of cases).

 

Angela gives an overview of what self-care practices can be helpful for someone struggling with GSM - listen in to find out some very little known information about the clitoris (and how to keep it healthy) that was totally news to me! She also explains that a range of prescription medicines (in particular antidepressants, but also antihistamines, and blood pressure medication) can mess with our sexual responsiveness, so could be something to discuss with our healthcare provider. 

 

For anyone struggling that wants to find out more, or support them in advocating for better care, Angela recommended a wide range of resources listed here: 

 

Mind The Gap, by Karen Gurney

Better Sex Through Mindfulness, by Lori Brotto

Becoming Clitorate, by Laurie Mintz ​​

 

Institute for Psychosexual Medicine website directory of practitioners https://www.ipm.org.uk/patients/specialists/ 

COSRT https://www.cosrt.org.uk/ - list of therapists 

British Society for  Sexual Medicine (email admin@bssm.org.uk and ask for a local practitioner) 

Menopause-ull webinars ​​ https://www.mnetwork.org.uk/resources/recorded-webinars/ 

You might also be interested in our testosterone episode with Dr Katie Barber: https://middlingalong.com/episodes/middling-along-dr-katie-barber-helps-us-get-to-grips-with-testosterone-dos-and-donts/ 

You can find Angela online at  ​https://spicedpearhealth.co.uk/ and https://www.instagram.com/spicedpearhealth/

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

This time we go all in on testosterone with Dr Katie Barber.

Katie is the Clinical Lead for the NHS Community Gynaecology Service in Oxfordshire where she continues to work as a Women’s Health GP and Menopause Specialist alongside her work as Clinical Director of Oxford Menopause. She’s also part of the British Menopause Society Advisory Council.

 

We do a deep dive on everything you might want to know about testosterone including: 

• what being prescribed ‘off license’ actually means
• why there are no products here in the UK designed for use by women and whether that is that likely to change
• why testosterone is only licensed to treat low libido
• why doctors don’t prescribe testosterone on its own without systemic HRT
• the three products available here in the UK on the NHS
• why low libido is a multifactorial issue and why that is important
• what blood tests and checks are routinely carried out before and after prescribing
• future research planned to look at testosterone use for other symptoms
• what to do if your GP is reluctant to prescribe testosterone 

You can find Katie at https://www.oxfordmenopause.com/ and on Instagram @oxfordmenopause 

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Welcome back to episode 30 of the podcast - woot! This time we welcome photographer Jenny Smith.

Jenny followed her long-held dream of working as a photographer after the birth of her son following IVF treatment. Several year later, after muddling through with a range of perimenopause symptoms, it was a moment of sheer rage - over something as silly as chicken wings - combined with a lucky moment listening in to a podcast, that led her to realise she was in perimenopause and seek help.

Since then, she's started the Dear Hormones podcast - a confessional of all the bonkers things our hormones have made us say or do - because sometimes if you don't laugh, you cry! We also talk about her passion project - 40 Over 40 - a series of stunning photographic tributes to women over 40 who are making a difference to the lives of other women. Having started out firmly in the menopause sphere, it was since pivoted to have a broader focus - but that's the beauty of this kind of project, you just go where you feel like it!! 

You can find Jenny at https://www.jennysmithphotography.co.uk/ and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jennysmithphoto/ 

The Dear Hormones podcast is at https://www.instagram.com/dearhormones/ 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

My guest this time is Elizabeth Dalziel - a photographer with an illustrious string of assignments under her belt. She’s lived and worked in more countries than most of us will visit in our lifetimes! She has won awards for her work covering the Iraq war, the 2004 Tsunami in Asia, and - closer to home - documenting the homeschooling of her children during the pandemic.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer aged 48, she was put into a chemically-induced menopause and plunged immediately into a maelstrom of hot flashes, mood swings, brain fog, depression and more. 

She felt like she was falling apart….but Elizabeth has used her experience to fuel her creativity and created a brilliant photojournalism project that includes self-portraits, images of friends (depicting their own symptoms and struggles), images from different cultures around the world, and images of prominent activists and medics working in the menopause space. 

Tune in to find out more about Elizabeth’s personal experience of menopause, her creative processes, and the insights she has gained from her work with women in other cultures and countries. 

You can find the series at https://www.elizabethdalziel.com/index  

 

If you enjoy the podcast please help us grow by sharing this episode, or writing a review.

You can also find me at www.thetripleshift.org and connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmacthomas/ 

In this episode I welcome Jill Ross and Sarah Garton, both of whom are Managing Directors at Accenture in the UK. Jill and Sarah are the driving force behind Accenture’s MenoWarriors affinity group, and take us through how the group was established, and what Accenture has done to become accredited as a Menopause Friendly Employer here in the UK.

 

Sarah shares her personal story of ‘outing’ herself as menopausal in a room full of colleagues in dramatic style - far from putting the kibosh on her career trajectory at Accenture, she feels the opposite has happened - despite, or perhaps because of, her willingness to be vulnerable and open about her struggles. Jill also candidly shares her experiences of anxiety and loss of confidence at work - and what has helped her. 

 

We also cover:

• the importance of male allies and how Accenture support male allies to confidently have those conversations in the workplace;
• how companies can support the emotional symptoms of menopause as well as the physical ones;
• the business case for making menopause an integral part of inclusion strategies;
• that businesses don’t necessarily need blockbuster budgets to make a big difference*;
• geographical differences in opening up conversations in the workplace and how the UK is leading from the front;
• the impressive results of their survey that clearly demonstrate the impact of their work around menopause support on employee retention

 

* the BSI has some great free resources you can share with your HR team or senior management here: https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/our-services/events/events/2023/menstrual-and-menopausal-health-in-the-workplace/ 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

Join me this time as I chat to Heather Jackson, one of the co-founders of GenM (the menopause partner for brands). Heather talks us through her own perimenopause experience, including a scary episode where she genuinely thought she was having a heart attack, she reveals how utterly unprepared she was for perimenopause and why that in turn inspired her and Sam Simister to create GenM.

As Heather rightly points out, we wouldn't enter a marathon without the right kit and preparation, and yet every year millions of women enter perimenopause totally unprepared. GenM is helping to move the needle, by engaging with brands (large and small) to both support their own employees, but also to ensure that they are catering appropriately to what is effectively 20% of their market share (when you look at it like that, it's a no-brainer).

Brands, Heather tells me, are taking notice and adapting, but it takes time, and campaigns are planned a long way in advance so visible change is slow to bloom.

But there's also action we can take ourselves - we don't have to wait for the companies we work for to wake up to this: as Heather says, we can Be The Change and be the catalyst for those conversations to happen! 

You can find Gen M at https://gen-m.com/mission/  and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/genm_official

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

In this episode I am joined by Leigh Walters-James who is a Managing Director with Accenture in the UK. Leigh is an advocate for inclusion and diversity and sponsor of the Accenture Accent on Gender and MenoWarriors initiatives within the UK. Leigh’s colleagues Jill Ross and Sarah Garton were interviewed here on the podcast last year to talk about what Accenture has been doing to move the needle on menopause in the workplace, and having met Leigh in person, I’m delighted that he agreed to come on and talk to me about the role of male allyship.

Given that Accenture has been so proactive on the topic of menopause for many years now, Leigh has lots of learning to share, including:

• how important it is for men to learn about menopause so they can recognise if and when it impacts someone in their team;
• discuss it openly and often to help normalize it as a topic of conversation;
• share progress and best practice across office locations, and with customers where appropriate; 
• don’t overthink it too much - just start somewhere - where that is will be different for each organization so do it in a way that works where you are;
• culture may not be as much of a barrier as you think it will;
• get comfortable being uncomfortable - listen for more on Leigh’s tips for involving male colleagues in the conversations;
• the critical role of male sponsors and top-down support;
• don’t ‘segregate’ sessions into those for just women or just men;
• breaking down the taboo also opens the door for men to be open and honest about their own health/mental health challenges, and their vulnerabilities: it’s a win-win;
• becoming a ‘go to guy’ for menopause can get you a lot of attention at parties! 

 

Most, if not all, of these apply whatever the size of the organization - or available budget.

If you'd like to catch up with the earlier episode with Sarah and Jill, you can find it at https://middlingalong.com/episodes/middling-along-jill-ross-and-sarah-garton-on-developing-a-community-of-menowarriors-at-accenture/

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

In this episode, I chat to Louise Lewis, whose own experiences of stress and burnout earlier in her career now inform her approach to helping stressed out, frazzled women (I'm sure many of us can identify with that!) reclaim their energy and restore calm through nutrition and lifestyle changes. We cover the effects of stress and the stress hormones on our bodies, the impact of the last two years of the pandemic - aka collective trauma - and how a permanent "doing vs being" mode with no downtime prevents our bodies from recovering. The good news is, even small pockets of calm in our busy lifestyles can help us to get back on an even keel. Tune in to find out more - and if you find it helpful, why not share with a frazzled friend?!

 

You can find Louise at https://louise-lewis.com/

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

If you’re listening to this close to release in December, then I invite you to step away from the hustle and bustle of holiday prep for a soothing half an hour in the company of Kate Codrington - make yourself a warm drink, grab a blanket, and nestle in! 

 

Kate is the author of Second Spring: the self-care guide to menopause. Published by Harper Collins, it’s the first book to give a psychological map for menopause, one of the top ten self-help books of 2022 according to The Independent.  Kate mentors people in perimenopause and beyond, runs nature-based Yoga Nidra sessions, hosts the Life - An Inside Job podcast, and creates multi-level art textile projects. When she’s not doing these things you’ll find her playing in her compost heaps.

 

Kate walks us through the seasons of pre-, peri-, and post-menopause: from our Autumn of editing out the things that no longer serve us, where we slow down, and recalibrate after years of looking after others, to our Winter, accepting, softening and hunkering down, to our Second Spring as rebirth and a time for discovering new creative pursuits. 

 

We also talk about how Kate uses yoga nidra in her practice (meditation for people who hate meditation as she calls it!) - helping to restore calm and reduce the overload on our frazzled nervous systems. Kate’s website - https://www.katecodrington.co.uk/ - has a wealth of free resources available, including yoga nidra. 

 

You can find out more about her books Second Spring at https://www.katecodrington.co.uk/second-spring-the-self-care-guide-to-menopause/ and you’ll also find Kate at https://www.instagram.com/kate_codrington/

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

I know you’re going to love this interview with Anna Kilpatrick, blogger and Instagram ‘outfluencer’ @not.needing.new

Anna spent 23 years as a teacher, but when her children’s father had a catastrophic stroke in 2012, it utterly changed all their lives.

Anna talks candidly about how the huge change in personal circumstances impacted her (and the family) and how ultimately she came to realise that living with less, gave her more freedom to be there for her children when they needed her.

Anna is a passionate advocate for both preloved fashion, the main topic of her Instagram account, but also ‘the joy of enough’ - living with only what we truly need, and not being sucked into the constant feeding frenzy of ‘needing new’ things to make us happy.

We also talk ‘comparisonitis’ and how we face that down, the shame and stigma that can still attach to preloved clothing and why she is so passionate about proving you can still be stylish on a seriously tiny budget, and her ‘lifeboat analogy’ which really did make me stop in my tracks, perhaps it will resonate with you too…

You can find Anna at https://www.notneedingnew.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/not.needing.new/

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

 

Join me as I talk to Dr Mridula Pore, the CEO and co-founder of Peppy Health, a mobile app which aims to transform digital healthcare in the areas of infertility, pregnancy, the early days of parenting, and most interestingly to us, menopause.

We discuss how Peppy supports users, her journey to founding the company, how she sees health-tech democratising access to health care and support, and how apps like Peppy can help ensure that talented women don't drop out of the workforce at the peak of their careers. 

You can find out more about Peppy Health here https://peppy.health/ 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

I’m incredibly happy to be introducing you this time to Emerald May - Emerald is an international Embodied Sex, Intimacy & Breathwork Coach. Her passion and mission is to support women and parents to live a more authentic, connected and pleasure-filled life, whilst raising the next generation. I had the pleasure of working with Emerald as a client a few years ago (to be fully transparent), and I can honestly say it was quite an unexpectedly transformative experience. 

If you’ve ever wondered what an ‘intimacy coach’ actually does - well now’s your chance to find out! In this warm and wide-ranging interview we cover topics including:

• patterns of disconnect and waning of desire in longer term relationships;
• how little we are taught when we are growing up around expressing our desires (especially if socialized as female), and how Emerald works to provide the skills, tools, and language for us to manage our emotions and express those desires - and boundaries;
• new relationships in midlife are a chance to avoid repeating same patterns and mistakes and learn about our needs (and see the link below to the work of Dr. Evelin Molina Dacker and the STARS Talk Emerald refers to here);
• sex and intimacy doesn’t happen in a vacuum - all relationships take work, even the one we have with ourselves, and it’s easy to fall into not prioritizing intimacy, especially if we happen to have children around the house!;
• different tools and techniques that Emerald uses, including the Wheel of Consent, the Three Minute Game, the Yes/No/Maybe Game, and Waking the Hands (and listen to this part to learn the term ‘desire smuggling’ and what it means!);
• spontaneous desire - and why scheduling time for intimacy is essential.

I hope you enjoy this episode, if you want to find out more about working with Emerald you can find her at  http://www.rootedpleasure.com

Here are some of the resources mentioned in this episode:

Wheel of Consent: https://bettymartin.org/category/wheel-of-consent/

STARS Talk: https://www.maketimeforthetalk.com/

Emily Nagosaki - Come Together https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/712001/come-together-by-emily-nagoski-phd/

Cyndi Darnell - Sex When you Don’t Feel Like It - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538161708/Sex-When-You-Don%27t-Feel-Like-It-The-Truth-about-Mismatched-Libido-and-Rediscovering-Desire

 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ 

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

Don’t forget to subscribe - and please do write a review which is so vitally important to help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources

In this episode I'm joined by menopause specialist and founder of Oxford Menopause, Dr Katie Barber, to bust some menopause myths and misconceptions. Join me as Katie walks us though some of the most common of them: including being told we're 'too young' to be in perimenopause, that we can't be in perimenopause because we 'still have periods' or 'the blood tests seem fine'...we also talk about understanding risks (eg for breast cancer), why testosterone is generally prescribed in addition to HRT and not on its own (and why it's such an important hormone for women), as well as what to expect if you decide to stop taking HRT later in life, (and why you might want to stay on it for longer than you might think).

 

You can find out more about the services offered by Oxford Menopause clinic here: https://www.oxfordmenopause.com/ 

 

Don't forget to follow us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ or find out more/listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts to share the love!

You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training. 

The biology nerd in me is so happy about this one! Joining me this time is Professor Jack Gilbert from the University of California San Diego: in 2023 he gave the Annual Lecture at the British Menopause Society conference, which is how his work came to my attention (via our Managing the Menopause Clinical Lead - also my sister-in-law - Dr Beth Thomas). 

 

In the course of this wide-ranging conversation that focuses on our gut microbiome we cover:

• why understanding the interaction of our sex hormones with the microbiome is a burgeoning area of science and how everything in the body is connected in series of complex feedback cycles; 
• The key role of decreasing oestrogen in inflammation: leading to depression, anxiety, aches and pains, and gastrointestinal issues;
• How our microbiome changes pre- to post-menopause (post-menopause the female microbiome tends to look much more like it would in men);
• The important of butyrate and why a healthy gut barrier is so important;
• Why we should consider ‘priming’ the body to consume fibre with fermented foods;
• The long-term chronic health implications of not getting enough dietary fibre, which are often not felt immediately but accumulate over decades;
• How fecal transplants are being used to repopulate the gut microbiome - early studies have shown promise in menopause symptom treatment but more research is needed;
• That HRT appears to ‘rescue’ gut dysbiosis (reduce inflammatory bacteria, more balanced microbiome);
• The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis (aka how your body senses stress): - cortisol keeps you alert and anxious, but the system can be hijacked by inflammatory bacteria, neuroinflammation triggers the HPA axis causing elevated anxiety, i.e. there is no reason to be anxious but the body is on high alert;
• Why acetominophen (paracetamol) can cause liver cirrhosis with excessive consumption in certain people;
• How antibiotics wipe out other useful bugs that keep resistant strains under check, and how ‘problem’ strains thrive on high sugar and high saturated fat (and why your diet in the run up to an operation could make a huge difference);
• Exposure to microbes in nature and the potential impacts of bacteria in soil that have an antidepressant effect;
• ‘Gut feelings’: how the state of our gut can impact our decision-making abilities, and that changes in microbiome can impact how hungry we are, our propensity to snack, and even our choice choice of snacks…eg sugar cravings;
• How 80% of serotonin is made in gut, but that it is actually a  serotonin precursor that can pass out of the gut into the body to then be made into serotonin by other cells - although the relationships between levels of serotonin in the gut and the brain is not currently understood. 

 

Listen to the end to find out about the research study that Professor Gilbert would  most like to run if he had no constraints! 

 

You can find our more about Professor Jack Gilbert’s work at:

https://gilbertlab.ucsd.edu/ 

You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes at https://middlingalong.com  

 

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share 

 

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Get our free 'Guide to your GP appointment' at https://www.managingthemenopause.com/free-resources 

Join me this time as I chat to Caroline Nokes, MP. Caroline is the Member of Parliament for Romsey and Southampton North and the current Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee in Parliament.

  We discuss the government's lacklustre (and late!) January response to the recommendations in the WESC's report last year, why menopause training for GPs needs to be mandated, the current HRT shortages, the failure of the UK goverment to engage with manufacturers appropriately ahead of the introduction of the Pre-Payment Certifcate on 1st April, and why we need a National Formulary for HRT.   We also cover the Committee's recommendations around changes to the Equality Act to provide increased protection for those going through a difficult menopause, and why Caroline believes a pilot on menopause leave would have been a useful and insightful experiment.   

You can find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com  

 

It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too! 

You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-1 coaching and workplace training. 

 

This time on the podcast we welcome back Kate Codrington, author of Second Spring, to talk about her new book The Perimenopause Journal, which was published this week.. 

 

Kate’s new book is a lovingly created year-long journal which can be started at any point in your perimenopause journey and builds on her writing around the different seasons of pre/peri- and post-menopause in Second Spring (although you certainly don’t need to have read this to use the Journal). Within you’ll find journaling prompts and guides that help you figure out which of the different types of seasonal self-care are right for you as you navigate the rollercoaster of perimenopause.

 

As Kate herself outlines, there’s no time in our lives where the prompt “How can I be kinder to myself?” is not appropriate, but perimenopause is surely one time where we desperately need to allow ourselves more kindness, gentleness, and forgiveness. 

 

She describes perimenopause as a process of refinement - showing us what isn’t working for us, what is not serving us in life. 

In this sense the Journal is a helpful vehicle for us to be able to look back over a period of time and see how we have developed our self-kindness practices. 

 

The positives of perimenopause - which are much more available to us when we are well rested - include getting clear on our needs and how to get our needs met - which can be easier said than done given we have (generally) been socialized to put our needs last. Processing this can reveal to us the gap between who we actually are and how we have sold ourselves short.  The act of writing things down in a journal helps us build the muscle of articulating what we need. This practice - of accepting our vulnerability and strength, claiming lost parts of ourselves - takes time and however we choose to deal with perimenopause (whether we take HRT or not), this inner process is still likely to be going on…  We joke about ‘enforced rest and respite’ for perimenopausal folk (we can dream!) - but the journal really is a framework for enabling what our minds and bodies are calling out for. 

 

The Perimenopause Journal also gives you access to some of Kate’s fantastic yoga nidra meditations (accessible using the QR codes in the book) for 20-minute doses of deep restorative rest, as well as intention-setting meditations each month. 

 

We unpack a little of my skepticism around moon phases which are used as an anchor in the journal - Kate gently explains why exploring and noting how we feel in relation to the phases of the moon can be supportive especially once the rhythm of other cycles has gone. 

 

I love Kate’s description of the journal as “a soft-lined nest for you to rest in’ - and who would not want that! 

 

You can find out more about Kate’s work and writing (and access her free resource library, including some yoga nidra recordings) at

www.katecodrington.co.uk

 

The Perimenopause Journal is published by David and Charles: https://www.davidandcharles.com/books/diaries-letters-journals/the-perimenopause-journal-9781446313589/

Second Spring is available in paperback: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/second-spring-kate-codrington/5752562?ean=9780008469771

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! 

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com 

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My guest on today’s episode is Sally Mueller, CEO and founder of the Womaness brand with her co-founder Michelle Jacobs. Sally talks about her own journey through menopause, and her dawning realisation that with her understanding of the retail industry she could create some much more appealing options than the lacklustre products recommended by her own doctor at the time.

We talk about why and how Womaness chose to develop specific products to tackle the issues we might face in menopause and why the products we’re used to using might not work for us at this time of life. 

We touch also on the community that Womaness is trying to build - both through their 'After Party' community on Facebook, and through live events this October in celebration of Menopause Awareness Month. 

Tune in to find out what one thing Sally wishes she had known before going through menopause...

You can find Womaness at www.womaness.com and for the month of October UK listeners can get 20% off their first order using the discount code MIDDLING20

They're also on Instagram @mywomaness, to join the After Party just search for the group on Facebook

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You can also find me at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer coaching and workplace training.