After a 7-year meander through peri-menopause, I am now post-menopausal. When I reached that milestone, I felt like celebrating! And the women I shared that with, understood that it was indeed a celebration! I’d made it! And through 7-years of what at times was a s#i!show. More about that later.
I’m also a Clinical Psychologist with nearly three decades of experience under her belt, a mother of four and a lover of musicals and camping (it used to be the hard-core camping version but I’ve bougie’d up a bit and now have a camper trailer. Time for a bit more comfort I say!)
While my work sees me gratefully connect with people from all walks of life, my own journey with perimenopause led me down a path I couldn’t help but explore.…
Like many women, I’ve found perimenopause to be so hard. Perhaps one of the hardest chapters I’ve ever had to navigate (and perhaps like you, I’ve had to navigate a lot!)
From the to-the-bone-fatigue, the forgetfulness and ‘slowness’, the word finding challenges (I was so articulate before!), the rollercoaster of emotions, and the HRT/MHT that hasn’t made much of a dent (again, that’s a story for later).
To the questioning of my identity, my goals, my biz, my lifestyle, my role as a mum and who I want to be…
EVERYTHING has been scrutinised and I’ve had to make a lot of changes that have meant putting myself first (which lemme tell you was a very new concept to me).
In saying this, I mean it when I say that perimenopause was also one of the greatest gifts of my life.
It’s offered me a chance to connect with myself in a way I haven’t before - at least, in a way I haven’t for decades, pre-career and kiddos, and I’ve found this to be so liberating and exciting; I’ve rediscovered long lost hobbies; I’ve spoken up about my needs and desires; I’ve invited in more sweet and satisfying simplicity (I used to want to conquer the world and take on anything and everything!) and I’ve let go of people and things that were weighing me down.
Professionally, I’ve been hor-ri-fied by the lack of professionals serving in this space. That, coupled with the overwhelming amount of referrals I receive to support menopausal women, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands and devote this next chapter of my career to evolving healthcare professionals into menopause experts. While All About Her is in her infancy, I feel so inspired to bring my many years worth of personal and professional experiences to the table, to help drastically improve women’s journeys with menopause and the health professionals who support them.
Thank you for being here with me. Together, I know we’re going to start a movement and get this life stage valued and celebrated as it rightly should. Because it's time ... time for life to be All About Her, so that means it’s all about YOU.