Surely something that 50% of us will go through and the other 50% will witness, needs more air time

In a 2012 book by Lucy Kate King, she writes, 'there are constant complaints of flutterings, tremblings and palpitations which Mr Bennet describes as "her nerves." These emotional agitations, after twenty three years of marriage have become his "long time friends."'

Linkedin is a long way from Jane Austen's characters who had little chance of enjoying a career. Yet, in this online space for career journeys to be shared, explored, celebrated, encouraged, even challenged is there room to acknowledge the M word? I started my career as a researcher on a BBC programme and I have been researching in every aspect of my life since, both for work and in my personal life. Growing up without the internet meant that I read a lot of newspapers, encyclopaedias, letters, listened to a lot of radio, and asked a lot of questions.

I am still an insatiable researcher. Yesterday I spotted an talk on Eventbrite that was taking place in a local bar in South London. I signed up, and went along. We all got drinks and sat down to listen to a GP, a psychiatrist and a nutritionist in one of the best panel conversations I have heard for a long time. What was so great? The women listening ranged from 39 - 60, there was a sense of curiosity, we don't have all the answers, the questions were free flowing, the answers were scientific, emotionally intelligent, wise, funny, and relevant.

If you are a woman reading this, you might want the headlines, what did you learn? If you are a man, you might want to know why you have read this far, well it's because this affects us all.

Shock headline - MENOPAUSE CAN LAST 10 YEARS (audible gasp in the room) Is this what Mr Bennet meant by a 'long time friend'??

Good news, there is a lot that can be done to look after ourselves for the long term

Another shock stat - PERI-MENOPAUSE can start 8 YEARS before (many in the room had experienced a battle with GPs to get their symptoms recognised as menopausal)

25% of women GET NO SYMPTOMS AT ALL

10% LEAVE THEIR JOBS / CHANGE ROLES due to the menopause

Science bits I picked up: Estrogen dwindles and this is affects EVERY CELL in a woman's body as they all have estrogen receptors. It affects them in different ways and different times and every person will have a different experience.

(There was lots of info about HRT and advice on medical issues which I won't pass on here as I would not want to mislead or repeat anything out of context.)

New 'to-do list' following this deluge of information:

• Walk outside every day, especially in daylight
• Try and do two and a half hours cardiovascular exercise a week
• Alcohol in moderation, the body cannot recover as fast as before
• Realise that past trauma can be triggered in women going through menopause leading to mental health issues
• Moods can change throughout the day, as do hormone levels
• Gut health is key, menopause affects digestion and eating right will help. Seratonin is made in the gut (I had no idea)
• Eat the rainbow - I think this was to do with having a varied diet, lots of food of different colours every week, herbs, spices, fruit veg etc.
• Muscles are really important but apparently I don't need to buy weights? more research needed, something to do with strength exercises
• Have an aim in life for the second half
• Stress is responsible for a lot, changes our cortisol levels (more research needed)
• Fight or flight is heightened, so you sometimes just need to put yourself first
• Get happiness where you feel happy
• You've got nothing to prove (appropriate for Linkedin I thought!) prioritise your health, do something however small FOR YOU
• EAT A LOT OF PROTEIN with every meal, along with good fats, avocados, olive oil, oily fish, nuts, seeds, cruciferous veg (kale, broccoli, cauliflour, sprouts, cabbage)
• Phrase copied from my notes 'broccoli helps with estrogen detoxification' - no idea what this means, but the next note made sense - find a song that calms you down.
• A whole load of info about vitamins that was a bit overwhelming, but the upshot is, we all need lots of vitamin D, natural and in a pill form, and magnesium taken at night can help with sleep (there are 2 magnesiums, or maybe more, need more info here)

Here endeth the write up of my scruffy notes from the evening. The chat afterwards was open, fun, interesting and necessary. Many jobs, ages, stages were all represented and I left thinking I've learnt a lot but there's a load more I want to research and understand. (Then I went home and made a delicious ribollita soup with carrots, kale, beans croutons, parmesan, olive oil for dinner and felt like I had made a start on my homework...)

Louise Newson on her balance website says, “Whilst the physical symptoms of the menopause are well-known and often discussed, the mental health impact is often ignored and can be catastrophic for many women, having a deeply negative effect on their work, relationships, and finances as a result."

Please join the conversation, man, woman, employer, employee, I think it will be helpful for all, especially as, according to balance there are approx 13 MILLION women of menopausal age in this country right now.