World Menopause Day

When we promote awareness days as a business we try sharing lived experiences as we believe this is one way to show that we are an inclusive employer and everyone is welcome.

So with this in mind, it seems right to share my experience on World Menopause Day to help raise awareness and break down the stigma.

Does the word menopause make you feel old or past your sell-by-date? Well if it does, it shouldn’t. However, I can understand if you or someone you know has had those feelings, as I have.

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Menopause affects everyone differently with over 40 symptoms.? Let me talk you through the main ones that affect me, bearing in mind that everyone's journey is different.

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Brain fog is a real thing - I only believed this once I had experienced it. This can be described as your brain feeling like “cotton wool”.? I became increasingly forgetful, forgetting names/words and found it hard to retain information.?

Does it make you feel inadequate and that you are losing your mind; yes sometimes.

Do I sometimes feel embarrassed; yes.

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How have I had to adapt

From a work point of view, I take different approaches to things and situations, I have accepted that I don’t remember everything so I now write everything down more than I did before, OneNote is now my best friend. I found what works for me, everyone will be different and there's lots of options to help you cope.

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In my personal life I have accepted that I will forget things, this was not an easy thing to do.? I haven't put too much pressure on myself since accepting it.? I mostly believe my husband when he says I didn’t tell him something rather than pushing back and if I am honest, sometimes I just don’t know.

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Emotions - WOW what I can say! They definitely changed and when you least expect it.

I have never been described as an overly emotional person however now, out of nowhere, I can feel a well of emotion that can take over. More tears have been shed (for no real reason) during this time than ever before.

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Energy - Someone has definitely stolen this when I wasn’t looking.

It creeps up on you before you realise.? They say exercise is good however this has been a challenge and remains so to this day.? It is a circle,? you get more energy if you exercise however you need the energy to exercise.

Anxiety? - This still remains a hard one for me to accept.

From being a person who hasn’t really experienced this before it does take you by surprise.? You question yourself. ? Why does today just feel difficult? Why do I struggle some days?? Why do I have that pit in my stomach? ? Why has that task I have done a million times before now come with a fear of doom?? Why is my heart racing???

I just accept how I am feeling and believe it or not this does help, instead of fighting the feeling or ignoring it.

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Hot flushes/night sweats - You now realise that your thermostat is broken but not all the time.? You invest in a fan so you can sleep better at night, and you change what you wear so if you get too hot you can react.? You are the one in the meeting turning on the air conditioner in winter.

I was writing this whilst on a train to a meeting, and I started to ask if it is right for me to share this as I know it will also be shared on LinkedIn.? I was happy to share on our internal communication channel as people know me and would not judge, but what about the outside world???

As a female HR professional going through menopause, I felt I had an obligation to all females to share.??

Like I said before everyone's journey is different. One piece of advice I would share is to accept what you are going through, for me, it made a big difference as well as having a really supportive husband, family and friends.

For the people who have colleagues, partners, family or friends going through this, try to understand their journey and how you can support them. Understand that a little understanding goes a long way.

If you are on your journey, you will find your own way through this. You are still the person you were before and are still capable of achieving anything you did before and what you set your mind to.