Divergent Menopause (previously The Autistic Perimenopause)

Thank you so much to the incredible Tamsin at 3 Red Cabbage Heads - poetry, knitting and essays of life on Substack! For more amazing bespoke knitted ambhibians and other creatures, check out Tamsin’s Art Makes section. Newt flew all the way from the UK to NZ. No - on a plane, silly! Newts can’t fly. If they could, I wouldn’t be such a fan of them. * shudders * My Nan’s house in Alperton, London w...

Welcome to The Autistic Perimenopause: A Temporary Regression. I’m Sam Galloway and I have been documenting my despair fiercely advocating here for over a year now. Time flies when you are dissociating having fun! The Autistic Perimenopause is a safe community space for sharing our lived experience of our neurodivergent menopause. Together, we explore how hormonal flux affects us day to day, how s...

Trigger warning: Discussion of suicidal ideation, depression, gynaecological healthcare, chronic pain, pregnancy loss, death, cancer, surgery, blood, medical misogyny, mental health conditions. Please take care when reading. If you make it to the end, cute cat photos await you. But no pressure. 🐈 🐈 Art therapy is a recent and later in life addition to my emotional toolkit. And thank goodness, be...

Content warning: if you experience fear of the dentist, please take care when reading. TL;DR* Fluctuating/reduced estrogen in perimenopause can mean bone density reduces in jaws, jaw changes, exposed teeth/receding gums leave us vulnerable to loosening/losing teeth. Prevention is definitely better than cure, especially in the case of periodontal disease. Avoid over brushing and under brushing. The...

Wowee, this post I released in the perineum festive break between Christmas and New Year 2024 has now had 10k+ views, 800+ likes, 100+ comments, and 100+ restacks: I am delighted it has resonated with so many people! I am still receiving comments on the post - although annoyingly not receiving notifications for them all… Thanks to demand avoidance, I have held out months before finally recording a...

Hi Team Auti Peri, My autistic perimenopause is an absolute shitshow right now. How is yours treating you? This week I have had bodily aches and last night I convinced myself to do the five minute evening yoga flow that used to be habitual. I don’t know if my body was aching because I hadn’t been doing it but, just as I was gently finishing triangle pose a muscle below my left hip absolutely wrenc...

Thank you to Kristi Keller 🇨🇦 , Tamu Thomas and many others for joining my live video with Allegra Chapman ! Bonus! Scroll to the end of post for a gratuitous cute cat photo... 🐈 ⬇️ Let's talk about creativity, rest, and why you are doing better than you think — even on the hard days. TL;DR: Rest, Creativity, and Self-Compassion * Creativity looks different for everyone, especially if you're neur...

Hello! I just found out that today, April 24th, is World Hormone Day! It is already getting late into the evening here in Aotearoa NZ. But better late than never. I recorded a last minute video to share with you, where I talk about my hormone replacement therapy (HRT) regimen. There is no attempt to persuade you to try it (although vaginal Ovestin cream is the best!), but more of a run through of...

Hello! If you are new here, welcome to The Autistic Perimenopause: A Temporary Regression! I am Sam - a late diagnosed neurodivergent woman, a tenacious midlife struggler, and an advocate for people in autistic perimenopause. Today I am deep in the midst of neurodivergent perimenopausal misery, so let’s see if I can put words in an order that conveys anything of interest and/or that makes sense…...

Hi Team Auti Peri, How are things with you? Just a short video as I am too tired to write a long form post, but I wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you. In last weekend’s post I walked you through writing an Autism Adapted Suicide Safety Plan. I would love to know if you found it helpful? As you might expect, I am still on a low after that! This video post is a little lighter, in the me...

Trigger warning: this post is entirely written on the topic of preventing autistic suicidality and self-harm. If you are sensitive to these topics, please take extra care of yourself. 💕 Hi Team Auti Peri! Sorry for the bleak post but some of us in the community are on a real low. Naturally, this has led to us sharing cat photos in The Autistic Perimenopause chat group. We need and deserve more th...

This direct message from a new friend on Substack this week has provoked self-reflection on my part, as well as being a reminder of how disempowered and uncertain we can feel during the neurodivergent menopause transition: “I have people around me on polar opposites of the spectrum of pro/anti HRT, and I’m unsure how best to decide what's right for me.” Why are we so opposed and opinionated? I am...

Have you heard of the Blue Zones? Before I was obsessed with autistic perimenopause (hard to believe there was such a time, I know), my special interest was longevity research findings and healthy lifestyle advice. National Geographic explorer and researcher, Dan Buettner , shares the optimal lifestyle principles believed to be responsible for extending the healthspans and lifespans of the oldest...

Hi, I’m Sam (she/her). A late diagnosed neurodivergent woman, a tenacious midlife struggler, and an advocate for people in autistic perimenopause here at The Autistic Perimenopause: A Temporary Regression AKA The Auti Peri. I am delighted to be the host of The Auti Peri Q&A Series! In this series, I host a Q&A interview with a fellow autistic person about their experience of the menopause transiti...

“Hello this is Sam Galloway from The Autistic Perimenopause : A Temporary Regression in New Zealand. I'm currently inside a blanket fort I've built myself. I'm hoping my cats and kids don't try and come and take it off me while I'm recording. We are just going into Autumn here in New Zealand which is fantastic because I've been boiling and hot flushing all the long summer so it's nice and dark her...

Hi, I’m Sam! Late Diagnosed Neurodivergent, Tenacious Midlife Struggler, and Autistic Perimenopausal Advocate. Welcome if you’re new to The Autistic Perimenopause: A Temporary Regression ! Thanks for being here if you are already a regular reader. My mission is to support you during your neurodivergent menopause transition by providing: * Information * Validation * Regulation You are not alone 💕...

The world can feel like a sensory onslaught and drive us rapidly from regulated to the verge of a meltdown in the right wrong conditions. I am so sorry if the background noise of this video also drives you into sensory overload. Rather than cause harm, my goal is to share how Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) can take a regular everyday situation, and turn it into a sensory nightmare for anyone wh...

Hi everyone, Thanks for being here with me at The Autistic Perimenopause: Temporary Regression! I am delighted to be making some small regains in my energy, capacity and functioning levels that have been spiralling, regressing and lagging during my ongoing autistic perimenopause. I am fortunate to have enough supports in place right now, and have built my family’s life around my late-identified ne...

Join me for my next live video in the app Get full access to Divergent Menopause at samgallowayaudhd.substack.com/subscribe

Join me for my next live video in the app Get full access to Divergent Menopause at samgallowayaudhd.substack.com/subscribe

Hello everyone! Have you ever wondered why you feel so low, and whether you will ever feel better again? I have - in fact I still do! Wah! I want to share news of my current auti peri functioning regression with you, but am too far beyond capacity to type, edit and publish a long-form written post. So I am being brave today and sharing my first video post here on Substack! Please let me know in th...

Kia ora koutou/Hello everyone! 💕 I wanted to make an introduction post so new people can get to know who is already here. So grab your favourite bevvie in your favourite mug. You know you have one, and here’s a photo of mine (it’s the floral pīwakawaka/fantail bird mug): 💕 Where are you from? I love to think of us all spreading awareness of autistic perimenopause all over the map! 💕 What brough...

It is in my nature to live in a chronic state of fear. Before I was diagnosed autistic, ADHD and chronically anxious in my late thirties, I always wanted to hide under a rock, where I could be left alone and in peace, free of the demands of social interaction and sensory overload. Flotation sensory deprivation tanks were my second home. These days my anxiety shows up more as panic, resulting from...