The Menopause Mindset

Our risk of mental health issues increases during menopause, but HRT and anti depressants are only one way of dealing with the black dog.   As a hypnotherapist, I'm particularly interested in how our biases affects what we perceive and how our ability to become more psychologically flexible can prize us out of that 'absolute thinking' which is so crippling during depression eg:  &ap...

If I had one wish, it would be that every women going through or approaching menopause would recognise that hypnotherapy could be a valuable addition to their menopause care plan.  The Mayo Clinic discovered that there is a correlation between adverse childhood experiences and menopause symptom severity and they concluded that ACE's should be taken into consideration when treating a person&ap...

If self care has ever let you down, maybe you need 'collective care'.   When I first heard the term 'collective care' it dawned on me, maybe that's why self care often falls short, because it doesn't quite reach the part of the nervous system that is often disregulated in menopause.  Let me explain. The ventral vagal branch of the para sympathetic nervous system (the...

Mental health challenges at menopause are the un-sung symptoms of this transition and for many, it may be the first time that anxiety or depression have been experienced.  My guest today is Chris McDonald.  She's a Holistic Licensed Therapist and owns a group online practice, “Path to Hope Counseling”.  In today's episode, we discuss: 🧠 What holistic therapy entails that other therapies...

By 2025, there will be one billion people on the planet in some stage of menopause, that's a LOT of potential struggle and a good reason to GET LOUD.   That's why my guests today set up Windrose World Retreats (for women going through menopause) to help ease some of the load.  Jan Scott and Diana Phillips are two friends that joined forces through a love of yoga, travel and wellbeing.  ...

Has menopause left you feeling very untrusting of your body?  😳 The symptoms!  Oh the symptoms!  Over 48 of them now last time I looked. But what are all these symptoms telling us?   That our body is breaking? That our body failing? That we are degenerating?   I have to say, I'm a little more optimistic than that. What if these symptoms were actually a result of the body trying to heal itsel...

Have you considered that the scattered thinking you experience, the inability to do mundane tasks, and the noise in your head might be ADHD and not just menopause?  Before peri menopause conditions like ADHD are easy to mask, but as our sex hormones start to decline dopamine disregulation (which is at the heart of ADHD) can be revealed or may get worse.   I'm not saying that EVERY women in me...

Do you ever find that no matter how hard you try to fix your mindset, your behaviours and your habits, it still feels like the odds are stacked against you? I feel it too, sometimes.   In today's episode I speak with Harriet Waley Cohen who is a leadership coach specialising in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion activism.   Our conversation was incredibly eye opening and made me think a lot abou...

As I sit here writing this, I'm eating my words.  If you listen to early episodes of The Menopause Mindset Podcast you'll hear me say in the jingle 'yes you CAN have it all'.   My guest today strongly disagrees and I have to say, so do I now.   I think of that younger version of me with love.  She was fresh into peri menopause and fresh into menopause education (with all the en...

If you're anything like me, you've purchased hundreds of aromatherapy oils in the past with the full intention of using them in your baths, in diffusers and in your massage oils, only to then wonder 'are they really working?'  Promptly abandoning them only to repeat the cycle a year later.  My guest today is listed as one of America's most influential aromatherapists.  She...

What's it like when you're told that your lab results are 'normal' but you feel far from it?  It might offer temporary relief but you go back into your life and before long, you feel awful again.  Your intuition is telling you that things are far from normal.   So what is really going on here?   My guest today is Ricky Brandon, founder of The Hormone Balance Centres in the USA....

What if this time of year was THE most powerful time of year for menopause?  In today's episode I talk about a new book I'm reading which is helping me tap into my creative genius (and what that means for menopause).   I also talk about how much I'm loving the stillness and quietude that exists at the moment as a result of the hunkering down caused by winter and the change in people...

Do you ever wonder why there's so much talk of HRT these days?   A few weeks ago I posted a reel at my distain for the amount of HRT 'pushing' I was seeing on social media  but after my conversation with Katie Taylor, now I know why that is.  It's because the pendulum needed to swing so far the other way. The immense fear of HRT caused by the flawed WHI study meant that women&a...

Hating your body is a choice that you have been hypnotised into by diet culture.  It's totally unnecessary and feels bad to your soul.  If you've put weight on during menopause or you've always been curvy, you CAN learn to accept your body right now AND you can be healthy at every size.   Sound controversial?  Damn right it is.  My guest today is Claudine Nightingill-Rane.  She&apos...

Some of the hormone disruptors that we might not think about are electro magnetic frequencies, unresolved childhood trauma and our self sabotaging beliefs. But they really are, maybe not directly, but they are all stressors and stressors play havoc with the orchestra that is our endocrine system. My guest today is Melissa Ayres a homeopath, a Theta Healing Practitioner and a menopause coach.  In t...

If you want a therapy that works, try hypnotherapy.  Hypnotherapy is becoming one of the worlds most sort after therapies because of its ability to work deep into our conditioning and affect change very quickly. I call it a no nonsense therapy.  It gets right in there and right out again.  In today's episode I had the pleasure of talking to a fellow hypnotherapist about the profound work we d...

Many people try and medicate menopause away with HRT and whilst, in many cases HRT really does help to get us back on track, there is a deeper message behind the menopause transition that often gets overlooked.  In this episode I'm going to help you peel back some of the layers to enable you to gain a much deeper understanding of what menopause is trying to tell you, to enable you to emerge o...

When did we last award someone for being the most orgasmic, pleasure centred human?  Answer: erm... never. So where are we supposed to get our inspiration from when it comes to giving ourselves permission to feel good?  Where are the role models? Enter:  Jem Ayres.   Jem is a Sexological Bodyworker who pleasured her way out of Stage 4 cancer (along with all the conventional treatments of course)....

Mammograms & scans are important as we get older but despite having one every year, my guest, Kelli Jaecks, discovered she had breast cancer in 2019 resulting in a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery.   Needless to say, this is a powerful episode. Kelli is a self-care strategist, published author, professional speaker, and coach. She works with organizations who want to optimiz...

Black and white thinking around health, nutrition and weight loss is outdated, outmoded and redundant.  If you think it's just a case of finding enough will power to stick to a diet, then, my friend, I'm afraid you're set up to fail.  My guest today has built up a credible reputation for helping thousands find a new relationship to food, their bodies and dieting.   In this conversat...

How do we become resilient to the challenges of menopause?  Do we do nothing and let it overtake us or do we actively participate to become more adapted to this challenging phase of our lives? The most helpful narrative I've come across is to be primed and ready for menopause as much as we can in order to avoid the massive pitfalls of ill health that can occur at this time.  My guest today is...

Controlling how you decide to show up in the patriarchal world as a menopausal woman, is really up to you. You do know that YOU get to decide don't you?  In some countries, that choice is taken away, so if you DO have the choice, honour it and use it wisely.   😬 Want to stick to bedroom activism instead?  I'm right there with you. 😬 Want to wear oversized prints, enormous earrings and...

Something’s been grinding my gears.  I’m starting to take issue with the so called self development world that does more harm than good in some cases.  If you've seen the Amazon Prime Documentary, The Vow, you'll know what I’m referring to. Having been a self confessed self development junkie since I was 14 years old, I'm now starting to see how this influence can do some damage to...

If you're curious about the place inside of us where the mind and body come together, then look no further than the fascinating subject of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.   When we take a look at MCAS what we're REALLY looking at, is the junction between the immune system and the nervous system.   Fascinating though it is, symptoms of MCAS can be incredibly annoying and often difficult to...

Why is menopause a risk factor for increased auto immune issues?   In today's episode we'll find out.   My guest today, VJ Hamilton, was just seven years old when she first discovered a patch of alopecia at the back of her head.  While there was a genetic component to this, during her adult life, her symptoms become worse, ranging from joint pain to extreme fatigue and psoriasis.  Unable...