We are a group of like-minded women, passionate about making the menopause stage of life more enjoyable.
As menopause becomes less of a taboo and is discussed more in the press and media, we want to ensure you have accurate information on which to base your decisions or actions. Our facilitators and guest speakers, in areas such as diet, psychology, medicine, yoga and medical herbalism are all evidence-based in their approach and professionals in their sphere.
Ali, our founder, is a Positive Psychology Practitioner, Menopause Champion with the Menopause Experts Group, Coach, Mentor, and Home Economist.
Hello, I’m Ali
I was adamant the menopause wasn’t going to affect me. I’d just sail through, it couldn’t be that bad, could it? Then, as my life was going through a major crisis, not of my own making, the menopause hit.
But…..I didn’t realise what was going on!
I had no idea that some of the symptoms I was experiencing were due to menopause. I thought the palpitations and panic, the feelings of anxiety, the disturbed sleep patterns, and the brain fog were the result of the stress I was under.
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Months of writing everything down in an attempt to retain information seemed to be having little effect. When I stood up in front of a group of participants at a workshop and could remember nothing, absolutely nothing, of what I had intended to say or needed to do, I was devastated.
I remember somehow making my way home and thinking “that’s it, I can’t work anymore. I’m finished”. That type of thinking was so out of character for me. I thought there was something very wrong. At first, I dared not even think about the idea of early onset dementia, but I started to become concerned that maybe there was something seriously wrong. I didn’t recognise myself, emotionally, physically or mentally.
I continued to struggle through, almost becoming resigned to the fact that this was what ‘getting older’ was like. I kept my fears to myself, even from friends and family. I had none of the more well-known symptoms of menopause at that point, no hot flushes, no night sweats, (but not to be left out, they joined in later).
Sometime later, by chance, I came across a magazine article eloquently written by a woman who had experienced menopause. She talked of feeling reborn as she came through it all and the incredible freedom and power she now felt as she celebrated this new post-menopausal stage of her life.
But it was when I read the part about her vocabulary shrinking, about how she thought she must give up work because it was impossible to think clearly or express herself, how she had felt she was no longer capable of very much at all and never would be again, that was the point I sat and cried with relief.
I realised, within the space of a few minutes, all that had been happening to me. It all made sense.
I noted the actions she had taken, the help she’d found, and suddenly I had hope.
Fast forward a few years and I now feel that same sense of freedom and empowerment the author described. I often think how differently it could have been in those years of struggle, if only I’d had the benefit of knowledge and insight about menopause at the time.
And that’s why Menopause-Wellbeing is here. Knowledge about menopause is empowering. It gives you choice, highlights options, and most of all you know you’re not battling this alone. As part of the Menopause Experts Group, I feel incredibly proud and privileged to be able to create a space for women to join together, in a really enjoyable environment, and leave a workshop feeling ready to embrace their own menopause journey.