October is Menopause Awareness Month

Asking for help and seeking support in the workplace and at home.

Confidence, Anxiety, and Menopause: Why Understanding Changes Everything Navigating menopause while balancing work responsibilities can feel overwhelming. For many women, this phase brings physical changes, emotional shifts, and cognitive challenges like brain fog or forgetfulness - all of which can dent confidence at work. But menopause isn’t the end of your career mojo. In fact, it can be the start of a new, empowered chapter.

Background: Leadership capability is essential for nursing practice, influencing patient care, staff well-being and organisational effectiveness. Inclusive lead...

Menopause is a significant transition in a woman's life, bringing about various changes, both physical and cognitive. One of the most perplexing symptoms many women encounter is "brain fog"—a term that encapsulates memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, and a general sense of mental cloudiness. Understanding and addressing this phenomenon is crucial for maintaining quality of life during this stage 🔎 Let’s Explore and Understanding the Roots of Brain Fog 🧠

Let’s talk about something half the workforce will experience yet hardly ever gets discussed openly at work: menopause.

Let’s talk about something half the workforce will experience yet hardly ever gets discussed openly at work: menopause.

Let’s talk about something half the workforce will experience yet hardly ever gets discussed openly at work: menopause.

Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 5 of 5. 🔍 Explore Sleep problems affect an estimated 40–60% of women during the menopause transition more than at any other life stage. Hot flushes and night sweats are one obvious cause, but sleep disturbance is often present even without them, linked instead to falling and fluctuating oestrogen, rising cortisol, anxiety and mood changes.

Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 5 of 5. 🔍 Explore Sleep problems affect an estimated 40–60% of women during the menopause transition more than at any other life stage. Hot flushes and night sweats are one obvious cause, but sleep disturbance is often present even without them, linked instead to falling and fluctuating oestrogen, rising cortisol, anxiety and mood changes.

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Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 4 of 5. 🔍 Explore For decades, "exercise" for women often meant cardio: long walks, spin classes, and running. All valuable. But around menopause, the body needs something cardio alone cannot fully provide and that is resistance. It’s referred to a resistance training. Muscle mass declines naturally with age, a process called sarcopenia, and this accelerates as oestrogen falls.

Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 2 of 5. 🔍 Explore Bone might be the last thing on your mind during menopause until you learn that up to a fifth of lifetime bone loss can happen in th…

Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 3 of 5. 🔍 Explore New bloating, discomfort, or a gut that suddenly feels less predictable is something many women notice. These digestive changes around menopause, have a hormonal story behind it. Oestrogen receptors exist throughout the digestive tract, and researchers now describe an "oestrobolome" which is a collection of gut bacteria that helps metabolise and regulate circulating oestrogen.

Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 3 of 5. 🔍 Explore New bloating, discomfort, or a gut that suddenly feels less predictable is something many women notice. These digestive changes around menopause, have a hormonal story behind it. Oestrogen receptors exist throughout the digestive tract, and researchers now describe an "oestrobolome" which is a collection of gut bacteria that helps metabolise and regulate circulating oestrogen.

Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 2 of 5. 🔍 Explore Bone might be the last thing on your mind during menopause until you learn that up to a fifth of lifetime bone loss can happen in th…

Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 2 of 5. 🔍 Explore Bone might be the last thing on your mind during menopause until you learn that up to a fifth of lifetime bone loss can happen in the years around it. Oestrogen plays a protective role in bone remodelling, the constant cycle of old bone being broken down and new bone being built.

Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 2 of 5. 🔍 Explore Bone might be the last thing on your mind during menopause until you learn that up to a fifth of lifetime bone loss can happen in the years around it. Oestrogen plays a protective role in bone remodelling, the constant cycle of old bone being broken down and new bone being built.

The Song Only You Can Sing "Every woman has a story. Sometimes that story is spoken. Sometimes it is written. And sometimes… it becomes a song." As I reflected on our Singing for Menopause programme, something struck me that I hadn't fully appreciated at the beginning. This was never simply a singing programme. It became a creative journey. We began by singing songs written by other people.

What Menopause Actually Does to Your Metabolism Nutrition & Lifestyle Series: August, Post 1 of 5. 🔍 Explore If you've noticed weight settling around your middle, energy dips after meals, or that your usual eating habits don't seem to "work" the way they used to - you're not imagining it, and you're not doing anything wrong. As oestrogen declines through perimenopause and menopause, several things shift at once.

The Song Only You Can Sing "Every woman has a story. Sometimes that story is spoken. Sometimes it is written. And sometimes… it becomes a song." As I reflected on our Singing for Menopause programme, something struck me that I hadn't fully appreciated at the beginning. This was never simply a singing programme. It became a creative journey. We began by singing songs written by other people.

Navigating Menopause with Compassion, Connection & Power through words. Finding Our Voice: The Power of Words in Menopause Last month, we spent time grounding ourselves in mindfulness, learning to quiet the noise, breathe through the hot flashes, and just be in our bodies. But mindfulness is not just about sitting in silence; it’s about preparing the soil for what needs to grow next.

Building Confidence One Song at a Time "Sometimes the right song arrives at exactly the right moment." When people hear about our Singing for Menopause programme, they often ask one question first. What songs did you sing? It's a natural question. But over twelve weeks I realised that the songs themselves were only part of the story. What mattered was why we sang them.

Finding our voice through singing "Sometimes the most important voice we rediscover is our own." One of the unexpected lessons from our Singing for Menopause programme wasn't about music at all. It was about voice. Not simply the sound we make when we sing, but the confidence to speak, to be heard and, perhaps most importantly, to reconnect with ourselves.

Co-production changed everything: What women taught us about designing menopause support I had the privilege of presenting alongside Yula Andrews during NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board's Co-production Week, hosted by Dr Susan Conquer. Together we shared the story of Singing for Menopause - a project that began with a simple question: What would menopause support look like if women helped design it?

Mental & Cognitive Self-Care – The Power of REST Life can feel relentlessly busy, especially during menopause. Many women describe a sense of being constantly “on”—juggling responsibilities, managing emotions, and trying to keep up with daily demands. At the same time, you may notice something else creeping in… brain fog, forgetfulness, or a feeling that your mind just isn’t as sharp as it once was.

Moving Through Menopause – The Power of Exercise When we think about exercise, it’s easy to focus on appearance, weight, or pressure to “keep fit.” But during menopause, movement becomes something much more important—it becomes a form of self-care. Many women notice changes in their body during this stage of life: Energy levels can dip Sleep may feel disrupted Joints can ache…

Creative Self-care – Finding Calm Through Mindful Activities When life feels overwhelming, many of us search for ways to quiet the mind. We often think mindfulness means meditation or sitting in silence—but mindfulness can also be found in gentle, creative moments. Colouring.Painting.Gardening.Knitting.Writing.Cooking.Photography.Music. Creative activities allow us to slow down and become fully present, even for a little while.

June - self-care - meditation

May = Women's Health Month - Contraception

Blog 4 - May Women’s Health Series: Let’s Talk Menstrual Bleeding Welcome back to our May Women’s Health series. This week, we’re shining a spotlight on Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), medically termed menorrhagia, is a common concern for women, especially during the perimenopausal years. Characterized by excessive blood loss that interferes with daily life, HMB can lead to fatigue, anaemia, and reduced quality of life.

May Women’s Health Series (3): The Importance of Breast Screening During and After Menopause Welcome back to our Women’s Health series for May, where we’re shining a spotlight on key health topics every woman should be aware of. This week, we’re focusing on something vital: breast screening. Whether you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or beyond, staying breast-aware is one of the most empowering and protective things you can do for your long-term health.

May Women’s Health Series: Let’s Talk About Cervical Screening Welcome back to our May Women’s Health series. This week, we’re shining a spotlight on something that could quite literally save your life: cervical screening. For many of us navigating the highs and lows of menopause, attending a cervical screening appointment can feel like just another uncomfortable addition to an already overwhelming list.

May = Women's Health Month

Mean & Machiavellian 😈 – Anger, Boundaries & Female Politics 🔍Together Let’s Explore Many women notice a new emotion emerging during menopause: anger. Less tolerance for nonsense. Less willingness to carry emotional labour. This can surprise women who have spent decades smoothing situations over, keeping peace, and prioritising others’ comfort. Lower oestrogen can reduce the instinct to people‑please and increase directness.

Madness 🤯 – Brain Fog & Cognitive Changes Sometimes when we look out, we only see madness ... 🔍Together Let’s Explore For many women, brain fog is one of the most distressing symptoms of menopause. Forgetting words, losing your train of thought, misplacing items, or struggling to concentrate can feel frightening. Some women worry they are developing dementia or losing their intelligence.

Big news: the Women’s Health Strategy has been refreshed There’s been an important update to the Women’s Health Strategy, and it’s a positive step forward. The new plans focus on things many of us have been asking for ... faster access to gynaecology services, better support for managing pain, menopause being included in routine health checks, and stronger education around menstrual health.

Moaning 😤 – When Complaining Is Self‑Advocacy Think about how the sea complains and moans ... communicate how you feel. 🔍Together Let’s Explore Many women were taught from a young age not to complain. To be grateful. To be quiet. To manage. So when menopause symptoms disrupt sleep, concentration, relationships and confidence, many of us apologise before speaking. ‘I don’t want to moan…’ becomes a familiar sentence.

Moods 😔 : Menopause & Mood Swings Hold breath ... be patient with yourself 🔍 Together Let’s Explore Many women describe menopause as feeling like an emotional rollercoaster they never bought a ticket for. One moment you may feel calm and capable, the next overwhelmed or tearful for reasons you cannot explain. This can be frightening, especially if you have always considered yourself emotionally steady.

“Sleep is Your Superpower” In this series of April Blogs, the focus will be on moods. However I want to set the scene and share this short TED Talk – “Sleep is Your Superpower” by Matthew Walker. Sleep is your superpower | TED Talk This is a 3 minute talk looks at how sleep and moods. Sleep is not a luxury but a biological necessity, especially during menopause.