From magazine editor to menopause business founder, I’ve watched the menopause community grow.<\/strong><\/p>\n
No-one warned me about the anxiety<\/strong><\/p>\n
I\u2019m far from alone in being knocked sideways by menopause symptoms. A recent government report<\/a> into menopause in the workplace revealed that three in five women are negatively affected, with a Fawcett Society report<\/a> stating that 10% of women have left a job due to menopause symptoms.<\/p>\n
The community support is growing<\/strong><\/p>\n
For a perimenopausal woman today, there are a growing number of support networks. Platforms like this one and Hylda\u2019s own private Facebook group Women With Attitude, Ambition and Brain Fog<\/a>, which has nearly 6000 members from all over the world, are there not just to educate, but to support and inspire with stories of how other women are coping and<\/em> thriving. Sadly none of this existed when I needed it. Magazines and newspapers didn\u2019t write about menopause, let alone perimenopause, and if they did, the articles were illustrated with images of women looking sad and exhausted. Menopause was an \u201cold age\u201d condition, certainly not something that a 40-something woman would be affected by. It was only when I finally went to my GP to discuss my anxiety, and was told by her that I was \u201cin menopause\u201d (I was shocked!), that I understood what was going on. Just a few weeks later, after starting to take HRT, I felt like myself again.<\/p>\n
Women sharing their stories<\/strong><\/p>\n
The medical community was supportive from day one. The brilliant Dr Louise Newson<\/a> and Dr Stephanie Goodwin, two of the UK\u2019s leading menopause experts, allowed me to use their articles on the website. And Hylda joined forces with My Menopause Centre<\/a>, the only UK clinic rated \u201cOutstanding\u201d by the Quality Care Commission, to offer expertise from their medical team to Hylda\u2019s community of women.<\/p>\n
Not everyone said \u201cNo\u201d. Shout out to the amazing journalist and TV presenter Trisha Goddard<\/a>, who talked about her challenging symptoms and how she dealt with them. Beauty and wellbeing queen Liz Earle<\/a>, who has done so much to educate women about menopause issues, was happy to share her story, as was actress Patsy Kensit<\/a>, who revealed how humiliated she had felt when she was the first one in her group of friends to enter the menopause years.<\/p>\n
Find Hylda at hyldalife.com<\/a> and on Instagram @wearehylda<\/a>.<\/p>\n
For more stories, advice and interviews, head to the\u00a0Menopause Your Way Stories hub<\/a>. To browse and shop a curated edit of menopause products, visit the\u00a0Menopause Your Way page on QVC<\/a>.<\/p>\n
We understand there\u2019s a lot of information out there on the menopause. You can read through the\u00a0<\/i>NICE guidance on menopause management<\/i><\/a>, as well as the\u00a0<\/i>NHS overview on the menopause<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n