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menopause symptoms . As someone who has worked with and employed many women , this is potentially catastrophic to our industry so the better educated we all are at recognising this stage of life ( which is not all doom and gloom and many find it a breeze and call it second spring ), the better it is for us all .
First off , some facts for you Peri-menopause is the time pre-menopause - it can go on for up to 10 years before menopause . The average age of menopause is 51 and is defined as a point in time when you haven ’ t had a period for 12 months . Post Menopause is after the 12 months , after your last period . The list of peri-menopause symptoms is currently around 60 . Here are just a few that can really impact us at work , and they can start from as early 40 ( earlier , if you have what we call early menopause , POI or surgical menopause )
• Low mood / depression
• Brain fog
• Anxiety
• Hot flushes
• Lack of confidence
• Rage
• Heavy , painful and unpredictable periods
• Tiredness and fatigue
• Insomnia
• Migraines
• Heart palpitations
• And many more .
I bet we can think about someone we have worked with that we thought had changed or just didn ’ t have
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Laura Biggs , CEO , Intuitive Media
the same energy / ability to get up and do their thing ? I bet you probably didn ’ t make the connection to peri-menopause . I can certainly think of a few female colleagues who either stopped being able to do what they were great at , got side-lined , lost their mojo , didn ’ t go for promotion or new job opportunities , or had such terrible uncontrollable rage or such heavy periods / flooding they thought they were having a miscarriage . All this can happen to women in a normal phase of life that we are , for the most part , woefully uneducated about .
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Menopause Mandate As well as running Intuitive Events , ( we run The Fertility Show and Lets all Talk online hubs that host expert speakers every week to talk about and inform about mental health , menopause and fertility ), I co-founded the campaign and education group , Menopause Mandate to help raise the profile of menopause in the media , in Westminster and the |
workplace . I would urge anyone who is reading this to implement a policy to support the females in your workplace . There are some brilliant free ones that you can implement , ( see Channel 4 ’ s ( https :// www . channel4 . com / corporate / menopause-policy ) and my co-director and CEO of Dark Horses , Melissa Robertson also has a freefor-anyone-to-use policy ( https :// darkhorses . com / menopause /).
It ’ s not rocket science Allow women to say comfortably and in confidence , “ I can ’ t do this today ” Make your workplace a place where I can call in sick and cite “ menopause symptoms ” without the fear of being ridiculed . If I ’ m on site and I ’ m having a horrendous period or migraine , give me time to get myself together . Understand that I need to go to the loo a bit more . Understand that I might be struggling and it ’ s not because I ’ m silently quitting , it ’ s that I ’ m getting to grips with my hormones and I need a bit of empathy and encouragement . Have an ally , who has experience and understanding – it doesn ’ t work if it ’ s not authentic Supply me with a desk fan , don ’ t laugh when I ’ m having a “ hot flush moment ”, or when I forget your name . Most of all don ’ t write me off as the angry woman who used to be sharp and brilliant - I ’ m still there : I just need support and time .
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“ Educate yourselves and your line managers about this stage of life , support your colleagues , understand and help them .”
Educate yourselves But my most important advice as an employer of women , is to educate yourselves and your line managers about this stage of life , support your colleagues , understand and help them . Women reading this , you can get help and support from your GP , HRT works wonders for many women , replacing the hormones that we naturally lose and have a profound impact on our ability to work and live life to the full . If you really want to help , you could sign up your company or yourself to Lets all Talk Menopause – as each week we bring in a leading menopause expert to help you understand and take control of the symptoms . Sessions can be viewed live or on-demand at a time to suits you in the privacy of your own home . At the very least , download or buy a copy of Menopause Mandate ’ s book “ It ’ s Beyond a Joke ” which includes 100 ’ s of real stories from women about menopause . Download for free or buy a copy here https :// www . menopausemandate . com / EN
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December — 19 |