My Story: From Exhaustion to Empowerment in Menopause

My Story

My story isn’t anything extraordinary. Like so many women, I started experiencing physical, emotional and cognitive changes that I hadn’t been prepared for and didn’t fully understand.

My sleep was becoming more broken, my confidence was slipping, my moods were shifting, and I noticed a change in the way I related to my family, my friends and my personal life.

Questions kept running through my mind.

Why was my body changing?
What was happening with my sleep?
Why had it become so unpredictable?
Why was I reacting differently to the people around me?
Why was it suddenly harder to manage things I had always coped with before?

Much of the time I felt overwhelmed, though I had become very good at hiding it.

Back then, I had no real idea that perimenopause could be behind so much of what I was going through.

One morning stands out very clearly. I was sitting with my coffee, lost in thought, asking myself, What is it that I need? What do I want?

I was working extremely hard, always on the go and trying to keep up with everything. I had several projects running at work, renovations going on at home, and I was studying for a diploma in property investment. I had always been someone who could handle a busy life and a long list of responsibilities, but suddenly it all felt much harder.

That morning became a turning point.

I had just been offered a promotion and the chance to progress further in my career. Instead, I chose to leave my managerial role at the Taj Spa Hotel and take six months away from work.

The moment I handed in my two months’ notice, I felt relief almost straight away. It was as though a weight had lifted, and I knew it was the right decision for me at that point in my life.

The break did me the world of good. My stress levels started to come down, but many of the difficulties I had been facing were still there.

My sleep remained very disrupted. I was waking at around 2 a.m. almost every night, often feeling anxious. I could usually get back to sleep, but the dread of going to bed knowing I might wake again at 2 a.m. grew very strong.

I was 47, and I started to wonder whether my hormones might be playing a part. When I went to see my doctor, he suggested antidepressants. In his view, I was extremely stressed and possibly becoming depressed.

But I knew that wasn’t really what was going on. I was definitely burnt out, but I didn’t believe I was depressed.

I honestly didn’t know what was happening to me.

So I went looking for answers.

I listened to every podcast I could find on the subject. I read, researched and searched for information wherever I could. Little by little, I began to recognise myself in what I was hearing and reading — the broken sleep, hot flushes, heavy periods, brain fog, anxiety, loss of confidence and that feeling of somehow losing part of myself and my identity.

Finding clear information wasn’t easy, though. There was so much confusion around menopause, along with a great deal of conflicting and misleading advice. It took me years of searching, listening and trying to make sense of it all before I came across one particular podcast.

And then something clicked.

It felt as though the woman speaking knew me. She was describing exactly what I had been experiencing and, for the first time, everything started to make sense.

I got in touch with her and began working with her as my menopause coach. We worked together for around eight months, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed at that stage of my life.

Around the same time, I also decided to start HRT. For me personally, it was one of the best decisions I made. I saw a major improvement in my memory and brain fog, my mood and motivation, and many of the physical and emotional difficulties I had been living with.

Still, I knew HRT wasn’t the whole answer for me. I needed someone to guide me through the wider changes I was facing, help me understand what was happening and support me in finding ways to look after myself through this stage of life.

That was a big part of why working with a menopause coach made such a difference.

Over those months, I made real progress. I started to rebuild my confidence, understand myself better and feel more grounded in what I was going through.

That journey also led me to think about my own direction.

Throughout my working life, I had always been drawn to healthcare, health and wellbeing, and working with people. I realised this was an area I truly wanted to take further.

That’s when I decided to train as a menopause coach, and later as a sleep coach.

And that, really, is my story.

Nothing extraordinary, just a woman like so many others, trying to understand what was happening to her and searching for the right support and information.

What started as my own search for answers has become part of the work I do today.

The Experience and Training Behind My Work

My background in healthcare and holistic wellbeing, combined with my own experience of menopause, gave me a strong desire to deepen my understanding of the changes women can go through at this stage of life — especially the impact on sleep, emotions, cognitive function and everyday wellbeing.

This led me to specialise in menopause and sleep and to become The Menopause Sleep Coach. Menopause and sleep are closely linked, and the changes that come with the hormonal transition can have a significant effect on how women sleep and function during the day.

My Menopause Certification is endorsed by a menopause doctor, and alongside my sleep training, it has deepened my knowledge of the hormonal transition and how it can affect sleep throughout perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause.

I take a holistic approach, looking not only at menopause and sleep, but also at lifestyle, stress, daily habits and mind-body wellbeing.

My additional training in life coaching, journal therapy, breathwork and meditation supports this work and widens the range of knowledge and practical tools I can draw on.

Together, my professional training, knowledge and personal experience shape everything I do today, from my coaching to my programmes and educational content.

Qualifications & Professional Training

• Menopause Certification — endorsed by a menopause doctor

• Sleep Coach Certification

• Breathwork Exercise Diploma

• Meditation Teaching Diploma

• Journal Therapy Diploma

• Life Coach Diploma

• ITEC Holistic Body Massage & Lifestyle Diploma

• Face Yoga Diploma

• Beauty Therapist Certificate

• Dental Nurse Diploma