Menopause: The Unfiltered Truth from Someone Living it ( And Talking About It Every Day)

Let’s be honest, nobody warns you just how much menopause changes your life.

I’m nearly 50, and I feel more than qualified to speak about menopause, not only from my own lived experience, but also from my professional one. I’m a counsellor, and I speak to women every single day across the UK who are navigating menopause while trying to hold together their relationships, their careers, and their sense of self.

From relentless night sweats and body changes, to mood swings that feel like they come out of nowhere, to symptoms nobody prepares you for like deeply uncomfortable, embarrassing itchiness, even itchy ears menopause doesn’t just affect your body. It affects your confidence, your emotional wellbeing, and how you see yourself as a woman.

Menopause symptoms nobody properly prepares you for

Yes, we hear about hot flushes and night sweats, and they are very real. Around 75–80% of women in the UK experience them, often alongside broken sleep that leaves you exhausted, irritable, and emotionally worn down.

But menopause symptoms go far beyond that.

Many women experience:

Sleep disruption and chronic fatigue

Mood swings, anxiety, irritability and low mood

Brain fog, memory lapses and difficulty concentrating

Changes in libido, vaginal dryness and discomfort during sex

Skin sensitivity, itching, joint pain and nerve-related symptoms

There are over 30 recognised menopause symptoms, and many women don’t realise what’s happening until they no longer recognise themselves.

When menopause impacts relationships and sex life

Menopause doesn’t happen in isolation, it shows up in our relationships too.

I see this daily in my counselling work, and I live it in my own marriage. My husband isn’t English, and menopause simply isn’t something he grew up understanding or talking about. So half the time I’m explaining what’s happening to my body and emotions, and the other half I’m frustrated that I even have to explain it.

It has affected our sex life. It has affected how we communicate. And if I’m being completely honest, there are moments when I don’t even know if we’ll get through this without real, intentional support, not because the love isn’t there, but because menopause can fundamentally alter intimacy, identity, and emotional connection.

Many couples struggle quietly during this stage, unsure whether what they’re experiencing is normal or a sign that something is breaking.

My experience with GPs, and why so many women feel dismissed

This is something that comes up again and again in my counselling room, and something I’ve experienced personally too.

My experience with GPs has been lacking, to say the least. Ironically, the most understanding doctor I encountered was a male GP. He listened. He didn’t rush me. He didn’t minimise what I was saying. He acknowledged that menopause can be debilitating and life-altering.

The women GPs? Almost the opposite.

Whether intentional or not, the underlying message often felt like:

“This is menopause… get on with it.”

Little empathy. Very little validation.

This isn’t about criticising individual doctors it’s about a systemic minimisation of women’s suffering, even by women themselves.

How women are taught to minimise menopause

As women, we often downplay our own experience.

We tell ourselves:

My mum went through this.

My grandmother managed.

My aunties survived it, so I should too.

But enduring something silently is not the same as being supported through it.

We should not have to just “get through” menopause.

Why isn’t menopause taken seriously enough?

Hundreds of millions of women worldwide and millions here in the UK are going through menopause right now, yet meaningful understanding still lags behind.

Menopause deserves:

Understanding in workplaces, where brain fog, anxiety, fatigue and sleep deprivation don’t neatly fit productivity targets

Understanding in relationships, where emotional changes and shifts in intimacy can leave both partners feeling lost

Understanding within our own minds, so we stop blaming ourselves for struggling with something that is biological, hormonal and profound

Menopause is not weakness. It is not drama. And it is absolutely not something to be brushed off.

Menopause is NOT just “part of ageing”

This is something I say often both professionally and personally:

Menopause is not something you should just grin and bear.

It deserves compassion, education, emotional support and practical strategies not dismissal.

You don’t have to go through menopause alone

If you’re reading this and thinking:

“This is me. This is exactly what I’m going through.”

Please know this:

1. You are not overreacting.

2. You are not failing.

3. You are not alone.

Through this website, I offer a free consultation for women navigating menopause whether you’re struggling with symptoms, relationship challenges, work pressures, or simply trying to understand what’s happening to you.

This is a space to be heard, validated, and supported.

📩 Book your free consultation today and start a conversation with someone who truly understands menopause.