THE ‘M’ WORD… make it personal!

I’m glad to see that menopause is making it in to the mainstream and that real conversations are happening about something that – quite frankly – shouldn’t be a taboo!

After a very long wait, I finally got to meet menopause face-to-face this year, and it’s a slippery little sucker. It tripped me up – and like millions of women before me – it sent me in search of solutions.

On a coastal walk last night, I spotted one of my favourite flowers growing in the verge. Red clover. This herbaceous flowering plant is often promoted for the relief of menopausal symptoms due to its isoflavones (a type of phytoestrogen) that has a similar makeup to the female hormone, oestrogen.

I don’t take red clover personally, but I know it has worked for others, as have many other supplements, practices and medicines. In the real world (rather than life lived through a slick advertising campaign), all my female friends have their own stories and solutions for what has and hasn’t worked for them.

There’s a danger these days to assume one thing works for all, but we’re complex and individual. It’s worth taking the time to try out different things and hopefully find the right personal combination. Menopause can be brutal at times though, and that needs acknowledging too!

Everything is connected, and if we give ourselves time to let those connections flow, then one thought can inspire another. The red clover I spotted last night has already inspired this blog, a new idea for a piece of garden art, and a plan to try and introduce some red clover into my clover meadow lawn next year.