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Speaker 1: Hey, do you ever think if only there was a

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Speaker 1: fairy godmother of menopause, You know, someone who could just

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Speaker 1: wave her magic wand and make all your hot flushes disappear,

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Speaker 1: restore your sleep, and heck, while she's at it, why

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Speaker 1: not dissolve that stubborn midriff that just refuses to budge

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Speaker 1: a pery godmother. Well, bibbity bobby boo, your wish has

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Speaker 1: been answered. It's in the form of a new book

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Speaker 1: just out by Shelley Houghton. You've probably seen her on

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Speaker 1: your Telly and out and Proud Pery Warrior. She's written

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Speaker 1: I'm your pery Godmother. She's a member of the International

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Speaker 1: Menopause Society. I couldn't wait to chat to her about

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Speaker 1: her Happily ever After Guide to Kicking peri Menopause in

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Speaker 1: the Ovaries. Fluff your fairy wings and welcome Shelley to

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Speaker 1: Rage against the menopause.

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Speaker 2: Menopause, It's coming for you no matter what.

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Speaker 3: Let's build a village of support. Why is it so

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Speaker 3: damn hot in here?

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Speaker 4: Menopause is so hot right now?

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Speaker 3: I think theopause.

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Speaker 4: Women just want to feel hurt.

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Speaker 1: Rage against the menopause, Well, this is going to be

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Speaker 1: a fantastic episode of rage against the menopause, because I've

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Speaker 1: got a woman on who I have long admired commentator

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Speaker 1: Shelley Horton and now novelist Haitial.

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Speaker 3: How are you? Oh my goodness, I'm an author. Can

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Speaker 3: you believe it?

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Speaker 1: Oh? I'm so happy for you. Congratulations on the book.

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Speaker 4: I'm your pery godmother.

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Speaker 1: I love the title, A Happily ever After Guide to

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Speaker 1: Kicking Perimenopause in the Ovaries. Yeah, I love this, and

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Speaker 1: I love you know, any any space where women can

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Speaker 1: be their real, authentic self.

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Speaker 4: I think we're very similar in that way. In Minutes,

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Speaker 4: a no.

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Speaker 1: Holds barred approach to writing the book, you say your

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Speaker 1: perimenopause experience was really, really treacherous.

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Speaker 2: How bad was it for you?

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Speaker 3: It was so bad it nearly took my life. Like,

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Speaker 3: that's as bad as it gets.

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Speaker 5: And the scary thing is, I'd never even heard the

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Speaker 5: word perimenopause when I went into perimenopause five years ago,

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Speaker 5: so it kind of sideswiped me, which is why I

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Speaker 5: wanted to write the book, because I feel like even

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Speaker 5: using the word menopause is for me. When I was

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Speaker 5: forty five, I thought that was gray head old ladies,

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Speaker 5: you know, like didn't.

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Speaker 3: I didn't think it was applying apple. It didn't apply

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Speaker 3: to me.

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Speaker 5: So that's why I wanted to make sure that people

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Speaker 5: and women who were getting up to you know, in

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Speaker 5: their forties early forties, learned about this so that they

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Speaker 5: didn't get sideswiped. Now, I do say in the book

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Speaker 5: that I am one of the worst case scenarios. So

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Speaker 5: you know, they say twenty percent have severe, depilidating, debilitating

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Speaker 5: symptoms like I did.

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Speaker 3: Twenty percent just cruised through.

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Speaker 5: I mean, yet to meet anyone who is in that

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Speaker 5: twenty percent, but the rest have, you know, at least

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Speaker 5: a few symptoms that really rocked their world. And I

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Speaker 5: think the biggest thing is I have been listening to

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Speaker 5: your podcast, and I know something similar that comes up

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Speaker 5: is women just saying I.

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Speaker 3: Just didn't feel like me. Yes, I don't feel like

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Speaker 3: me anymore.

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Speaker 5: And that was a huge sign I just didn't feel

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Speaker 5: like myself. And I think that that's what I should

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Speaker 5: be now a trigger to go I need to investigate.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I mean, you didn't just not feel yourself.

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Speaker 1: You landed in icee. You like you've you fell off

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Speaker 1: the edge. Of a cliffs like it was astronomical for

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Speaker 1: you your experience.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, so it was I think for me. My worst

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Speaker 5: two symptoms. One was the perimenopausal depression, which now that

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Speaker 5: I've researched the book, I know happens to one in

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Speaker 5: three women in perimenopause. So that is the highest time

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Speaker 5: in a woman's life for mental health issues, higher than

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Speaker 5: postnatal depression. This is the highest risk of suicide in

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Speaker 5: a woman's life. It's ages forty five to fifty four.

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Speaker 5: So I don't know why we don't have more education

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Speaker 5: campaigns about this and national national campaigns warning women to

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Speaker 5: keep an eye out for it. And then the second

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Speaker 5: symptom that was horrific was the heavy bleeding.

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Speaker 3: So I ended up what one.

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Speaker 5: Year, I bled for forty two out of fifty two weeks.

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Speaker 3: Now can you.

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Speaker 5: Even imagine how exhausted and depleted I felt. And it

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Speaker 5: was because of that that I decided to get the ablation,

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Speaker 5: which is a fifteen minute procedure and it should be

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Speaker 5: very very simple, but of course nothing simple with me.

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Speaker 5: And during the surgery, the anethetist, let's just say, I

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Speaker 5: wouldn't put my trust in them again, my lung collapse,

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Speaker 5: and so I ended up in the ICU. So I

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Speaker 5: woke up with a chipped tooth, with my throat absolutely shredded,

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Speaker 5: with four canulas in my arms, and my ribs feeling

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Speaker 5: like they'd been broken. And that was all because I

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Speaker 5: just didn't have the best people looking after me when

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Speaker 5: I should have been putting myself first. And you know

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Speaker 5: the thing that makes me, I guess it is shame,

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Speaker 5: but I'm trying to not call it shame. But I

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Speaker 5: was such a people pleaser that when I woke up

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Speaker 5: in the ICU, I was going, I'm so sorry. I

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Speaker 5: shouldn't you know, I'm actually not that sick. You could

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Speaker 5: probably put me in a general ward. There's probably people

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Speaker 5: much that need this a lot more than I do.

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Speaker 5: And I'm just like, isn't that such a female thing

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Speaker 5: to do and make jokes of it, when really I

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Speaker 5: should have been going, excuse me, what just happened?

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Speaker 3: Because I was in your care and this should not

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Speaker 3: have happened.

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Speaker 1: Oh, your poor thing, that's awful, awful, hunt. I love

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Speaker 1: the you dedicated the book to your mum. Yeah, and

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Speaker 1: I loved this. Who deserve better?

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Speaker 4: During her perry and menopause? That actually gives me chills.

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Speaker 1: I read that because I know my mum had a

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Speaker 1: horrid time as well. She's in her eighties now, and

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Speaker 1: I see the podcast as I have a fourteen year

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Speaker 1: old daughter. I would hate to think that when Audrey

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Speaker 1: gets to that point down the track, that she is

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Speaker 1: faced with the same wall of silence that our generation has.

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Speaker 1: And I think you're like minded in that it's up

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Speaker 1: to our generation to turn the tide now that it's different. Now,

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Speaker 1: like a line in the sand, this is it. We're

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Speaker 1: gonna talk about it. It's gonna get dirty, it's gonna

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Speaker 1: get ugly.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, but that's okay, And that's okay. It needs to

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Speaker 5: get dirty and ugly. And you know what, this is

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Speaker 5: the biggest gift you could ever give Audrey and all

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Speaker 5: of her friends, because I feel like younger generations are

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Speaker 5: going to benefit because gen X women just went.

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Speaker 3: We ain't putting up with this anymore. Yeah.

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Speaker 5: Now, I say in my book that when I first

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Speaker 5: had such severe symptoms, particularly with depression, I was.

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Speaker 3: Mad at my mom for not warning me.

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Speaker 5: But then with hindsight, I'm mad for her that she

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Speaker 5: was treated so badly that she was given no information

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Speaker 5: and to be fair, my mom's generation, my mom's seventy six.

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Speaker 3: They don't talk about emotions like.

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Speaker 4: You never talked about it, talk about me periods.

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Speaker 5: I know this is so it's a massive change, and

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Speaker 5: I just feel like we are, yeah, where we might

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Speaker 5: be seen as those women who are like getting up

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Speaker 5: on a soapbox and beating a drama. And I'm fine

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Speaker 5: with that because if it helps at least one other woman,

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Speaker 5: then it's worth it.

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Speaker 2: Oh it will.

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Speaker 1: I love love to the book and so many ah

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Speaker 1: and yes moments.

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Speaker 4: My husband's saying, what are you doing in there? What

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Speaker 4: are you doing? But I could just relate. I was

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Speaker 4: almost high fiving you in the air, like, oh my god, Shelly.

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Speaker 3: Yes.

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Speaker 1: And women don't feel her, they don't feel like they're

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Speaker 1: being her, they're being discounted by doctors. And I love

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Speaker 1: the point you make with other girls. You say I

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Speaker 1: felt let down by the Sisterhood for not talking openly

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Speaker 1: about it.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I talk so much about pregnancy and conception and birth,

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Speaker 1: why not perimenopause and menopause.

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Speaker 5: I really feel like it's the last taboo, Like it's

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Speaker 5: the last bit of secret women's business, and what we

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Speaker 5: know is secret women's business.

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Speaker 3: Holds women back.

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Speaker 5: So I think that we need to break through that

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Speaker 5: agism and shame of you know, if I say I'm

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Speaker 5: in perimenopause, people will think I'm old and out to pasture,

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Speaker 5: or I don't want my colleagues to know that I'm

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Speaker 5: having hot flushes or think you know what they need

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Speaker 5: to know and they need to adapt rather than you do.

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Speaker 1: So I'm of that on air as well, Shelley, like

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Speaker 1: I have terrible blank brain moments. I've been on air,

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Speaker 1: can't think of a word, can't think of a word,

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Speaker 1: and so the boys have luckily rallied and we just

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Speaker 1: go on with the conversation. But initially, you know, I thought, oh,

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Speaker 1: I could never after being on air, you know, for

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Speaker 1: thirty six or whatever years, I would never.

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Speaker 4: And then I thought, well, hang on, why not.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's similar.

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Speaker 5: I draw the analogy with mental health in the workplace.

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Speaker 5: You know, ten years ago, no one actually admitted to

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Speaker 5: having anxiety or depression, and now we've got areuokda, Now

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Speaker 5: we've got mental health first st aid offices in workplaces.

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Speaker 5: There's such education and we are just a bit behind

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Speaker 5: the times when it comes to menopause. In the workplace,

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Speaker 5: because I am so glad to hear that the boys

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Speaker 5: rallied and like lifted you up, because that's all they

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Speaker 5: need to do. You know, they're not You're not asking

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Speaker 5: them to be doctors. You're not asking them to do

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Speaker 5: anything more than just be your support. And it's fantastic

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Speaker 5: to know that you've got that. And that's all we

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Speaker 5: really need to get out there to the workplaces is hey,

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Speaker 5: if I'm having a hot flash in the middle of

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Speaker 5: a meeting, perhaps get me.

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Speaker 3: Some iced water.

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Speaker 5: If i can't remember the name of my client and

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Speaker 5: I'm in middle of doing a pitch, can someone else

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Speaker 5: just jump in and go, hey, Shelly, you were telling

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Speaker 5: me a bit about that blah blah blah. Like it's

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Speaker 5: it's almost like just having a bit more of a

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Speaker 5: team around you. But you can't have a team if

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Speaker 5: you don't tell them no, that's right, You've got to

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Speaker 5: be brave enough to talk about it.

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Speaker 1: You're at the top of your game. Still are, obviously,

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Speaker 1: but at the top of your game. When perimenopause hit,

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Speaker 1: you considered leaving work twenty five percent of women, according

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Speaker 1: to Menopause Friendly Australia. Do you can I've been there

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Speaker 1: you know, two forty five am alarms thinking, you know,

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Speaker 1: feeling like I'm ninety dragging myself out of bed. I

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Speaker 1: don't know if I can keep doing this. I think

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Speaker 1: we've all been there.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely, and I think that women masket as well.

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Speaker 5: So I go in, You do your job, and then

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Speaker 5: you are exus exhausted when you get home because you've

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Speaker 5: been putting on the happy face. And I do regular

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Speaker 5: spots on Channel nine, and I was finding that I

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Speaker 5: could do that and I could rally. But as I

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Speaker 5: was driving home from Channel nine, my negative self talk

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Speaker 5: would be so loud and I would I had this

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Speaker 5: day where my negative self talk was, you know, you

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Speaker 5: just embarrass yourself on national TV. You are so stupid.

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Speaker 5: Your parents would be ashamed of you. You should quit

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Speaker 5: your job because it would be humiliating to get fired.

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Speaker 3: And I was in floods of tears.

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Speaker 5: And I got home to my husband, Darren, and I

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Speaker 5: just said, I don't not do a Channel nine anymore.

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Speaker 5: I can't do it like I'm just I'm not good

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Speaker 5: at what I do.

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Speaker 3: Yes, but like to the tenth power.

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Speaker 5: And that was when he said to me, was a big,

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Speaker 5: big red flag, a big light bulb.

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Speaker 3: For him of this.

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Speaker 5: This is not Shelley, this is not how she normally is.

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Speaker 5: I mean, he's only seen the workaholic side of me.

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Speaker 5: He's just like, do more, more, more and more. And

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Speaker 5: so he sat me down, and I think it's probably

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Speaker 5: the kindest thing that he's ever said to me.

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Speaker 3: He said, I don't think.

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Speaker 5: There's anything wrong with you, but I think there might

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Speaker 5: be something wrong with the chemicals.

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Speaker 3: In your brain.

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Speaker 5: And why don't we go and see someone about it together.

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Speaker 2: Oh that's beautiful, Shelley.

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Speaker 3: Isn't that amazing?

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Speaker 2: Great partner?

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Speaker 4: And the role is so pivotal.

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Speaker 3: It really is.

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Speaker 5: They have to be your teammate in this. And again,

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Speaker 5: so many women don't talk to their husband about periods

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Speaker 5: or about perimenopause. So this is where I have found

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Speaker 5: because I speak at workplaces about perimenopause, and now with

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Speaker 5: the book, I have actually found men have been incredibly

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Speaker 5: empathetic and just and they want to know more. And

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Speaker 5: I don't ever blame them for not knowing, because women

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Speaker 5: aren't telling each other, so probably know exactly.

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Speaker 1: We expect them to be there, but they don't. Necessarily

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Speaker 1: they've got no idea if we've got no idea and

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Speaker 1: it's knowledge is power, isn't it. Yes, And so obviously

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Speaker 1: Darren's been really pivotal in your as part of your

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Speaker 1: support network as you go through it, and you navigated

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Speaker 1: it together.

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Speaker 5: Yes, yeah, he was amazing because my first GP, when

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Speaker 5: I first had quite severe symptoms, which was the depression

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Speaker 5: and the heavy bleeding, I went to just a bulk

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Speaker 5: bill GP. You know, I don't have a family doctor,

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Speaker 5: and the GP said to me, oh, you've got an

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Speaker 5: iud in, so that sort of bleeding it could be cancer.

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Speaker 2: And I was like, oh my god, that's not what.

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Speaker 4: You want to do.

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Speaker 5: I know, and I know that they have to rule

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Speaker 5: out the nasties, like I get that, but just the

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Speaker 5: way it was delivered. And then when I had the

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Speaker 5: internal ultrasound and it came back clear and my bloods

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Speaker 5: were normal, which we now know blood tests are absolutely

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Speaker 5: useless for perimenopaors because your hormonst change every single day.

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Speaker 5: So this GP just said to me, great news, you

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Speaker 5: haven't got cancer. You're just not coping with your stress

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Speaker 5: very well, and maybe you should take up a hobby.

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Speaker 1: Oh right, the guilt trip as well, Like you're already

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Speaker 1: hard and.

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Speaker 3: Already self blaming and miserable.

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Speaker 5: So because of that, that's when I didn't see another

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Speaker 5: doctor until Darren sat me down and said, this has

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Speaker 5: been going on for a long time, it's time, and

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Speaker 5: then he came with me to the second GP appointment

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Speaker 5: and he I'm so glad he was there because as

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Speaker 5: soon as I walked in, I just started crying, and

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Speaker 5: he had to tell the GP what had been going

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Speaker 5: on and that it had been quite some time and

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Speaker 5: he was really worried.

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Speaker 3: And so.

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Speaker 5: I just feel like, particularly if you've got brain foggor

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Speaker 5: like I had depression, you need someone who's kind of

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Speaker 5: your your health advocates who's there, and it could be

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Speaker 5: your girlfriend, like a friend, or a sister.

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Speaker 4: Or a partner that can help them.

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Speaker 5: Not everyone, not everyone has a partner, and not everyone

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Speaker 5: has a partner who wants to get involved with that self.

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Speaker 5: For me, I needed that, and that's when I was

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Speaker 5: put onto HRT and a nantidepressant, which I do believe

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Speaker 5: at the time I needed. I know a lot of

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Speaker 5: women just get prescribed and anti depressant and to get

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Speaker 5: on their merry way. My mental health was so severe

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Speaker 5: that I truly believe I needed it.

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Speaker 3: However, then it's not a quick fix.

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Speaker 5: Like I also want women to know, like HRT is

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Speaker 5: not the golden ticket and you take it and everything's

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Speaker 5: fine again. You've got to do the work. You need

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Speaker 5: to improve your mental health slowly. You need to speak

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Speaker 5: to a professional. You need to make sure you're doing

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Speaker 5: all of that boring stuff that we've all heard of,

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Speaker 5: like going for walks and eating well and improving your sleep.

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Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 5: I do all of that now because I never ever

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Speaker 5: want to get back to how I felt.

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Speaker 3: I am terrified of going back to that.

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Speaker 5: And what ended up happening is I ended up seeing

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Speaker 5: a psychiatrist, professor j Streekalcanne, who's in Melbourne, and she

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Speaker 5: was the one who was in charge of my HRT

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Speaker 5: and she got me weaned me off the antidepressant, which.

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Speaker 3: Was quite difficult.

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Speaker 5: I also had put on ten kilos thanks to the antidepressant.

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Speaker 5: I'm like, none of the doctors seemed to care about

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Speaker 5: any of those side effects, and I was just like,

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Speaker 5: that's actually really awful for women.

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Speaker 3: Okay, I just want you to know it's really.

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Speaker 2: Freaking spread, haven't you with the middle.

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Speaker 5: The spread is scientifically proven. It's the middle of.

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Speaker 4: Your body up over night.

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Speaker 2: It's like I woke up and it was there.

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Speaker 3: Even that's what it is.

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Speaker 5: So what's happened is it's not that you've just put

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Speaker 5: on weight, because you put on weight as you age anyway,

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Speaker 5: but as your hormones are going crazy, what's happening is

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Speaker 5: the weight is redistributing around your belly, which is also

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Speaker 5: the unhealthiest place to have it because it's not great

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Speaker 5: for your organs, it's not great for anything. So it's real.

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Speaker 5: And you know, I've got girlfriends who have always been

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Speaker 5: skinny minies and they wake up with a spare tire

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Speaker 5: around their belly and that is a huge shock for them.

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Speaker 5: And so I think you need to make sure that

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Speaker 5: you've got your healthcare team. And I like to talk

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Speaker 5: about them as my team. And my psychiatrist is in

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Speaker 5: contact with my GP. They're both up to date with

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Speaker 5: the latest menopause research and they work together. So my

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Speaker 5: psychiatrist was controlling the dosage of my HRT, and basically

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Speaker 5: she's the one who fixed me.

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Speaker 3: And I will all be forever grateful for that.

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Speaker 5: But I also know that I'm in a very lucky

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Speaker 5: position that I can afford to see a psychiatrist there

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Speaker 5: are a lot of women who can't. I do suggest

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Speaker 5: in the book that you can get the Mental Health

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Speaker 5: Plan where your GP can get ten discounted appointments with

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Speaker 5: a psychologist a psychiatrist.

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Speaker 3: But I would just say to.

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Speaker 5: Anyone out there, it is time to invest in yourself.

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Speaker 5: If paying for a psychiatrist is a luxury, that's a luxury,

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Speaker 5: that's a really important one versus a new dress or

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Speaker 5: a new pair of shoes.

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Speaker 3: Like look after your brain.

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Speaker 2: That's so poignant.

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Speaker 1: I think that is the best point of all because

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Speaker 1: you know, regardless if we've got families or not, you

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Speaker 1: always burnt shop syndrome.

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Speaker 2: You always put yourself last.

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Speaker 1: You think, oh do that tomorrow, or I really haven't

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Speaker 1: got You know, we've got elderly parents, We're caring for

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Speaker 1: everyone else's needs come before ours. And it is stopping

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Speaker 1: at a point and saying, look enough, this is enough.

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Speaker 4: Great chapters in your book as well. Tell us what

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Speaker 4: you like.

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Speaker 1: It's everything, you know what I love most of all,

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Speaker 1: And I really relate to you because I pride myself.

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Speaker 4: I hope being The podcast very similar in.

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Speaker 2: That you're very real.

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Speaker 4: It's so easy to read. You're very real. You don't

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Speaker 4: hold back.

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Speaker 1: Like you've written, most doctors are a bit shit, but

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Speaker 1: diagnosing and treating perimenopause, like, everyone can relate to your book.

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Speaker 4: It is so beautifully written. It's not medical jargon.

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Speaker 1: Although you had a beautiful collection of really highly renowned

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Speaker 1: specialists and experts in the field.

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Speaker 5: I think that there's always a place for medical menopause books,

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Speaker 5: but I feel like they were missing the mark in

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Speaker 5: that they're quite dense, and so I worked really hard

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Speaker 5: on making sure I had all of the science in there,

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Speaker 5: and everything in the book is evidence based. My publisher

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Speaker 5: actually paid an independent GP to go through and assess

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Speaker 5: it completely to make sure I wasn't making any claims

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Speaker 5: that were you know, I couldn't be backed up. So

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Speaker 5: I feel very confident with the the evidence. And as

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Speaker 5: you said, yeah, I've got doctor Mary Clare Haver from America.

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Speaker 3: Oh my god, the fangirling I did when I interviewed her.

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Speaker 3: I was embarrassed for myself. She's amazing.

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Speaker 5: Doctor Louise Newson from the UK, like, these are world

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Speaker 5: little experts and they are just incredible humans and so

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Speaker 5: kind and generous.

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Speaker 3: So they I said to Louise.

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Speaker 5: I'm like, how do you feel about me writing a

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Speaker 5: book when I'm not a doctor, and she's like, please,

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Speaker 5: we need lived experience out there. And she's like, women

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00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,320
Speaker 5: will relate to you because you've had a horrible time,

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Speaker 5: and they will go I had a bit of that.

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Speaker 3: I had a bit of that, And.

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Speaker 5: By making it very conversational and a bit of swearing.

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Speaker 3: I got to love a bit of swearing.

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Speaker 5: Sometimes you just go, this is fucked, and that just

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Speaker 5: sums it up, you know. So having that in there,

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Speaker 5: I think makes it an easier read and gives people

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Speaker 5: a bit of a giggle because yes, I have some

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Speaker 5: pretty dark times that I share, but then I also

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Speaker 5: have some really funny times of you know, people sharing

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Speaker 5: stories with me and me having hot flushes on National

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Speaker 5: TV and and things like that.

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Speaker 3: So I think there's it's got the light and shade.

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Speaker 5: And then I like to end it with you know,

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Speaker 5: the menopausal zes, which that chapter is called giving zero

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Speaker 5: Fox and I love that because even on TV today

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Speaker 5: it came out that jen Z was saying that they

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Speaker 5: consider over thirty five is over the hill, and I'm like,

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Speaker 5: you know, the best thing about being nearly fifty two,

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Speaker 5: I just don't give a fuck about what they think.

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Speaker 1: Writing though, it is so liberating when I felt that,

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Speaker 1: I thought, you know what, I actually don't care so

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Speaker 1: much about what people think of me because I can

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Speaker 1: only be me. And that's why I love your book,

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Speaker 1: because it's just you know, I've watched you for a

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Speaker 1: long time, and this book is just like it is

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Speaker 1: an extension obviously of you, but it's Shelley in Shelley's words,

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Speaker 1: and it's a gift. It is a gift to women.

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Speaker 1: And I just congratulate you so so much, Shelley. I'm

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Speaker 1: so happy.

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Speaker 5: Thanks.

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Speaker 3: Pat.

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Speaker 5: That means so much to me because you have been

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Speaker 5: in this space longer than I have.

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Speaker 3: You've been, you know, a trailblazer really.

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Speaker 5: And I admire you for doing that and being brave

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Speaker 5: and just going no, no, no. This deserves a podcast,

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00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:29,160
Speaker 5: This deserves that we and this is.

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Speaker 3: Extra work for you. I get all of that.

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Speaker 1: And often it's helping me, probably more than.

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00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:36,840
Speaker 2: Other people, just to yes about it.

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00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:38,479
Speaker 4: Where can women get it?

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00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,240
Speaker 5: So the great thing is it's available in most bookstores

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00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,360
Speaker 5: as of July twenty nine, and also on Audible.

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Speaker 3: So I love to listen to books.

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00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,479
Speaker 5: That's one of my things, and particularly because my sleep

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00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,760
Speaker 5: wasn't great. I like to put the EarPods in and

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00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:56,800
Speaker 5: just have it on a twenty minute homer and that's

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00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:57,160
Speaker 5: how I.

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00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:57,879
Speaker 3: Get off to sleep.

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00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:01,439
Speaker 5: So it's available, and it's also kindled, so you know,

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00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,600
Speaker 5: you've got lots of options. And I'm just so excited

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00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:09,479
Speaker 5: that it's finally out there because I feel vulnerable. I

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00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:14,280
Speaker 5: feel a little bit like I'm actually oh. But as

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00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:16,359
Speaker 5: you know it because you've read it, it's pretty raw.

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00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:18,879
Speaker 5: But I also just go, you know what, if it

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00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:20,800
Speaker 5: helps even one woman, it's worth it.

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Speaker 1: But that's the only way to do it is don't

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00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:24,600
Speaker 1: eat sugarcoat it.

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00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:26,040
Speaker 2: Tell it exactly how it is.

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00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,320
Speaker 1: And that's what's making women feel heard. And once, I

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00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,719
Speaker 1: tell you, once you get a copy of it, If

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00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:33,960
Speaker 1: you're not feeling heard when you go to your GP,

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00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:36,600
Speaker 1: or you're feeling like, god, I think I'm going crazy,

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00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,480
Speaker 1: like I'm losing the plot, yeah you're not, because we

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00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:43,119
Speaker 1: all feel the same. Please get the book and know

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00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:47,840
Speaker 1: that you are being heard, you are being seen. And

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00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:50,040
Speaker 1: I mean, look at you. I've never seen you look

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00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:52,600
Speaker 1: so you're glowing. You look fantastic, Shelly.

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00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,479
Speaker 5: I can honestly tell you I am now feeling the

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00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:01,520
Speaker 5: healthiest and best in probably a decade. That's a pretty

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00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:03,520
Speaker 5: nice thing to be able to say, and I don't

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00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:04,359
Speaker 5: think I ever would have.

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00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,800
Speaker 3: I think I just took my whole for granted, and.

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00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,000
Speaker 5: Now I'm like, look at how I've pulled myself up

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00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,720
Speaker 5: from the depths of despair. So thank you for saying

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00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:17,120
Speaker 5: I look well, because I actually feel it, and I'm

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00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,720
Speaker 5: really proud because I had to work hard to get

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00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:20,560
Speaker 5: back to where I am.

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Speaker 1: Author Shelley Haughton, I seriously think we were besties in

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00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:28,480
Speaker 1: a former life. Her book, I'm Your Perry Godmother is

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00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,720
Speaker 1: available at all Good bookstores. I'm Petrina Jones and this

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00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,280
Speaker 1: is my podcast, Rage Against the Menopause.

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Speaker 3: Rage Against the Menopause.