April – Blog 3: Moaning 😤 Moaning 😤 – When Complaining Is Self‑Advocacy Think about how the sea complains and moans ... communicate how you feel. 🔍Together Let’s Explore Many women were taught from a young age not to complain. To be grateful. To be quiet. To manage. So when menopause symptoms…

April – Blog 2: Moods 😔 Moods 😔 : Menopause & Mood Swings Hold breath ... be patient with yourself 🔍 Together Let’s Explore Many women describe menopause as feeling like an emotional rollercoaster they never bought a ticket for. One moment you may feel calm and capable, the next overwhelmed or…

Sleep “Sleep is Your Superpower” In this series of April Blogs, the focus will be on moods. However I want to set the scene and share this short TED Talk – “Sleep is Your Superpower” by Matthew Walker. Sleep is your superpower | TED Talk This is a 3 minute talk looks at how sleep and moods. Sleep…

#Longerdays #longerwalks evening walks 💜

📱 Engagement with digital mental health interventions remains poorly understood. Four reviews, no agreed definition. Real-world use of mental health apps falls well below trial levels. One consistent finding: human contact helps. buff.ly/E5Gm7H0 #DigitalMentalHealth

March Blog 5 – Staying Hydrated Proper hydration is vital at every stage of life, but it becomes especially crucial during perimenopause and menopause. With hormonal changes affecting your body in various ways such as increased risk of dehydration from hot flashes, night sweats, or thinning skin,…

March Blog 4 –  ✨ Skin, Hair & Learning to Live in Your New Body Together Let’s Explore 🌍 Dry skin. Thinning hair. Brittle nails. A softer jawline. A different shape in the mirror. These changes can be quietly heartbreaking. Oestrogen supports collagen, hydration and hair growth – so when levels…

March Blog 3 – 🦴 Joint Pain, Stiffness & the Aches Nobody Warned You About Together Let’s Explore 🌍 For many women, joint pain seems to arrive overnight. Hands stiff in the morning. Knees aching on stairs. Shoulders tight and sore. It can be frightening – especially when it appears without injury.…

March Blog 2 – 🌙 Sleep & Menopause: Why You’re Exhausted (and What Helps) Together Let’s Explore 🌍 Few things change us as quickly as lack of sleep. Menopause often brings night sweats, racing thoughts, early waking, and long hours staring at the ceiling. Broken sleep isn’t just tiring. It affects…

Today is 💜 International Women’s Day 2026: Give to Gain💜 - see my blog

🌿 MARCH THEME: Understanding Your Changing Body March Blog 1 ⚖️ Menopause & Weight Gain: What’s Really Happening to Your Body Together Let’s Explore 🌍 “I haven’t changed how I eat… but my body has changed.” This sentence comes up again and again in menopause conversations. Weight creeping on.…

February Blog 4: Menopause & Communication 🤝 How to Ask for Support Without Guilt “You don’t have to struggle quietly.” Together Let’s Explore 🌍 Many of us learned early to be capable. To cope quietly. To be reliable. To not make a fuss. So, when menopause arrives bringing exhaustion, brain fog,…

February Blog 3 – 🧠 Menopause & Mental Health: When Hormones Hijack Your Emotions “You are not difficult. You are hormonal.” Together Let’s Explore 🌍 One of the most unsettling parts of menopause is not recognising yourself. You might feel more anxious than you ever have before. You might cry over…

February Blog 2: Menopause, Sex & Intimacy 💕 Menopause, Sex & Intimacy: You Are Not Broken “You are not broken.” Together Let’s Explore 🌍 For many women, changes in sex and intimacy are one of the hardest parts of menopause to talk about. Not because they matter less but because they matter so…

From Awareness to Action: Taking Charge of Menopause Together Let’s Explore 🌍 January often feels like a month of big ideas: resolutions, goals, and fresh starts. This year, we’ve been exploring how menopause fits into that picture. We’ve talked about breaking the silence, building healthy…

🌸 FEBRUARY BLOGS Relationships with Yourself & Others During Menopause February Blog 1 ❤️ Menopause & Your Heart: Why Self-Love Starts with Heart Health “Self-care is heart care.” Together Let’s Explore 🌍 February is full of hearts in shop windows, on cards, in adverts telling us who and how to…

Treatment Options: What Works, What’s New, and What to Know Together Let’s Explore 🌍 For too long, menopause treatment has been oversimplified: either “take HRT” or “do nothing.” But women deserve more nuanced care. The Voy 2025 report revealed that 55% of women fear HRT side effects, yet only 9%…

The Power of Tracking: How to Understand Your Body in Midlife Together Let’s Explore 🌍 Hot flushes one week, brain fog the next, and then suddenly a week of feeling fine—sound familiar? Menopause symptoms are notoriously unpredictable. This unpredictability is one reason many women feel dismissed…

A Fresh Start: Menopause-Friendly Habits for Energy and Balance in 2026 Together Let’s Explore 🌍 Every January, the air is full of resolutions: eat better, exercise more, cut back on wine. But when you’re navigating menopause, those goals can feel more complicated. Hormonal shifts affect…

Why 2026 Must Be the Year We Talk, Track and Treat Menopause 💬✨ Together Let’s Explore 🌍 A new year always feels like a fresh notebook—blank pages, clean energy, and the promise of new beginnings. Many of us step into January with resolutions about exercise, eating better, or being more…

A Christmas Message As we come to the close of another year, I wanted to pause and say thank you. This season always invites us to slow down, to notice the small, meaningful moments much like the simple scene in the photo. Nestled among the lights and branches, it’s a reminder of being together,…

December Blog 4 of 4: You’ve Got This 💛 Let’s ExploreHere we are, the final post in our series. Take a breath. Let’s reflect. Over the past months, we’ve talked about things we don’t often say out loud - stress, mood, sleep, identity, energy, relationships. We’ve explored what it really means to…

December Blog 3 of 4 : Bottom Line… Menopause is a Transition Let’s Explore 🔎 Let’s be honest, menopause can feel like a storm. But what if we saw it not as an ending, but a passage? A shift from one phase to another, where we can take stock, realign, and reimagine what comes next. Yes, there are…

December Blog 2 of 4: Let’s talk about sleep (and fatigue). Let’s ExploreIf you’ve been tossing, turning, waking in the early hours, or feeling bone-deep tired all day ….you're not alone. Sleep disturbances are one of the most common menopause symptoms, and the fatigue that comes with them isn’t…

December Blog 2 of 4: Let’s talk about sleep (and fatigue). Let’s ExploreIf you’ve been tossing, turning, waking in the early hours, or feeling bone-deep tired all day ….you're not alone. Sleep disturbances are one of the most common menopause symptoms, and the fatigue that comes with them isn’t…

A very sad time for Southend campus - colleagues, students and the community … devastating and the impact will be felt. While decisions have been made, the timing is poor in the run up to Christmas and I hope support will be there for the dedicated Southend team. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

December Blog 1 of 4: ‘Tis the Season… Managing Stress Let’s ExploreAh, December. The lights, the lists, the expectations… and somewhere in the middle of it all, is YOU. While this season can bring joy, it also tends to crank up the stress, especially during menopause. Hormones are already doing…

Join the November Conversation – Talking to your GP. Blog 5: Talking to Your GP Your Appointment, Your Voice: Communicating Menopause Needs With Your GP LET’S EXPLORE Many women feel their GP lacks time or training to address menopause. A 2023 survey revealed that 67% of women weren’t offered HRT…

Join the November Conversation – Talk, Track, and Treat Blog 4: Talk, Track, and Treat Talk, Track, Treat: A Holistic Strategy to Manage Menopause Effective menopause care relies on early dialogue, structured symptom tracking, and personalised treatment (NICE, 2024). Yet many women wait years…

Join the November conversation – developing a network of support and asking for help Blog 3: Developing a Network of Support and Asking for Help You Don’t Have to Do It Alone: Building a Menopause Support Network LET’S EXPLORE Social connection can buffer against menopause-related stress,…

Join the November conversation – Support in Menopause Blog 1: You and Your Partner Together Through Change: Strengthening Your Partnership During Menopause LET'S EXPLORE Menopause brings physical and emotional changes that ripple through a relationship. Fluctuating hormone levels can lead to…

October Menopause Awareness Month – Menopause and Nutrition – Cake BLOG 4: Menopause and Cake 🎂 Have Your Cake 🎂 (and Arteries, Too): Indulgence & Heart Health in Midlife LET’S EXPLORE Menopause increases cardiovascular risk due to lower oestrogen. At the same time, sugar and processed fats found…

October Menopause Awareness Month – Menopause and Nutrition – Diet Blog 3 - Menopause and Diet Fuelling the Change: How to Eat for Energy, Hormones, and Strength LET’S EXPLORE Your metabolism is changing. So are your energy needs, bone health demands, and hormonal rhythms. This isn’t a time to…

Join the November conversation – Generational Support in Menopause Blog 2: Generational Support A Generational Network: How Family Can Support Menopause LET’S EXPLORE Menopause affects the whole family, not just the individual going through it. Intergenerational understanding reduces stigma and…

October Menopause Awareness Month – Menopause and Nutrition – Alcohol 🍷 BLOG 2: Menopause and Alcohol Uncorking the Truth: Alcohol & Hormonal Health in Midlife LET'S EXPLORE A glass of wine🍷 can be social, relaxing, or celebratory. But during menopause, alcohol affects the body in more pronounced…

October Menopause Awareness Month – Menopause and Nutrition – Coffee ☕️  BLOG 1: Menopause and Coffee Caffeine & Confidence: Navigating Coffee During Menopause LET’S EXPLORECoffee is one of life’s small joys. But during menopause, that morning latte may hit differently. Why? Because fluctuating…

October is Menopause Awareness Month 🌍 Throughout this month, I’ll be sharing a series of short daily vlogs (just one minute each) to raise awareness and encourage open conversation about menopause. This is a more stripped-back approach for me—sharing simple, direct messages in video format. The…

October – Menopause Month of Awareness October is always a special month in the menopause calendar, as World Menopause Day takes place on 18th October. It’s a global event dedicated to raising awareness of menopause and the many support options available to improve health and wellbeing. It’s also…

September Blog – last one in the series on menopause in the workplace with the focus on asking for help Asking for help and seeking support in the workplace and at home. Menopause in the Workplace: Asking for Help and Seeking Support As we reach the end of this menopause series, it’s time to talk…

September Series – Menopause in the Workplace Confidence, Anxiety, and Menopause: Why Understanding Changes Everything Navigating menopause while balancing work responsibilities can feel overwhelming. For many women, this phase brings physical changes, emotional shifts, and cognitive challenges…

September Series on Menopause in the Workplace Managing Menopausal Symptoms at Work and Home Menopause Isn’t Just Personal — It’s PracticalMenopause is a natural life phase, but its impact often feels anything but manageable. For many of us, it affects not just our bodies but our confidence,…

#RCNresearch25 #Day3 @rcnresearchforum.bsky.social @rcn.org.uk #Research #Nursing #keynote4

#RCNresearch25 #Day3 @https://lnkd.in/eDzxBVbV @rcn.org.uk #Research #Nursing #PPIE session 7.5 inclusive research methods- really enjoyed chairing this session- well done 👏🏼 to all the speakers #debate #learning #reflection #reflexivity #poetry

#RCNresearch25 #Day3 @rcnresearchforum.bsky.social @rcn.org.uk #Research #Nursing #Keynote

#RCNresearch25 #Day2 @rcnresearchforum.bsky.social @rcn.org.uk #Research #Nursing #selfie

#RCNresearch25 #Day2 @rcnresearchforum.bsky.social @rcn.org.uk #Research session 4.1 ehealth - how do we get there ? #nurse-led #digitalresearch @ProfDawnDowding speaking

#RCNresearch25 #Day2 @rcnresearchforum.bsky.social @rcn.org.uk #Research session 3.5 4.1 ehealth 2nd speaker

#RCNresearch25 #Day2 @rcnresearchforum.bsky.social @rcn.org.uk #Research session 4.1 ehealth -first session on team from Bradford university talking on virtual wards

#RCNresearch25 #Day2 @rcnresearchforum.bsky.social @rcn.org.uk #Research session 3.5 focus on patient education and PPIE

#RCNresearch25 #Day2 @rcnresearchforum.bsky.social @rcn.org.uk #Research #Nursing #chairing #postertour looking forward to the day ahead - key note