Gardening
In garage at end of garden
So I’m peri menopausal - getting closer to it. I’ll have a period, and then stop for 6 months, then I think that’s it, and then I’ll have another
At 45 I got chronic migraines.That’s getting better. I’m really enjoying not having periods and not getting those huge mood swings within the month. It was really defined with me. If I had a job interview when I had a PMT I knew I wasn't going to get the job! It’s more plateaued now.
I’m more relaxed towards people, I don't have such strong views about whether I like or dislike a person, I can be more democratic towards everybody
I do get warm at night, hot points. I need a sheet rather than a duvet.
The way I’ve controlled my migraine and improved my whole wellbeing, is that I do Wim Hof. You do 30 breaths, I lie down. You breathe all the way from your belly up and you take 30 deep breaths, then you hold your breath for as long as you can - roughly a minute. That makes you very relaxed and then you go under a cold shower. I’ve been doing that first thing every morning for about three years, it makes me feel high in the mornings. Not many people want to have a cold shower but for me, because of bad migraines I was desperate, and my brother had done a course in it.
Some people - like my brother - go into lakes in January and do it like that but because of the frame of mind the breathing has put you in stops you feeling the cold water. When I feel I’m getting a headache I blast the back of my neck in the shower and it’s better than any pain killer. It got to the point where I could hardly work at all, but the cold water has got rid of that.
Not having periods is really nice. I think it depends on how bad your periods are, but mine were quite painful and quite frequent. I keep thinking is this the calm before the storm? and wondering if it going to get worse before it gets better.
I feel more invisible than I did when I was younger. I can be in a work meeting and I sometimes think “I’m here as well” Because suddenly, people - in particular younger women - sense there’s something different in you, and so I’ve found myself saying “can you just stop and let me finish what I have to say” in a work context, for example during online meetings. It’s a strange thing, like I’m invisible, weird. Because I’m a jewellery designer I want to create a brooch inscribed in decorative writing that says “patronising”.
But you can get up to stuff and get away with it and people think you’re a nice old lady!