Lives in Lancing (Brighton)
Age 54
Ex-raver, road sweeper, nurse. Currently happily retired warrior bitch.
On the beach with sun on face and moody skies
At her allotment with Buddy the dog
Thank you for having me as part of your festival. What is it? It’s an exhibition, isn’t it? Thank you for having me as part of your exhibition!
The negatives are: exhaustion, aches and pains, lack of sleep, night sweats. I’ve probably got more positives than negatives if I really think about it.
What was difficult for me at one point was that I had a partial hysterectomy many years ago. My ovaries were left, but my uterus was removed. I didn’t go into immediate menopause because. I was still ovulating at the time, but obviously my periods stopped because my uterus was gone. I was starting to feel forgetful with a foggy brain, and became very anxious at times. I didn’t know if it was true menopause or something else going on.
Positives: giving less of a fuck than I gave before, being sensible enough that when I was struggling in the workplace due to menopause I just handed my notice in and left my job. I had some unexpected money, so I thought rather than struggle on with work, dealing with the menopause, I’d just leave my job and live independently off my savings for a while. I don’t have to worry about getting up early or remembering what I was doing. I didn’t have to make any lists because I’m just a free agent now.
I think the project that you have invited me to become involved in is very empowering. It’s getting us talking about the menopause, not just menopausal women. It’s a much less taboo subject than it was previously, because of projects like yours. I would take that as a great positive, it shouldn’t be a taboo subject because half the population of the planet are going to go through it if they live that long. I feel a privileged to have lived long enough to be a menopausal woman!