If menopause has made you question your memory, your mood or your confidence, the problem is not you, it is that no one explained what was happening inside your brain.
For many women, perimenopause does not arrive quietly. It announces itself through forgotten words, emotional surges, disrupted sleep and a creeping fear “Why does my brain not feel like mine anymore?”
Many women notice memory lapses, brain fog or difficulty concentrating during menopause and wonder “Is this dementia?”
Here’s what the evidence actually shows.
A decade-long study suggests tea may support bone density in older women, while heavy coffee intake is linked to lower bone density after menopause. On its own, that is interesting.
But when you factor in what we know about earlier menopause, bone health risk and unequal access to menopause care for Black and South Asian women, this research takes on a deeper significance.
Menopause is not just a hormonal transition. It affects bone remodelling, inflammation, muscle strength, balance and long-term mobility. For women who enter menopause earlier, these changes begin sooner and last longer. When musculoskeletal symptoms are under-recognised or normalised, the long-term impact is often missed until later life.
For too long, menopause has been reduced to a punchline about hot flushes and mood swings. That framing is not only inaccurate, it is dangerous.
From a neuroscience, public health and lived-experience perspective, menopause represents a profound biological, psychological and social transition.
For Black women and women of colour, the impact is often intensified by systemic bias, delayed diagnosis and cultural silence. As an advisory community committed to leadership, wellbeing and equity, we must tell the fuller truth.
If you thought menopause might finally give you a minute of peace and “feeling like yourself again,” Wanda’s interview will hit home. Just when you declare victory, the universe and menopause casually sends another round your way.
Wanda’s honesty is hilarious and deeply real. Her remedy for coping? A bit of red wine, a fag and sleeping nude. Yes, that was the punch line for me! But beneath the laughter is a truth many of us know all too well.
Say goodbye to menopause mayhem because what you are feeling is not madness, weakness or “losing it.”
It is biology. It is hormones. It is your brain and body recalibrating.small changes in systems create big shifts in behaviour. Menopause is one of those systems. An internal reboot that shakes every circuit.
Here are five evidence-backed ways to move from chaos to calm:
There is a moment in every woman’s menopause journey when the symptoms feel louder than your voice, your confidence or your clarity.
You are not imagining it.
You are not “too emotional.”
You are not losing your edge.
Menopause is not the ending people whisper about. It is the beginning of a woman who finally stops shrinking, stops apologising and stops carrying pain in silence. But here is the truth that transforms everything:
You cannot change what you refuse to measure.
In most workplaces, changes in confidence or performance are attributed to shifting roles, organisational pressure or workload. We are reminded that the most significant disruptors are usually the ones no one is examining.
Menopause is not a personal weakness. It is a biological transition with workplace consequences. The problem is not the symptoms. It is the silence around them.
Before women begin questioning their capability, one essential reflection is missing “Is my confidence changing because of competence or because of chemistry?”
When researchers call menopause a “gold rush,” it forces us to confront a truth many women already felt instinctively. There is profit in our confusion. Millions of women report feeling uninformed, unsupported or dismissed and into that gap steps a marketplace of supplements, influencers, private clinics and quick fixes offering hope at a price.
The Guardian recently highlighted this problem when University College London researchers found that only 22 percent of women felt well-informed about menopause.
That statistic is not simply medical, it is political. It exposes how deeply society has under invested in women’s health, education and long-term wellbeing.
There is a quiet revolution happening in the menopause conversation, led by Black women who refuse to let our experiences remain invisible.
At the forefront is Nina Kuypers, founder of Black Women in Menopause (BWIM), a voice who has carved out space for a demographic routinely ignored in research, under-represented in policy and too often dismissed in healthcare.
Nina’s work begins with a truth many Black women know but rarely name. Our menopause journey is distinct. Symptoms often start earlier, hit harder and are more likely to be minimised by clinicians who have not been trained to recognise the cultural, hormonal and stress-related realities of Black women’s lives.
She dismantles the myth that “we just cope.”
During perimenopause and menopause, many women experience changes they were never fully prepared for. Lower sexual desire, vaginal dryness, difficulty with arousal and, for some, painful intercourse.
These shifts are driven primarily by declining estrogen and testosterone, but the emotional impact often runs deeper than the biology.
Hormone therapy can help, but research consistently shows its effects on sexual function are modest. Pleasure, intimacy and desire are shaped not only by hormones, but by stress, relationship dynamics, cultural expectations and emotional wellbeing. So, when the pandemic hit, those layers became even more complicated.
What Happened?
The FDA recently removed the black box warning from most Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) products. This warning, introduced in 2003 after the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, highlighted risks like breast cancer and heart disease.
Every major shift in women’s health has a tipping point. A moment when what we thought we understood turns out to be incomplete. Hair loss in menopause is one of those tipping points.
Most women are told it is “just aging.” The NHS describes menopausal hair thinning as common, often offering reassurance, lifestyle tweaks or Minoxidil. It is well-intentioned, but the explanation is incomplete.
The evidence tells a more intricate story grounded in endocrinology, follicular biology and crucially, cultural experience.
Most of us have been told that rest equals sleep. But during peri-, full- and post-menopause, your body, mind and soul are asking for something deeper. Rest that restores, not just rest that helps you “keep going.”
Let us discover how to shift from survival mode to strategic self-restoration:
Hormones and brain chemistry are inseparable. As women enter perimenopause and menopause, fluctuating oestrogen and progesterone levels don’t just change the body, they recalibrate the brain. Understanding Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin and Endorphins for emotional balance becomes very important.
These hormonal shifts alter the balance of key neuro chemicals that regulate mood, motivation, focus and connection. That’s why you might feel less like yourself, not just physically, but emotionally and cognitively too.
Let us break down what happens to the brain’s “happy chemicals” during this stage and how women across cultures can rebuild emotional balance from the inside out.
Let us begin with a quiet truth.
Menopause does not just happen to women. It happens to relationships.
While we are navigating hot flashes, brain fog, mood swings and a body that feels unfamiliar, our partners, especially our Black and South Asian men, are often left in the dark. Not because they do not care. But because no one ever taught them how to care through menopause.
In many households, menopause is treated like a private matter. In South Asian families, it is rarely discussed, even among women. In Black communities, it is often met with a shrug and a prayer and for men? There is no roadmap. No language. No safe space.
We often talk about menopause as if it is an ending. But in truth, it is a turning point, a recalibration of the body’s chemistry, rhythm and sense of identity.
One of the most visible and misunderstood signs of this transition is hair loss. By age 50, over 40% of women experience noticeable thinning, yet most are told it is “just part of aging.” Science tells a different story.
What is really happening is a hormonal imbalance, not a slow decay. During menopause, estrogen and progesterone, the two hormones that nurture, protect and sustain hair follicles, begin to fall. Their decline leaves hair unprotected from a more dominant hormone called DHT (dihydrotestosterone), which miniaturises follicles and slows growth. In other words, it is not time that is taking your hair. It is chemistry.
Struggling with getting your menopause skin looking smooth and radiant?
You are not alone.
For so many women, this season of life feels like a mystery of shifting hormones and unexpected changes. Yet, our skin, this outer reflection of our inner vitality, often gets overlooked in the conversation.
The truth is, as estrogen levels shift, our skin naturally loses elasticity, hydration and that glow we once took for granted. But here is what I want you to remember. Your skin is not betraying you, it is inviting you to pay closer attention, to slow down and to honour it as part of your sacred vessel.
This month, we pause not to whisper about menopause, but to celebrate it. Too often, society frames menopause as an ending, a slowing down, a fading away. But in truth, it is a beginning. It is a season where wisdom ripens, self-awareness deepens and women step into a power unshaken by old expectations.
Menopause is not just about hot flashes or hormone shifts, it is about transformation. It is the body’s way of saying “you have carried enough for others. Now is the time to carry yourself with pride.”
In this group, we honour every stage of the journey:
The courage it takes to embrace change
As women transition through menopause, symptoms like sudden heat, palpitations or dizziness are common. But here is the critical question, is it a hot flush or could it be high blood pressure (hypertension)?
This distinction matters, especially because cardiovascular disease is now the leading cause of death in post-menopausal women worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2021).
Here are 5 key points with data and evidence:
In every doctor’s office, there is a quiet vocabulary that determines how women’s pain is recorded, treated or dismissed.
Words like dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia and amenorrhea are not just medical jargon, they are signals, codes that unlock care or close the door to it. Yet who gets to use these words and who gets heard when they do, tells a bigger story about health inequity than most of us realise.
Behind each clinical term lies a lived reality, an experience that reaches far beyond a line in a medical textbook. These words describe the rhythms and disruptions that can shape a woman’s physical, emotional and professional life.
For decades, menopause has been framed as an ending, a biological shutdown, a loss of youth or worse, a punchline. Our culture has had little to say about it beyond whispers and warnings.
But what if we imagined menopause differently? What if it marked the beginning of a new chapter, one that liberates us from biological and societal expectations and invites us to redefine ourselves on our own terms?
Menopause is not just a medical milestone. It is a deeply personal transformation, physical, emotional and cultural. For many women, hot flushes are one of the most visible and disruptive symptoms. But what happens after menopause? Do they ever stop and is the experience the same for everyone?
For many women, the end of monthly periods is supposed to mark freedom from hot flushes, but reality often tells a different story.
These sudden waves of heat, sometimes followed by a pounding heartbeat or night sweats, are more than a passing nuisance. They are the visible signs of a profound neurological shift. When oestrogen levels fall, the hypothalamus, the brain’s internal thermostat, becomes hypersensitive, misreading even slight changes in body temperature as a reason to cool down.
The result is a surge of heat that can interrupt sleep, cloud concentration and erode confidence at work or in relationships.
The Lancet’s 2024 Menopause Series reads less like a medical manual and more like a quiet call to reset an entire cultural narrative. Across four papers, researchers trace the contours of early menopause, mental health, cancer-related menopause and a new empowerment model for managing the transition.
Their argument is disarmingly simple. Menopause is not a disease to be “fixed” yet for decades it has been treated as one. By framing it as an oestrogen-deficiency disorder best solved with hormones, medicine and marketing have created a cycle of stigma, over-prescription and profit.
The Series pushes for an individualised, evidence-based approach. Some women sail through with minimal discomfort, others wrestle with night sweats, insomnia or mood shifts that can upend daily life. Hormone therapy can help, but it’s not a universal answer and it carries measurable risks, including higher breast-cancer incidence.
Black feminist scholar Bell Hooks reminds us, “Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue.” Menopause policy must embody that truth.
Policymakers can no longer rely on one-size-fits-all workplace protections. Psychological research on stereotype threat, pioneered by Dr. Claude Steele, shows that when women of colour sense bias or dismissal, stress hormones rise and cognitive performance drops.
Add the midlife surge of hormonal fluctuation and the effect is compounded. Higher anxiety, disrupted sleep and impaired decision-making.
A truly responsive legislative agenda would integrate this science into practice. That means funding intersectional mental-health programs, requiring culturally competent clinical training and creating corporate guidelines that address the psychological as well as physical demands of menopause.
Menopause is often framed as a hormonal shift, but new research is challenging that narrow view, especially for Black and minority ethnic women. A pioneering initiative, the MODEL Programme (full name: Multi-Organ Approach to Address Diseases Following Estrogen Loss), is set to transform how we understand menopause-related health issues across multiple body systems.
Menopause is more than a life stage, it is a global turning point that reshapes health, identity, and careers.
Hosted by Sonia Brown MBE and the National Black Women’s Network (NBWN) join us for an unforgettable evening with award-winning menopause expert Lauren Chiren, Founder and CEO of Women of a Certain Stage™ From guiding the UK government’s menopause policy to consulting with FTSE 100 leaders and Fortune 500 boards, Lauren brings a depth of experience that crosses borders and cultures. She is a leading international menopause strategist known for her collaborations across cultures and continents.
🗓 Wednesday 24 September 2025
When Hollywood powerhouse Queen Latifah speaks, people listen. That is why her new role as the inaugural spokeswoman for “WeightWatchers for Menopause” feels like such a natural and important fit.
Latifah has been candid about her own journey through perimenopause, admitting that even she was surprised by how subtle (and sometimes confusing) the changes could be.
Hot flashes, disrupted sleep, shifting moods and stubborn weight gain are not always easy to name, let alone manage. By sharing her experience, she is helping to shatter the silence and stigma that too often surround this life stage.
“Menopause has been a new journey for me.” explained Latifah “One that is changed how I see and care for my body. It has shown me how important it is for women to have support that truly understands this stage of life. That is why I’m proud…
If you have ever felt a hot flash rise like a summer sun or noticed your mood dip with the long winter nights, you are not imagining things and you are not alone.
Our bodies are tuned to the rhythm of nature and that ongoing dance between sunlight, temperature and hormones can make menopause feel like a moving target. For Black, Asian and other minority women, that rhythm is even more complex and revealing.
Here is the science in plain language.
Menopause is not a single moment, it is a deeply human transition shaped by biology, culture and the stories we tell ourselves about aging.
Too often, it is framed as a medical problem to be “fixed,” rather than a powerful life stage to be understood. When we pause to examine the three most common physical complaints, hot flashes, weight changes and sleep disturbances, we uncover more than symptoms.
We find a narrative about stress, identity and the resilience of women’s bodies across cultures.
Hosted by Sonia Brown MBE on behalf of the NBWN, this webinar is more than an educational opportunity. It is an invitation to be part of a global shift. One that transforms menopause from a hidden struggle into a celebrated passage of power, purpose and possibility.
We all know menopause impacts every culture differently and understanding those nuances is key to meaningful support.
That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome Lauren Chiren, a multi-award-winning trainer and global menopause expert whose coaching and training programmes have reached women and workplaces in Africa, Singapore, Australia, Europe and beyond.
Lauren’s track record is not just international, it’s deeply cross-cultural. Her network of trained coaches spans continents, bringing insights from diverse traditions and workplace realities.
The conversation around menopause in the workplace is finally gaining momentum, but we must ensure it does not leave anyone behind.
As more women speak out, we must also address the uncomfortable truths around intergenerational dynamics and cultural silence, especially in Black and minoritised communities.
For far too many women especially African, Black and South Asian women menopause remains shrouded in silence. Families don’t talk about it, workplaces don’t prepare for it, health systems often overlook it.
The result is that millions of women enter perimenopause and menopause without the support, information or care they both need and deserve, creating compound consequences for their health, careers and communities.
Silence around menopause has never been neutral, it has been harmful. When women cannot speak openly about their experiences, they are left to manage not only physical symptoms but also the emotional weight of stigma, exclusion and misunderstanding.
For Black, Asian and ethnically diverse women, this silence can be even more profound, shaped by cultural taboos, lack of representation in health research and systemic barriers in care.
Here are three reasons why breaking the silence matters, especially for BAME women:
1. Silence Hides Unequal Realities
Dr. (h.c.) Marva Williams is a menopause counsellor, wellness educator and founder of Shhh... Menopause Wellness.
Alongside Donna Spence and Andrea Malcolm, she is inviting you to take part in an urgent and long-overdue survey on menopause. especially for women of colour.
In 2019, undiagnosed peri-menopausal symptoms nearly cost her life. Her experience is far from unique as many women of colour have been unheard, misdiagnosed and left to suffer in silence.
This survey is your chance to share your truth about symptoms, stigma, support (or lack of it) and how menopause has affected your health, career and confidence. The results will be presented at a major event in October to push for inclusive workplace policies, better healthcare, and stronger community support.
For those who were able to join us at the last Menopause, Mindset & Me webinar on July 29th, we hope you found the session with Emma Lady both empowering and informative. Her insights into the lived experiences of Black women navigating menopause offered not only clarity but also practical tools to help us move forward with confidence and self-compassion.
We understand that not everyone could attend. We understand, life gets busy and sometimes things come up. But we don’t want you to miss out. Emma has kindly shared the slides from the session, so you can still benefit from the key takeaways and resources.
You will find them below, ready for you to download and reflect on in your own time.
Supporting someone through menopause isn’t just about knowing the symptoms it is about understanding the full experience. The sleepless nights, brain fog, mood shifts and physical changes aren’t isolated events. They’re deeply connected, often showing up in ways that affect confidence, relationships, work and wellbeing all at once.
This is why menopause support must be grounded in empathy, knowledge and the courage to have sensitive conversations. Conversations that don’t assume, judge or dismiss but instead hold space with care. It is about knowing when to listen, when to offer practical tools and when to guide someone toward professional help.
For those supporting employees, clients or community members, having clear frameworks and practical strategies isn’t optional, it is transformational. You shift from feeling unsure or powerless to being an active support, someone who can advocate for adjustments, offer immediate help and build a culture where…
Real menopause support isn’t a workshop you tick off or a one-off conversation you squeeze into a team meeting. It’s a practice lived, learned and led with intention. For too long, menopause has been boxed into awkward side chats, vague wellness webinars or reduced to a “hot flash and move on” narrative. But those of us living it navigating the shifts in our bodies, minds and spirits know better.
True support meets women where they are, with respect, listening and a readiness to do, not just talk. It looks like embedding empathy into everyday interactions. It shows up in policies, partnerships, coaching, community spaces and yes, in the brave choice to open real conversations, even when it's uncomfortable. When done with care, conversations don’t cross lines, they build bridges.
Let’s be clear, raising awareness is the start, not the solution. Actionable skills like how…
I love this statement......This isn’t just a phase. It’s a powerful part of life’s journey !
We are witnessing a powerful shift.
Menopause is no longer being swept under the rug. Women are demanding better care, real understanding and compassionate support and they’re right to do so.
From personalised hormone therapy to digital health tools, emerging trends in menopause care are offering new hope.
When a woman opens up about menopause, the question is often “is it really that bad?”
The truth?
That question silences, shames and oversimplifies what is a deeply physiological, psychological and social transition, one that affects millions, yet remains misunderstood across families, workplaces and even healthcare systems.
So the real question we should be asking is “how can we guide someone through menopause with confidence and compassion?”
Welcome to the club no one warned us about!
Menopause isn’t a crisis, it’s a powerful recalibration. But let’s be real, the transition can feel like a mystery novel with missing pages. One minute you're cool, calm and collected, the next, you’re arguing with the kettle and forgetting where you parked the car… twice.
Here’s your crash course (minus the doom and gloom) on what’s happening, why and how to reclaim your fire.
1. Hot Flashes & Night Sweats
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
Fantastic News for the Movement!