This blog is inspired by my crazy friends who think they’re in menopause - you know who you are and thanks for the inspo.
I was trying to think of a creative way to explain menopause to my friends in a way that would resonate with them, as they clearly hadn’t listened previously 🤣. As they are all quite business-orientated and corporat-ey, when the idea of menopause as a business came to mind I thought let’s give it a go. This is my attempt.
How can you be a Meno-Preneur in your Body’s Menopause Business?
So your body is like a business with various departments with varying roles and job descriptions.
Menopause is like a business restructure within your body.
Department 1️⃣ represented by the ovaries, has a job description to mostly manage hormone production during the fertile years. But as the primary project (reproduction) comes to an end, Department 1️⃣ no longer requires full operation. Only certain responsibilities of hormone production are transferred to Department 2️⃣represented by the adrenals.
Department 2️⃣ has its own job description bigger than Department 1️⃣. It’s primary responsibility is to generate energy to the entire business. Just as a company's IT department ensures that all systems are up and running smoothly, the adrenals are like the energy hub of your body, ensuring that ALL systems have enough to operate efficiently.
When there’s so much work demand, overload, unnecessary deadline, screaming and shouting for attention, the whack-a-mole approach comes into effect and Department 2️⃣ loses capacity, becoming less efficient and goes into crises.
This is “Menopause”.
Menopausal symptoms - whether pre, peri or in it, are essentially stress signals. No matter the age, we are all pre-disposed according to our stress aka workload.
How well you navigate menopause is all about how effectively you give it energy. If your adrenals don’t have enough capacity, they can’t support the natural transition from ovaries to adrenals. Menopause should only signify a biological restructure or change. It’s not a breakdown. It’s not a condition. It’s not a curse. You’re not crazy. Yes you might feel an adaption to the shift, but you need to help it not malfunction.
Adrenals are responsible for producing priority survival hormones like cortisol, insulin, adrenaline etc which are key fuels for your body's daily operations and will increase to the demand but also run out from demands.
If there is too much stress, too many environmental and lifestyle loads, not enough recovery, not enough nutrient density, not enough sunlight, constriction, restriction (I could go on) - your cortisol, insulin etc is affected.
So when you have hot flushes, it’s not menopause, it’s your body trying to create energy. When you’re craving food, feeling irritable, that’s insulin disregulation. Fatigue, sleep issues, a burning sensation - it’s all pumping too much or too little cortisol. When you start to miss cycles it's about capacity, that’s why when young girls have irregular cycles, it’s a stress issue first.
So what do we do?
Well just like a business, you wouldn’t just leave your most vital department implode and shut the business down. You’d have a meeting, you’d assess where the weakness is, where the unnecessary demands are and remove them. You’d assess the needs and supply the requirements. You wouldn’t focus on marketing when the need is supply and operations. You’d put a recovery plan and strategy in place.
Think of it like when you have a cold—you don’t overwhelm your body with more virus, but instead, you lessen its workload and give it the energy and ingredients it needs to fight off the virus. Similarly, during “menopause”, it's not about needing more regular hormones ie estrogen, progesterone, testosterone etc, it's about providing the energy. After menopause, you still need some of the above hormones, but not as many as during your childbearing years. So why force more in with HRT etc when it's not what the body is requiring and only going to make things worse?
Here's your Meno-preneur Strategy for Managing Your Body's Business Through Menopause.
🧠Think positively about this change. Everything calms down when you understand and tr. Refrain from participating in the same old menopause war-stories. Don’t be a groupie in this group.
☢️reduce environmental chemicals and hormone mimickers like plastics, personal care products, packaged foods and drinks. WHEREVER YOU CAN, REDUCE YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL LOAD!!!
🫁breathwork (so key)
💦drink lots of structured water (Celtic sea salt)
🥗add nutrient dense foods
😴rest and digest. This is not about stopping being busy but incorporating the rest and recovery in your life. Finding what makes you relax and brings enjoyment.
☀️Light. Spend just a few minutes in direct light. It kills infection, and cholesterol and vitamin D are actually precursors for all your hormones!
🏃🏾♀️movement - reduce hectic cardio but incorporate working in and resistance. Lymphatic is KEY!!!!
🌿Adaptogen supplements, minerals and essential oils are the safest and most natural way to help. Don’t buy hormone supplements.
👧No matter the age, we are all predisposed and our youth need to be taught how to look after their adrenals to break the rhetoric for the next generation.
Menopause is fundamentally about energy, not hormones. How well you menopause is how well you support your body in the shift.
If you have any further questions or need a bit of help with the above, please don’t think twice to reach out.