Menopause and the marketing machine.

So anyway…

Something I have been hyper aware of in the last 2 years, is being targeted by menopause marketers. I know it might sound a bit cheeky coming from me, having a book, and hosting live workshops, but my marketing is getting useful information out there (and helping to pay off my lockdown bounceback loan… just for clarity).

What I am NOT trying to do, is sell a promise, sell a myth, a quick fix, nope, not me.

No snake oil here. I can get a wee bit woo woo every now and again, for example, when clients come a visit me feeling anxious or didn’t get a good nights sleep, like last night for me, I gently remind them that there is full moon the morra.

So, if you are reading this, and didn’t sleep well last night (Sunday 6th Nov 22), it’s because there’s a full moon tomorrow! Think it’s a blood moon as well so it’s going to be a biggie.

Anyway, back to the marketing.

Influencers are a fantastic source of marketing, because we all love a roll model that looks fab. Our new Princess of Wales is a great example of this, anything that she wears when it’s from the high street sells out in a flash.

Thinking about the Princess of Wales, if Diana was still alive, we would have been talking about menopause 20 years ago. What an interesting older person she would have been.

So back to influencers: what really gets my goat is influencers advertising products aimed at menopause women saying that taking a certain supplement makes them feel fab and it’s the best thing ever since sliced bread, etc. Then I go and look at the investment, and it’s £80 a month. WTAF!!!

Now, I have really been examining my head about this. Is there a possibility that I am jealous that some people get free stuff for a living and their job is to advertise it? I have to be honest and say that I am more annoyed than anything else. I can never trying a give anyone false hope by selling them an extremely expensive product in the hope of a quick fix, because when it comes to menopause, the quick fix doesn’t exist!!!

Please please please take this in: The quick fix for menopause doesn’t exist.

One thing that I am immensely proud of, is that I know I am a reliable sign post for women who feel like they are going off their head.

It’s the psychological symptoms of menopause that get spoken about first, before the physiological ones.

For me, it was the non stop crying, and total absence of decision making skills. I was doing a massive external check for just about every life situation that came up.

Don’t even get me started on disasterous relationship choices during perimenopause. I am literally rolling my own eyes out loud just thinking about it.

So what’s the moral of the blog post. If you are in menopause or perimenopause, and you read something or find an advert that sounds like answer to your dreams, put your credit card away. Honestly.

So that sounds like a damp squib doesn’t it?

What’s to be done?

Here is a very brief starter for 10 menopause toolkit.

1. Track your symptoms - anything not common to you.

2. Track what food and drink makes you feel worse: spoiler, your relationship with alcohol will change.

3. Have a good think what your body needs help with first, is it sleep? Have a fantastic bedtime routine and start taking magnesium. Boots own brand or Superdrug is perfect.

4. Take a probiotic. Live Bacteria from Holland Barrett for the win. My own experience was awful bloating in my abdomen. Gut health has been getting spoken about for years now. Give it a whirl. Kefir is also a good shout.

5. Movement. Don’t kill yourself at body pump. Pilates, barre, or yoga for the win. My winter routine involves doing 20 minutes of yoga instead of doom scrolling on my phone. Try it! Yoga by Adriene for the win on Youtube.

So there you have it. A mini menopause toolkit.

Here’s the thing about menopause. No one is going to tell you anything new, that you didn’t already know. Sometimes, just sometimes, you need someone to help focus your focus.

Let me know if I can help further.

Onward and Upward! (for Marion)

Elizabeth x

What's your winter care package?

So anyway.

I went on holiday mid September, and when I came back, it was literally as if someone had flicked a switched, shortened the days, amped up the colour on the trees, and turned the heating off. Literally.

We are strangely (for Scotland) still in double figures during the day, so I still have some great jumpers and sweatshirts ready to go at a moments notice. I’ve done a wellness check on my jeans, and recently had a clear out of clothes that I have not worn in ages.

It’s fantastic making room in areas of life, whether it be physical space, or mental space, to either find the good stuff, or make room for the good stuff to pour into your head.

So the season has definitely changed, but what have you changed about the way you look after yourself for Autumn/Winter?

One thing I noticed about myself was the straight to jammies thing I had getting home from work, and I also have a hankering to get the yoga mat out and dial in a good bedtime routine.

I also made my first pot of soup in what feels like ages ago, and whacked in a good dose of red lentils. Marvellous.

So what about you?

What’s been coming in new for you this year?

It feels like we have all had to look after ourselves a lot MORE over the last 2 years. We’ve got different measures that we can use if we want, for example, for a couple of months, I was only wearing a facecover when working on the head and neck with a client, but now I am back wearing it full time.

This is in turn, due to picking up a chest infection after running in the cold, and it just made me realise how much I had neglected taking my vitamins, and making sure I got my 5 a days fruit and veg in.

So I’ve got the effervescent vitamin tablets on the go again, as well as taking magnesium at night to help with sleep, and then omega 3 oils, so that I don’t feel like such a cardboard cut out first thing in the morning.

One thing I have really hated about my chest feeling sore and tight, is being unable to cycle to work. I’ve really missed it! My daily dose of the park!

So what are you going to resurrect and make part of your day? Do you need to have a more protective sleep pattern? Or, do you need to have a vitamin pill amnesty and up the ante on the good stuff you get into your body.

My advice would be, don’t wait til illness creeps up on your before you make a difference to yourself.

Onward!

Elizabeth x