The Therapy Edit - One Thing with Liz Earle on what you need to know about hormones

Episode Date: May 27, 2022

In this episode of One Thing, Anna chats with Liz Earle about peri-menopause and how the onset of the symptoms caused by a reduction in hormones can take many mothers by surprise.Liz Earle MBE is a leading British ethical entrepreneur, charity founder, TV presenter and bestselling author. She's also passionate about educating women about the Menopause and how they can manage and live with their symptoms. You can follow Liz on Instagram at @lizearleme and you can listen to her popular podcast here https://open.spotify.com/show/5YLl0cJmNFUzP6Ow5UirooYou can also find out about Liz's other projects and subscribe to her newsletter at https://lizearlewellbeing.com

Hello and welcome to The Therapy Edit with me, psychotherapist's mum of three and author Anna Martha. Every Friday, I invite one guest to tell me the one thing they would most like to share with mums everywhere. So join with me as we hear this dose of wisdom. I hope you enjoy it. Hi, everyone. Welcome to today's episode of The Therapy Edit. I am so excited today to have with me one of the kind of original and ongoing queens of well-being. In all areas, I'm talking kind of nutrition, beauty, all of the different aspects of our lives, that we can do things, or big and small, that completely change our experience of life and how we approach it.

So, Lizelle, welcome today. You are, and I'm astounded, kind of looking and having a little Google on you, that you've written, So many books, over 35 books on nutrition, beauty and well-being. And now, along with the brand that you founded, your beauty company, which, you know, I have got many products of them still using their hotcloth cleansers, I think. So many people, it's a staple for them. But now your focus is on your Liz Earle well-being. So you've got a website, but you also have a bi-monthly magazine. And it is such a resource. It's such a go-to. There are kind of, you've got recipes, You've got beautiful kind of fair trade jewelry on there.

You've got lots of different, you know, different tips and wisdom and information that kind of just feeds into all of those different areas of our lives that often we don't even realize that there are little tweaks we can make and things that we can invest in that will just start to have a positive impact on our experience of life. So welcome. Thank you. It's a real joy to be with here, you know, be with you here and just to share some of that because that's really my work is about sharing.

sharing words of wisdom, hopefully, on simple things to make our lives better and easier. Yeah, and you do that also on your podcast. You were just having a chat about doing a little podcast swap and having those conversations that are just empowering and informing and doing that as warmly as you always do. So how are you today? I'm well, thank you. I'm very slightly stressed because I've just dropped my youngest back at school. And, you know, there was a lot to organise and did he have the right bits and his short.

shorts are too small because he didn't wear them last summer because there wasn't school because of lockdown. So they're like two years old. I thought I'd get away with it and I didn't. So I'm now stressing that he's going to be, you know, sandwiched into these really tight shorts all day until I can get him a new pair. So, you know, it's just the usual same stuff, isn't it, of motherhood and juggle and jobs. And then my eldest is based in Kenya. And so he's three hours ahead. So I had a quick call with him first thing this morning, trying to sort out some business stuff. And so it goes on. Wow, it does. The juggle never, it doesn't, it slows sometimes, isn't it? And then it just picks up with intensity of when you're still wheeling from the last lot of trying to keep everything going. Yeah. A lot of plate spinning. We know that. Yeah. A lot of plate spinning and sometimes tired arms from it all. So Liz, we're just excited here. Some of your wisdom today. What is the one thing that you would love to share with mums? Well, I think it's something that I wish I had known about. And,

I'm still quite shocked that I didn't know about it because I've had five children. So that means, you know, five lots of GPs and antinatal, postnatal, midwives, health visitors, you know, all the lot of it. And at no point did anybody in any of those sessions ever say to me, Liz, do you know what? This is all very well. But, you know, by the time you hit your 40s, you are very likely to experience some hormonal changes. and they might have quite a dramatic impact on your life. They might disrupt your mood, your emotions, your energy, your sleep, your skin, your eyes, your ears, your brain, your pelvis, your bones, all of these things.

And I'm talking about perimenopause and the loss of estrogen, the all women experience. You know, it's not a nice to have or maybe this will happen, maybe it won't. It's a non-negotiable about health as females. We run on estrogen. That's kind of the fuel in our tank. And we lose it. And it starts to decline. Average age, early 40s can happen in your 30s. And there's a lot we can do about it. And I wish I had known that one thing earlier. So that's what I want to share with you today. Wow, and I'm just about to be 37 at the end of this summer. So it's something I'm seeing people talking about. I'm seeing people talking about perimenopause, but it still seems that there's a part of my brain that thinks, oh, that's just down the line. It's not something I need to worry about yet. But for those who are in those late 30s, those early 40s, maybe a bit later that are thinking, oh, there are things that I can do about it. What might those things be? Well, I think the first thing is awareness. And it's good that you're hearing about it because I didn't hear about it. I'm 58. So it just completely passed me by. Nobody mentioned it. And even though I've written health and beauty books and well-being books for the last 35 years, you know, it was something that really didn't

across my desk in any way. So I think the first thing is awareness. And, you know, be aware that that I think it's one in a hundred women have early onset menopause. So it can happen in your 30s. So basically, estrogen, we have estrogen receptors all over our bodies. So we have them in our brain, in our ears, in our skin, in our bones, in our heart, which is why when we lose estrogen, everything in our bodies is affected to some greater or lesser degree. And you may be one of those lucky women that sail through it with not really many symptoms, or you may suddenly find yourself feeling that you're falling off the edge of a cliff.

And estrogen lowering doesn't just happen overnight. People think about the menopause. Oh, it's that sudden time in life when you go from being a healthy, vibrant woman to kind of a crumpled incontinent heap in the corner that's lost her marbles. And it doesn't really happen like that. It's a very, very slow decline. And it peaks and troughs. So some days you may feel absolutely fine.

and other days you may feel really low for no reason. And when I look back on my own perimenopause experience, it was in my early to mid-40s that I used to get really crippling headaches, you know, migraine-type headaches, which came from nowhere. I mean, I've never, thankfully, had issues with migraines or headaches before. And I used to get mood swings. I used to feel flashes of rage and out of nowhere. But, I mean, I say out of nowhere, but I was busy, you know, I was the mom of young children. I was working really hard. We were actually selling the beauty company at the time. So I was living on planes going to and from New York and there was a lot going on. And I put it down to stress. I took it down to, put it down to overload, too many things, all that juggle that we talk about. And I think a lot of women do the same because it can be a very stressful time of life. You may be having younger children or teenagers. You may be juggling your career. You may be juggling your career. You may be.

be looking after older parents. You know, there might be a lot going on. You might have relationship issues. So it's natural, I think, to say, well, of course I'm feeling overwhelmed because it's stress related. But please keep in mind that it could be lowering of hormones. And there are very, very easy ways, you know, obviously hormone replacement therapy, you just put a bit of estrogen back into your system and things start firing up again. And it's a lot safer than we've ever been led to believe. And a lot of my work actually is done to counter some of the myths about hormone replacement and why actually it's a really good thing for the vast, vast majority of women to look at topping up their hormones when they get lost. That's so helpful. I think when I'm having

a hard time, I love putting it down to something. So I often open up my app that tells me where I'm at my cycle. And if I'm not, you know, if it's not PMT and it's not that time, I'm like, oh, damn, it might just be, you know, I'm just overloaded and tired and that's harder to, harder to fix in a way than just wait a couple of days. So I think that's so helpful that if you're noticing these mood fluctuations or different symptoms that you might not have experienced before, don't just put it down to something that's going on. You know, just to take a moment to think a little bit further out and might, you know, maybe even track things a little bit and have those conversations and I love the fact that you mentioned the hormone replacement therapy because I think

you know some people listening and myself might be thinking oh my gosh like this is all going to start happening to me and that's just going to be the end of but it's there's hope isn't there oh my goodness there's hope and that's wonderful you know I well to give you a bit of hope I am I feel better stronger fitter slimmer happier in my 50s than I was in my 50s than I was in my 40s. And I am determined to have a better second half. You know, my kids are mostly grown up and older. I've got one still left who's 12, who's, you know, my youngest, by a long way, I had a very late baby. I was nearly 48 when I had him. So, you know, don't believe them when they say, oh, it's fine. You know, you don't need to worry about contraception. Chances are you're

not going to get pregnant. Well, they lied. So, yeah, so he's, my mother calls him autumn leaf. So, you know, so he is very much, you know, it's still there. But for me, personally, as a woman, you know, I lift weights where I didn't ever do before because I now think I do need to look after my bones. I need to create some bone density and use my muscle mass. I started taking estrogen or HRT, so estrogen, progesterone and now a bit of testosterone as well. I think in my early 50s, I wish I'd taken it sooner. I wish I'd known about it. I've done a lot of work on the safety studies. It doesn't cause breast cancer.

In fact, it's being used now in some cases to treat breast cancer. So there's a lot of myths about HRT. There's a very good app actually talking about, you know, looking at apps for tracking cycles and things, which is the balance menopause app. It's a free app. And it's run by doctors and clinicians. And it's a symptom tracker.

So if you are experiencing symptoms and you are, you know, as you say, late 30s, early 40s, and you're beginning to experience changes in mood. Maybe you're not sleeping so well. Maybe you're getting heart palpitations. Maybe you're getting recurrent urine retract infections, dry skin, tinnitus, you know, all these things that you might not associate with menopause or perimenopause. And perimenopause, you can be in perimenopause for years, you know, before you finally, your periods finally stop. That's so helpful. It's just good to know that these resources are out there. And I think, you know, a lot of a shy away from the thought of the menopause and the perimenopause when actually the biggest gift we can give ourselves

then, this is what you're saying, is to get clued up on it. Start, start just noticing, start tracking, start just reading the resources and you've got so many because you're passionate about equipping women so that it doesn't feel like this kind of slow decline. Actually, I love the fact that you're saying you feel better and stronger and bitter. And in your, you know, where you're at now than you did in your 40s. And definitely. And that's just, you know, it's so hopeful. So some quick fire questions for you, Liz. What is the motherhood high? Motherhood high. I mean, I just loved childbirth, actually, for me. That, you know, the feeling of that newborn being delivered. And that new. And that new. person coming into the world who wasn't there previously, you know, that new life. I just think, I mean, I get goosebumps even now just thinking about it. I love breastfeeding. My hairs are standing on edge. Yeah. I just love that, that early bit. I love, you know, pacing up and down at

night, night feeding. Just, yeah, the whole thing, the skin to skin contact to breastfeeding and having that newborn, that euphoria. And I know that that nature gives us oxytocating. And I know that nature gives us oxytocin and all those hormones that make us feel so great. But it's even just thinking about that now, I think you can generate that surge of love. And it's important to revisit it, actually, isn't it? Remember how special it is and how fortunate we are. Yeah, thanks for that. And a motherhood low, what's been more of the challenges? Oh my goodness. I mean, the stress never ends. You know, my kids, my eldest is 31. And the problems are there all the time. You never stop being a mother. they're just endless. And in fact, the problems almost get bigger because, you know, you start

worrying about the big things in life, you know, like jail and bankruptcy and drug addiction and, you know, things that, you know, okay, it's stressful sometimes, you know, sorting out play dates. But, you know, trust me, the issues just, you know, they are still there. They don't go away. So I guess that's, that is the low, isn't it? When the phone rings, we get the message. and it's like, Mom, I need some help. And that's always potentially quite a big low point. Yeah, yeah. It all just the stakes change.

The stakes get high, didn't they? I can't think about my children driving. That's one thing. I'm like, I can't think about that quite yet. Two of them doing their driving test at the moment. Absolutely terrifies me. Terrifies me. Yeah.

Yeah. It's just a constant letting go, isn't it? And a constant relinquishing of trying to have control over things that can't. Yeah, and still always being a parent. You know, I think it's really important. I'm sure you've covered this many times. But, you know, our kids need parents.

They've got lots of friends, and it's great to be friendly. But, you know, I'm a mother rather than their best friend. We have fantastic times together. And I would hope they would consider me a great friend. But nobody else can be their mum. And what is one thing that makes you feel good? Oh, I mean, the hug. I mean, it's just, I think that's probably what we all miss most during lockdown, wasn't it?

Especially for those who are separated from other members of family. I just made a point of hugging even more, hugging those around me. And again, it's a physical thing. We get a chemical reaction when we hug. And interestingly, even if you're on your own, you can hug yourself because it's the pressure on the thorax and the serassic area and the feeling, the skin contact, even if it's your own hands, your own arms hugging. But yeah, I mean, I embarrass my kids all the time by hugging them in public. I love that. Worst things to be embarrassed by.

And how would you describe motherhood in three words? I guess the fundamental word is care. You just, you get this. I mean, there's obvious words like love, but, you know, care is really, you are caring for this person and you have care and a duty of care. You care about them. They care about you. so I think that would be a really key word for me. Warmth, because it just gives you that warm glow.

It certainly gives me that warmth of security and love. But also stress, I'm afraid. Yeah. I mean, you can't get over it, can you? There are highs and lows, and the low is the stress. So it's about finding ways to managing it and breaking the stress. Laughter is a great stress buster, you know, putting on a really funny. box set or something when things are a bit

stressy at home that that can really help and you've got lots that's what I love about your Instagram pages there's lots of kind of little things that we can do and you talk about going outside and just kind of grounding yourself and just getting in nature for a moment or two and just be as simple as going out the door you know and just standing there and you talk about

you know but also just those little things that we can do to care for ourselves and our skin and our bodies and our mindsets and thank you for all that you bring and that and I just know that this is going to inspire such thought and so many people about kind of facing up to what is coming with hope and confidence and wanting to equip themselves. So thank you for the generous resources that

you bring us. It's a great pleasure and I look forward to hosting you back on my podcast. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you for listening to today's episode of the Therapy Edit. If you enjoyed it, please do share, subscribe and review. you. You can find more from me on Instagram at Anna Martha. You might like to check out my two books called Mind Over Mother and Know Your Worth. I'm also the founder of the Mother Mind Way, a platform full of guides, resources and a community with the sole focus on supporting mother's mental and emotional well-being. It's been lovely chatting with you. Speak soon. Thank you.