#002: Why are you feeling so horny and dry at the same time? Perimenopause paradoxes and why they happen
by Valerie |
The Weird World of Peri-Paradoxes
One of the things that I’ve been trying to accept over the past couple of years, is the concept of AND. The appreciation that two things at once can be true. This and that, that and this. We have been brought up to believe in binary - neat little boxes that our feelings and experiences slot into. But in reality, two or more things can be true at the same time.
You can feel both relieved and sad that something has ended. You can feel happy and agitated about something in the future.
After lots and lots and lots of conversations with women and perimenopausal experts, we were seeing this with the symptoms of perimenopause too.
You remember every date and appointment in extreme detail. AND you get confused trying to remember what you were literally just doing.
You feel hornier than you have in your entire life. AND your vagina is drier than the Sahara Desert.
So, I would like to take a hot (and cold) minute to introduce you to our first campaign- the peri paradoxes.
What's On?
Over the next couple of months, we are going to explore the quite frankly bonkers world of the peri paradoxes, and how multiple things are true AT THE SAME TIME.
In our series of Instagram Lives, last week we chatted with Becks, our resident perimenopause expert and NHS nurse, and discussed the common (and the not-so-common) symptoms, how you can recognise if you are perimenopausal, and what the F you can do about it. Watch the replay HERE.
Pop the next one in your diary “From feeling sexy AF to blowing up like a bloated balloon.”
Date: Tuesday 24th September
Time: 7:30pm
Where: IG Live
Outfit picked. Feeling great, feeling sexy, feeling free.
Then BOOM. The bloat. Bridget Jones knickers it is. Again.
But why does the bloat come along at the worst POSSIBLE moments? We waste so many good hair days in trackie bottoms and the biggest hoodie we can find.
Speaking with Deidre Nazareth, she specialises in treating chronic pain and women’s health. We’ll be discussing bloating in depth - specifically, why it happens more often when you’re going through perimenopause and what you can do about it.
What are we chatting about in this week's Wild Woman?
Have you questioned your intelligence and sanity when trying to navigate the world of menopause? There is no shortage of information, but the problem is that this information is often conflicting, confusing, and complicated. We’ve pulled together a bit of a cheat sheet to help you navigate it.
A book I can’t put down - and might possibly have changed my life.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing - or so they say! Read #MyPerimenopause: Three women from the wild woman community share their stories and what they have found to help along the way.
Remember: your perimenopause is the least interesting thing about you.
Perimenopause Cheat Sheet
There is no shortage of information out there, but often you need a PHD in biology or hundreds of hours to spare. I, my friend, have neither. We have put together a handy cheat sheet from Dr Hazel Parkinson that gives you a whistle stop tour of what you need to know.
Perimenopause Cheat Sheet By Dr Hazel Parkinson
Our MUST-READ of the week
A book that I can’t put down and I think maybe, just maybe, will change my life and quite possibly yours too.
I know I know, it's a big call. But honestly, this book is a permission slip to start living life on your terms. And frankly, women living life on their terms is exactly what this world needs.
The book that I’m talking about and drop into conversation at least once a day is Glennon Doyles's Untamed.
Confession, it is not my first time reading it. It had the same effect on me many years ago, but as I found myself once again feeling a little listless, a bit dissatisfied, a bit not me, I knew that there was only one solution. Part memoir, part razor-sharp observation, the book explores themes of self-discovery, liberation, and embracing one's true self.
It was everything I needed to hear, it covers the importance of listening to one's inner voice, setting boundaries (and actually how you do it), and letting go of the need for external approval. As a recovering people pleaser—this is my Achilles heel.
The book had me going deep into myself, asking myself some really challenging questions and further giving me the permission to live my life based on who I really am, rather than what is expected of me. Even if that is at odds with the social conditioning of society.
Have you read it? I would love to know what you thought - let me know by replying to this email...
#MyPerimenopause: Three Women Share Their Stories
What would you say to your younger self? Oh the times I have looked back and wish I was kinder to myself or knew what I did now, well we are inviting our wild women to share their learnings about perimenopause. Delve into their toolbox of tips and tricks and fill yourself with knowledge from their favourite books and podcasts in this blog
#MyPerimenopause
Did you spot us at Annie Mac?
We descended on the Annie Mac day festival last Friday afternoon, along with the three competition winners in the London sunshine ☀
Aptly named "Before Midnight", music fans bunked off work early and descended on Gunnersbury Park to dance like nobody's watching, drink, laugh, and escape life's stresses with their pals. A significant portion of Annie's fans just happen to be perimenopausal. Not that it's a defining feature, but we believe it's the LEAST interesting thing about a woman.
Because our wild women are life enthusiasts 💃 they still wanna go "out out" on a Friday night and dance the night away... just not until 3am anymore. We got to share the paradoxes with hundreds of women, with so so many that related to them, handed out loads of "no f*cks era" stickers, and gave everyone a bloody good laugh.
Stickers are currently being dropped into orders FOR FREE by the way... They're super limited, when they're gone they're gone.
Get your mitts on a sticker pack by ordering Daily Essential today 🎉
You don't need to add them to basket, don't panic when you don't see them in checkout, it just happens automatically behind closed doors.
Magic!