#032: The Call is Coming from Inside your own Brain
By Valerie |
First of all, how is it October already?
But here we are, in the season of black tights and black cats. Despite growing up in the 90s when Halloween wasn’t really a thing, unless you count a bin-bag cape and some Woolworths face paint- oh Woolworths, remember the pick ’n’ mix? I digress, October has always carried a little mischief for me. The air feels heavier, the nights stretch longer, the side lamps go on and it’s the perfect excuse to light the candles (life’s short, burn the fancy one).
The world leans into its spookiness. Horror films on every channel. Skeletons tangled in shop windows. Pumpkins lined up on every doorstep, some smugly symmetrical, others hacked at like someone lost patience halfway through.
And yet, the real haunting isn’t out there. It’s inside our own heads.
At 2:43 a.m., when the house is quiet but the brain is loud. When the ghosts of every conversation you’ve ever had come back on loop. When the to-do list you didn’t finish becomes the Bloody Mary of your mind. When you lie awake, exhausted but wired, staring at the ceiling as the clock ticks on.
That, I think, is the true horror story of perimenopause.
Which is why we created Evening Essential. Not a sedative. Not a knock-you-out pill. More like a ritual. A gentle reset. A way of telling your body: you can let go now, you can rest, switch off, you can stop being haunted by your own brain.
And because it’s October- and because we don’t do things by halves (massively questioning this decision)- we leaned all the way into the season with our latest campaign. Think The Exorcist. Psycho. The Blair Witch Project. All those cult classics reframed with a wink and a nudge, because sometimes the scariest monster isn’t lurking in the woods… it’s your racing mind at 3 a.m.
So this month, I’m choosing rituals that soften the edges. I’m lighting the candles, pulling the duvet a little higher, and reminding myself that rest isn’t a luxury, it’s a rebellion.
Because no woman should be haunted by her own brain.
Love,
Valerie x
Yoga Poses to Tackle Perimenopausal Insomnia
Pair these poses with a shot of Evening Essential and you’ll be unconscious in downward facing dog before you know it.
Perimenopause and the Brain: What’s Going On Up There?
In this article with Deirdre Nazareth, Osteopath and Functional Medicine Practitioner, the brain in perimenopause is uncovered in all its glory and you’ll learn how to take back control of your mind, even when it feels like it’s running riot.
What we're reading
Things We Say in the Dark - Kirsty Logan
These dark tales explore women’s fears with electrifying honesty and invention and speak to one another about female bodies, domestic claustrophobia, desire and violence. From a talented writer who has been compared to Angela Carter, Things We Say in the Dark is a powerful contemporary collection of feminist stories, ranging from vicious fairy tales to disturbing horror and tender ghost stories.
What we're listening to
I Hear Fear
These dark tales explore women’s fears with electrifying honesty and invention and speak to one another about female bodies, domestic claustrophobia, desire and violence. From a talented writer who has been compared to Angela Carter, Things We Say in the Dark is a powerful contemporary collection of feminist stories, ranging from vicious fairy tales to disturbing horror and tender ghost stories.
Valerie Loves
Big Deal Brenda
Iconic, unapologetic, and fabulous (have you seen that catsuit?). Brenda is the kind of energy you can’t ignore- bold, luminous, strutting through life with her head held high. We might not wake up feeling like Brenda every day (some mornings it’s more duvet cocoon than leopard-print swagger), but when she arrives, she’s that inner spark reminding you: you’ve got this. Proof that even when moods wobble, that energy never really disappears- it’s just waiting for its cue. Could she be any more Valerie? Brenda is a Moodling- the creation of two brilliant female founders who are shaking up the very male, very stale collectible toy market with BOW Toys. For the first time, collections designed with women in mind. Their debut launch, Moodlings, reimagine monthly mood swings as something you can actually laugh about (and collect). As two perimenopausal women, they get it.
Their Kickstarter has just gone live - check it out, snag yourself a Brenda, pop her on your desk and be reminded every day of the unstoppable force that you are.