Meet The Woman Saying ‘Thank You’ to Menopause
Kirsty Dixon was so convinced she had early dementia that she visited her GP and demanded a brain scan.
Having spent months suffering heart palpitations, brain fog, memory loss, high levels of anxiety and panic attacks, Kirsty’s self-esteem was low and she had also completely lost her confidence at work.
Today, on World Menopause Day, we speak to Kirsty, whose story is just one of millions where women have been misunderstood and confused due to lack of understanding and acceptance of the experience.
“Stop Fighting Menopause”
Kirsty says: “At 49, the menopause had hit me overnight – but I didn’t know. It was only when I accidentally read an article about menopause symptoms that I realised what was happening to me. I had my lightbulb moment – and when I stopped fighting menopause, my whole journey changed.
“I’ve achieved more in menopause and post-menopause than I did in the 49 years beforehand. I’m walking proof that this life change doesn’t mean your life is over.
“If you stop fighting it, you understand it. And you can regain your vigour.
“So, I say ‘thank you’ to the menopause. Because of it, I’m the best version of myself that I’ve ever been. I’m a much more confident person. I’m more adventurous. And I’ve finally found a career I’m passionate about – empowering and helping people through education and positivity around menopause.”
Having left school with “a handful of rubbish GCEs”, at 52, Kirsty changed career and studied for a diploma as a Learning and Development Practitioner. Since then, she has also gained a Level 5 Professional Coaching Practice qualification and uses both qualifications for her education and coaching career.
She said: “For the first time in my working life, I did something which really made me want to get out of bed in the morning. I’d never really known what I wanted to do as a career – from the age of 13 when you were expected to decide. I now know why. I had to experience menopause to have the thing in life that I am most passionate about. Using my initial negative and subsequent positive experience to help others.”
Kirsty says that embracing the menopause includes understanding how to look after your physical, mental and emotional health through changes to diet and activity.
It’s also about learning to say ‘no’.
She says: “This is a time in our lives when we need to prioritise self-care and that can mean saying no to others. If we keep saying yes to everyone else, which as women we can tend to do as pleasers, we are saying ‘no’ to the most important person of all; ourselves. We also need to seek out our support network; having other people to talk to can be the most awesome medicine you ever have.”
Kirsty says her menopause symptoms still come and go. She gets hot flushes and night sweats and sometimes wakes up feeling anxious. The difference, she says, is that she now understands that it’s menopause.
In her words: “Because I know what it is, I know that feeling will end. That knowledge is empowering.”
• More information about Kirsty, a menopause trainer and coach who runs free Menopause Cafes to support others in York, here.
