It’s Endometriosis Awareness Month and for the 13th episode of Period Story, I was so pleased to speak to Jasmin Harsono, a reiki master and teacher, sonic artist, intuitive wellbeing guide and founder of Emerald and Tiger. Jasmin shares her 20 year journey to getting an endometriosis diagnosis.

Jasmin talked about feeling like her first period was very strange and unnatural. She said that she was able to piece together what was happening to her from conversations with friends and then just got on with it.

Jasmin shares the journey she’s been on with her period, menstrual health and wellbeing. She says that she now feels very empowered by her period and feels the wisdom and power in it.

Jasmin says that it took her over 20 years of tests, back and forth with her doctors and a trip to A&E to get a formal endometriosis diagnosis. She says this has empowered her to share her period story so that others don’t have to go through what she did.

She says that sharing her story has helped others, when they’ve discovered their symptoms are similar to hers, to reach out to their GP and get help. Jasmin says that anyone with period problems needs to keep going back to their GPs until they get referred or the support they deserve.

Finally, Jasmin talks about her work as a reiki master and how this has affected her relationship with her period. She says that having awareness of universal energy within has helped her get unstuck emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. Listen to hear the beautiful reiki treatments Jasmin gives herself everyday.

Jasmin says that we should share our period stories to help empower others and help break taboos around menstrual health and I completely agree!

#periodstory #periodstorypodcast

Get in touch

Tweet and IG: @periodstorypod

Email

[email protected]

Show notes and transcripts can be found at

http://www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch with Jasmin:

Website:

https://www.emeraldandtiger.com

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/emeraldandtiger

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldandtiger

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the 12th episode of Period Story Podcast, I was honoured to speak with Toral Shah. Toral is a nutritional scientist, functional medicine practitioner, food & health writer & consultant and the founder of The Urban Kitchen.

Toral shared how a family holiday to Egypt ended in a surprise from her first period and how supportive her mum was. She says her mum had made sure to educate her about menstruation beforehand, so when it arrived, it wasn’t a complete shock.

She said her mum’s openness helped her see her period and menstrual health in a matter of fact way, which was quite different to her friends.

Toral shared her experience of medical menopause after her breast cancer treatment. She shared the side effects she experienced and how she believes more needs to be done to help women with the side effects of breast cancer drugs.

Toral says that more women need proper education on what menopause and perimenopause actually is and how it can affect them. She says that many doctors aren’t educated in menopause, unless they have specialist menopause certification and believes this needs to change.

We also had a great discussion about the lack of diversity in healthcare, health and wellbeing. Toral talked through research by Dr. Adrienne Milner that shows that BAME community isn’t being represented effectively at consultant levels, which means that they aren’t necessarily being reflected in policies and structures.

Toral says that we need to listen to ourselves, our bodies and give ourselves what we need and I completely agree!

Get in touch

Tweet and IG: @periodstorypod

Email

[email protected]

Show notes and transcripts can be found at

http://www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch with Toral:

Website:

https://www.theurbankitchen.co.uk

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/theurbankitchen

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/urbankitchenlondon

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/urbankitchen

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to season 2 of Period Story podcast!

For the 11th episode of Period Story Podcast, I had a wonderful conversation with Angelica Malin, the editor in chief of About Time magazine and the founder of About Time Academy.

Angelica talks about why she was so shocked and appalled by her first period and how poorly prepared she felt for it. She says for her, getting her period signalled the start of a horrible time of discomfort.

We discussed the shame Angelica attached to her period and how talking about periods at school almost felt like a curse word. She says that in her mixed sixth-form college, women’s hormones were used against them as a way to call them out as crazy and this created a lot of stigma and shame around periods. Angelica says that the real turning point in her being comfortable talking about her period and menstrual cycle was in her last long term relationship. Have a listen to hear the very funny term her ex gave her period and how having a laugh about it made her feel much more at ease.

We also talked about creating safe spaces in the workplace and the need to have more senior women to help make decisions that are made with women in mind. Angelica says that she’s created a culture in her business and team where they can talk openly about periods and how they’re feeling. Angelica says that big companies could do a lot more to make women feel comfortable at work and to encourage a happier workplace culture, like providing free tampons and pads at work and menstrual leave.

We chatted about all the innovation in femtech, including brands like Moody, Ohne, Daye, Freda and Elvie that are creating high quality female focused products. Angelica talked about her experience speaking to female founders who are trying to raise investment and the trouble they have when speaking to male VCs. She says we need more women to be starting businesses and more female VC. Angelica says that it’s so important for us to define our own version of what success looks like.

Angelica says that it’s important for us to be a friend to ourselves and speak to yourself as you would a friend and I completely agree!

If you want to hear more from Angelica, check out her event, She Started It Live, the 13th and 14th March in London.

Get in touch

Tweet and IG: @periodstorypod

Email

[email protected]

Show notes and transcripts can be found at

http://www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch with Angelica:

Website:

https://www.abouttimemagazine.co.uk

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/abouttimemag/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/abouttimemag

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/abouttimemag

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the tenth episode of Period Story Podcast, I had a wonderful conversation with Lauren Derrett, the founder of Wear ‘Em Out reusable period pads.

Lauren shared the shame she felt about her first period and why she kept it a secret. She shares a funny song her friends used to sing and says that her friends used to joke about periods, but that she couldn’t remember any proper menstrual health education.

Lauren credits her 15 year old daughter for giving her the impetus to learn more about menstrual health. She says that she knew that her daughter needed to be better educated than her in this area and more equipped to deal with her period when it arrived.

We talked about periods as a feminist issue and Lauren says that we are duty bound to educate and support each other in order to make this a normal conversation and share our knowledge.

Lauren talks about how she tracks her menstrual cycle, notices the shifts in her energy and how she’s got her husband to pay attention to where she is in her cycle. Wonderful!

Lauren uses a powerful mantra, that she’s passed on to her daughter, that helps her reconnect with her body and feel more grounded. She says that she maximises her self-care right before her period and allows herself a timeout.

We discuss Lauren’s new reusable menstrual pad company, @wearemout and she shares some powerful statistics about disposable menstrual waste and the chemicals in them.

She says that each year, over 200,000 tonnes of menstrual waste is sitting in landfills, each disposable pad has the equivalent plastic of 4 carrier bags and 4.8 pieces of menstrual waste is being found in every 100 metres of beaches. Don’t flush your pads and tampons!

Lauren says it’s so important for us to educate ourselves on the menstrual health products we’re using and I completely agree!

Get in touch

Tweet and IG: @periodstorypod

Email

[email protected]

Show notes and transcript can be found at

http://www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch with Lauren:

Website:

https://www.wearemout.co.uk/

Instagram:

http://www.instagram.com/wearemout

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/wearemoutpads

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Wearemoutpads

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the ninth episode of Period Story Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Susan Sheehan, the founder and CEO of Back Yourself Mentoring, a women's circle and network of women backing themselves and each other.

Susan shared the story of the tough first few years of her period and what she did to cope with the pain and migraines she used to have. She says that this was her normal and considered this her normal until it changed.

Susan says she had to work around her menstrual flow, under it, over it and it was something she had to tolerate. At the time, she accepted that this was part of being a woman, but definitely didn’t embrace the pain she was experiencing.

It took a pivotal moment for her to realise things needed to change. Susan talks about waking up in the middle of the night and being in such agony that she spent hours on the bathroom floor. It was there and then, Susan decided she never wanted to go through that again.

Susan embarked upon a journey of educating herself about her period and using journalling as a tool to understand what she was experiencing in each phase of her menstrual cycle. She says she started to see patterns in the foods she was craving, the emotions she was experiencing and how certain things such as stress affected her period.

Susan says that journalling has helped her find a deeper understanding of her body, her period and her menstrual cycle. She says the biggest learning is how to let go, especially during her period and how this is critical for avoiding burnout. The patterns she was able to spot through journallling helped her change her nutrition and lifestyle and she no longer has migraines, cramps or PMS.

Susan shares the journalling techniques that worked for her to change her period for the better. She says that this is such an important way for us to find our own rhythm and I completely agree!

Get in touch

Tweet and IG: @periodstorypod

Email

[email protected]

Show notes and transcript can be found at

http://www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch with Susan:

Website:

http://www.backyourselfmentoring.com/

Instagram:

http://www.instagram.com/_susansheehan_

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the eighth episode of Period Story podcast, I spoke with Kat Horrocks, a women’s life coach and fellow podcast host.

Kat shared the impact of getting her first period at 10 years old and how by default, she became the one that all her classmates went to for advice and with their questions. Kat says that even now she’s the person in her friend group that gets asked all the period questions.

Kat talked about her journey with hormonal contraception and why she decided to come off of it after 7 years. She says that a conversation with her partner about the impact the pill was having on her emotions and their relationship was the wake up call she needed to make changes.

Kat says she wanted to have a period and now that it has returned, she knows her body is healthy and operating in a natural way. Kat uses her period as a marker of where she’s at, physically and mentally and says it keeps her in check to make sure she’s looking after herself.

Kat discusses the research she did when she decided to come off hormonal contraception and how she geeked out on all the new information.

Kat says that we shouldn’t underestimate our bodies; they’re amazing and they work. She says that listening to our bodies and learning what our bodies are saying is really powerful and I completely agree!

Get in touch

Tweet and IG: @periodstorypod

Email

[email protected]

Get in touch with Kat:

Website:

http://www.kathorrocks.com

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/kat_horrocks/

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the seventh episode of the Period Story Podcast, I spoke with Karen Arthur, the fashion designer, sewing tutor, stylist, speaker and model.

We talked about a first period that felt really frightening at the time, but in retrospect, was quite funny. Karen talked about learning about periods and sex through conversations with friends, feeling squeamish and embarrassed and learning that having a period didn’t mean she was pregnant.

Karen says that having a preacher for a father meant that conversations about most things to do with women, and anything to do with bodily fluids were taboo. She had been brought to believe that bleeding was bad and the Problem page in Jackie magazine was how she mostly learned about sex, relationships and periods.

We talked about what Karen felt she should have known about her body and how becoming a teacher and head of year made her determined to learn as much as she could, in order to teach her students and her daughters. Karen shares how her daughters have educated her the most on periods and sex through their openness and willingness to have frank conversations.

She says it’s taken her time to unlearn her feelings of shame and recognise that the more people talk about these things, the better it is. This has helped her talk about menopause as well. Karen talks about the events she’s run to help open up conversations around menopause and how they’ve help women feel less alone.

Karen says that menopause is a transition to another life and we need to think about how we can thrive, rather than how we can just get through it.

Karen says that no one should suffer this alone and I completely agree!

Tweet @periodstorypod

Email

[email protected]

Find out more about Karen:

Her website:

https://www.reddskin.co.uk/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/thekarenarthur/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/reddskinuk

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ReddskinUK/

Craft Moves:

https://www.instagram.com/craftmoves/

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the sixth episode of Period Story Podcast, I had a wonderful conversation with Esther Zimmer, a writer and strategist.

We talked about how the impact of a culture of shame and secrecy around menstruation and sex and she’s learned to move beyond this. Esther talked about the exploration she’s been doing over the few years around her body and understanding its natural rhythms.

Esther shared how being child-free by choice has changed the way she thinks about her period and menstrual cycle. She says that understanding her menstrual cycle has helped her understand how to manage her energy in the best way. She plans her project work, writing and running around her menstrual cycle and says it’s an amazing way to work.

Esther Zimmer is an Australian communications strategist, online course creator and writer living in London. She writes a regular essay series called ‘Truth & Clues’ where she shares the truth about her life as a woman in her 40s who’s still figuring out her place in the world. She’s currently writing her first book, a travel memoir, having recently completed a 12-month cross-continental cycling expedition with her husband.

Esther has an unhealthy obsession with words: Writing them, reading them and exchanging them via deep conversations. She created her own self-directed recovery from disordered eating, but still considers herself to be very much a work-in-progress. A part-time adventurer and full-time dreamer, Esther loves all animals, most humans and the infinite possibilities that a blank page holds.

Find Esther:

Website:

www.estherzimmer.com

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/esther_zimmer

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the fifth episode of the Period Story podcast, I had a wonderful conversation with Tamu Thomas, the founder of Three Sixty. We talked about Tamu's first period and how this rite of passage was celebrated by her family and how she tracks her energy levels along with her menstrual cycle and uses this to plan how much work she'll take on.

Tamu and I also talked about how she's talking to her daughter about periods and menstrual health and how she's moved past the secrecy around menstruation she grew up with to now having a very open and free attitude.

E-mail [email protected]

Tweet @periodstorypod

Tamu Thomas is founder of Three Sixty; a brand she created for women in their late 30s and 40s that want to simplify life and create space for everyday joy. Tamu created the brand as a response to her own emotional and physical situation. At the age of 40, and after years of compromising her health, joy and pleasure to meet the demands of her career as a social worker and her role as a mother, she realised that feeling emotionally and physically depleted was not a necessity, or a given.

Find Tamu

Instagram:

http://www.instagram.com/livethreesixty

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/LIVE-THREE-SIXTY-1839145456379400/

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/livethreesixty_

Live Three Sixty Website:

https://www.livethreesixty.com

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the fourth episode of the Period Story podcast, I had a wonderful wide-ranging conversation with Deborah Campbell, the founder of Future Fe+Male and the Deborah Campbell Atelier.

We talked about Deborah's feelings about her first period and not being quite emotionally ready to cope with it, being forced to grow up quite quickly, fibroids, educating boys about periods and navigating her way through early menopause.

E-mail [email protected]

Tweet @periodstorypod

Links

Find Deborah on:

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/wearefuturefemale/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/wearefuturefemale/

The Future Fe+Male website:

https://futurefemale.org.uk

The Menopause Doctor:

https://www.instagram.com/menopause_doctor/

The Born Equal Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-born-equal-podcast/id1469626675

A transcript is available on www.periodstorypod.com

Get in touch:

IG @periodstorypod

Email 

[email protected]

Book a 30 minute hormone health review with me: http://eatlovemove.as.me/hormonehealth 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.