European research tells us that women of the perimenopausal age are as much as 7 times more likely to have thoughts of suicide than women pre or post menopause. Why is this? In this episode I explain why the fluctuation in hormones during this period of our lives can impact both our mental health and brain health, and how those two factors can lead on to an increase in diagnosis of anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders, as well as the difference between clinical depression and hormonal depression that is currently being investigated in research in the UK. It is important that we are aware that menopause is not all about hot flushes and night sweats and that we are informed and aware of the other impacts that declining hormones can have. Please do share this episode and help me get the word out to as many people as possible? Conversations can change and save lives.

Conversations can change and even save lives. They can inspire, enthuse, educate and motivate and as we launch Season 3, I hope you’ll find a golden nugget within each episode. Whether Confident Conversations or Crucial Conversations or simply a Caring Conversation, they can make or break relationships, improve standards, increase performance and instigate change. What really useful conversations do you need to be having?

What is it they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Unless it is the Three Blind Mice or the Three Wise Men and I have missed a chapter, it is something to do with however carefully you plan, things can still go wrong, right? And things did, which led me to being AWOL - so no talk of conversations of any kind, useful or otherwise! Give me just 5 minutes of your time and let me explain ....

Mental Health Awareness Week this year is focussing on the theme of anxiety - especially relevant at the moment as the UK population is currently said to be experiencing widespread levels of stress, anxiety and hopelessness in response to financial concerns, according to a new survey commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation. Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 15th to 21st May and various initiatives and campaigns will help us understand that although anxiety is a very natural and normal human emotion, if it becomes prolonged or chronis, or happens very frequently, it can start to seriously impact on our quality of life. In fact here in the UK anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems we can face and in a recent survey a quarter of adults said they felt so anxious that it stopped them from doing the things they want to do some or all of the time, with 60% agreeing that anxiety was an issue for them at least some of the time. Anxiety can be caused by external circumstances such as the cost of living crisis, but can also be caused by an internal shift in the all important hormone balance and in this week's episode I explore both causes and offer some possible solutions.

If you are a leader responsible for managing a team, and you are keen to do a good job of that, then this week's episode will be useful for you and offer a fantastic mirror moment to consider your own leadership style too. Using the recent news reports of Dominic Raab, our now ex deputy Prime Minister, we can see how one person's perception is definitely not the other person's experience. Mr Raab says he was simply encouraging high standards and being clear with his communication style, whilst a member of the team describes him as "100% a bully" and "He genuinely thinks he is just being a tough taskmaster, but doesn't get that this behaviour is not acceptable in the modern workplace". Was he being a bully or did the team simply not appreciate constructive criticism and being held accountable? Was his intention to simply raise the bar and motivate, yet their experience was "you can have high expectations and not be a bully" What you do and the way that you do it, combined, is what gets results, right? Tune in and take a moment to reflect and consider, what you intend, is that what people are experiencing and are YOU choosing and using the right leadership style to get the job done whilst maintaining effective relationships? Ay there's the Raab!

This year the Stress Management Society are asking us to step beyond simple awareness and take deliberate action to change things. They have been using #ACT to encourage people to act - reminding us that awareness only goes so far and ACTION is where it is at. But what action can you take? Why does it matter? In this week's episode we briefly explore why stress is an issue but more importantly we focus on strategies that we can choose to use to change things for us. Ranging from Steven Covey and his sharpening of the saw to the simple ABCDE model for managing priorities, and of course, not forgetting the importance of Really Useful Confident Conversations, done assertively and respectfully, to make sure we are managing workloads and boundaries. Tune in and then let me know what your commitment for the next 7 days will be?

We are often told that sleep is such an important thing, which sometimes is much easier said than done! If you are feeling stressed, anxious, even menopausal, sleep can be the much desired state that frustratingly we can't seem to achieve. What is it about sleep that makes it so important and how do we get a good quantity and quality of it so that we wake feel refreshed? This week's episode is a Really Useful Conversation with Sleep Expert Frances Taylor, who has been working in the wellbeing arena for over 15 years, and she realised that sleep was the missing piece in the health and wellbeing agenda and embarked on her mission to provide practical sleep support that actually worked. In this episode we talk about what we can do to enable a better night's sleep, along with things to avoid doing that might have the opposite effect and Frances offers a free opportunity for people to Regain Control of Sleep by completing a sleep questionnaire, receive personalised feedback together with practical actions to bring better sleep. You can find it on her website along with other useful information to help you sleep well, today!

April is Stress Awareness Month – and that’s not just younger folk climbing the career ladder, or working parents with childcare demands and lots to juggle BUT stress is also something that can affect us at all times in our working lives. I want to focus specifically on the impact that stress can have on the menopause AND vice versa and am presenting TWO free online webinars this month as my contribution for the call to take ACTION over simple awareness. April has been stress awareness month since 1992 and this year the Stress Management Society are extending an invitation to go beyond talking and are campaigning for taking action and personal responsibility in creating a positive change. They aim to create an opportunity for all of us to consider how we are going to do something to make things better, so please join me for my offer in support of their efforts.

Following the tragic story of the death by suicide of a 56 year old lady which reported how menopause is not routinely considered a contributing factor among women with low mood who need help, this week’s episode is recorded to raise awareness about such risks and encourage everyone, whether employer, HR Manager, mate, partner or spouse, male or female, to better understand the significant impact that menopause can have. As we head into Stress Awareness Month it is a good time to reflect on the stress/estrogen/menopause cycle and understand more about why stress management is so important and what this might mean to a business or employer as well as to women ourselves, and if you want to find out more and deepen your understanding, please visit our website where you will find more opportunities for FREE learning. Hope you find this useful.

In the month of International Women's Day and Mothering Sunday here in the UK, I read some shocking statistics suggesting that women are more at risk of burnout than men, more likely to step down, go part time or leave jobs completely, and are STILL more often the primary carers for families. So it was a real opportunity to speak to Vicky Harrison this week as to why that might be AND more importantly how to overcome it. As a busy Mum herself, a transformational coach helping driven women achieve professional success with confidence, and founder of The Driven Women's Club online community, Vicky is an excellent person to hear from. In her online community of ambitious women who dream big, and are achieving incredible things, but know the challenge of balancing this alongside family and personal commitments you can find out more about her and the work she does, but for now, settle in and listen to our Really Useful Conversation.