The Menopause Mindset

215 Why We Resist The Inner Work And How To Make It Feel Less Overwhelming

Often times, clients will see me for an assessment, they'll read their treatment plan and then quietly disappear. It's like their mind convinces them that this is going to open up a whole world of trouble. Of course your mind does that! It's standard. It's doing exactly what it’s designed to do. Protect you. It wants to keep things predictable and contained. So when the invitation to go deeper starts to become a possibility, it makes sense that your mind wants to pull you back. It believes "this inner work malarky might be too much" And yet, there’s another part of you which is quieter and deeper but just as important. It's the part of you that knows an intervention is needed because it wants to release something, it wants to come home to itself. In this week’s episode, I gently demystify what “doing the inner work” actually looks like in reality and why it doesn’t have to be as intense or overwhelming as you might imagine Work with me 121: www.sallygarozzo.com Join Becoming Waitlist: www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming Send me a direct message Support the show Send me a direct message Support the show

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214 Beyond Hormonal Determinism: Hormones Influence the System, They Don't Build It

Most menopause conversations focus almost entirely on hormones. But what if that’s only part of the story? In this episode, Sally Garozzo explores emerging neuroscience on estradiol, fear circuitry, and trauma exposure, including a 2025 study suggesting that estrogen interacts differently with the brain’s threat regulation system depending on prior stress and trauma history. We unpack why HRT helps many women but isn’t always the whole answer, how the nervous system shapes our menopausal experience, and why understanding the intersection of menopause, trauma, and nervous system regulation can offer a more complete picture of midlife wellbeing. Research referenced in this episode Stevens JS et al. (2025). Estradiol modulation of threat circuitry and PTSD vulnerability. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12745815/ Sartin-Tarm A et al. (2020). Estradiol Modulates Neural and Behavioral Arousal in Women With PTSD. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7606348/ Glover EM et al. Estrogen and extinction of fear memories. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25796471/ Wegerer M et al. (2014). Low estradiol and fear extinction responses. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4256064/ Zeidan MA et al. (2011). Estradiol enhances fear extinction recall via vmPFC–amygdala interaction. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3197763/ ****************************************** Work with me 121: www.sallygarozzo.com Join Becoming Waitlist: www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming Send me a direct message Support the show Send me a direct message Support the show

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213 The Trauma of Emotional Invalidation

In this episode we explore what it's like when your 'felt sense' isn't believed especially in childhood and how this impacts our health and our menopause. We look at how subtle, repeated invalidation shapes the quality of our attachments, why women often become the emotional regulators of their families, how functional freeze develops, and why menopause can feel like all of this unravels at once. We also examine the difference between attunement and optimisation — and why healing begins with being met, not fixed. It's a good one for anyone who feels there's more to menopause than 'just' hormones. *********************** Work with me 121: www.sallygarozzo.com Join Becoming Waitlist: www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming Send me a direct message Support the show

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212 Menopause as Art: Trusting The Design

I currently have six paint samples on my living room wall. They are all technically blue. None of them are the same. Which feels… symbolic. In this episode, I’m thinking about menopause not as art and refinement. As the shift from fluorescent to tonal. From performance to composition. There’s a turtle. There’s London. There’s a river that looks like it’s meandering but absolutely knows where it’s going. And somewhere in the middle of all that: the quiet realisation that midlife might not be demolition, it might be editing. If you’ve ever stood in front of a wall thinking, “This one almost works… but not quite,” this conversation might feel familiar. Bring your undertones :) *************************** ✅T o put your name down on the waitlist for Becoming, here's the link: www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming *************************** 📲 Connect with Sally: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

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211 The Dutch Test vs The Medical Model: Why They Disagree

The DUTCH test has become one of the most talked-about hormone assessments in the menopause space. Some women describe it as illuminating and empowering. Some medical professionals describe it as unnecessary, over-interpreted, or a waste of money. So why the disagreement? In this episode, I step back from the noise and explore what’s actually being argued. What assumptions sit underneath functional hormone testing? What assumptions sit underneath conventional medicine? And why does this debate feel so emotionally charged? Rather than taking sides, we look at the psychological and structural differences between these two paradigms — and what happens when menopausal women find themselves caught in the middle. If you’ve ever felt validated by testing… dismissed by medicine… or confused by the intensity of the conversation online, this episode is for you. Join the waitlist for BECOMING 🔗 Join the waitlist: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming ********************************************* 📲 Connect with Sally: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

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210 Moral Outrage in Midlife: Why Certainty Feels Safe

We live in a culture that rewards certainty. In this episode, I reflect on the energy surrounding recent public controversies and ask a different question: what if moral outrage is sometimes a nervous system strategy rather than moral clarity? Drawing on anxiety physiology, childhood conditioning, and midlife change, I explore how certainty can feel like safety, and why building capacity for uncertainty might be the real work as we step into midlife. Join the waitlist for BECOMING 🔗 Join the waitlist: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming ********************************************* 📲 Connect with Sally: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

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209 The Discipline of Not Intervening

There’s a kind of care that looks loving on the surface, yet somehow leaves both the receiver and giver more tense than before. This episode delves into this often unexplored territory. It’s called ‘the discipline of not intervening’. Of course I'm not talking about neglectfulness, but I am talking about healthy restraint. And what becomes possible when silence and space are allowed to make room for the natural order of things to emerge. If you’ve ever noticed yourself holding everything together, or sensed the quiet cost of always stepping in, this episode may be for you. ******************************************** Join the waitlist for BECOMING 🔗 Join the waitlist: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming ********************************************* 📲 Connect with Sally: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

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208 Pausing without a Plan

We talk a lot about slowing down and how it's really good for us, but we talk much less about what it means to stay. Like really stay.... without doing it for productivity gains. This episode explores holding space for yourself, not as a technique, but as a way of inhabiting yourself, experiencing yourself without the need to learn from it yet (and why that's really good for your HPA axis!) Join me for this short but profound episode. ****************** ‘Becoming’ is the new membership I’ve created for this phase Becoming is a space for women in this in-between phase where old identities no longer fit, and new ones haven’t fully arrived yet. The waitlist is now open. 🔗 Join the waitlist: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming ********************************************* 📲 Connect with Sally: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

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207 Attunement: The Thing You Didn't Know You Needed

If you’re tired in a way rest doesn’t touch… If you’ve done the work but still feel slightly on edge… If being “strong” or “capable” no longer feels like something you want to keep doing… This episode is for you. This is a quiet, spacious fireside conversation about something that sits underneath anxiety, exhaustion, relationship strain, and the sense of feeling subtly disconnected from yourself, especially in midlife and menopause. This is about attunement and what happens in the body when it’s missing. If you want to feel: less braced against life more settled inside yourself understood without having to explain calmer without being told to “relax” a sense of warmth, steadiness, and inner permission …this episode is an invitation to listen. ****************** ‘Becoming’ is the new membership I’ve created for this phase Becoming is a space for women in this in-between phase where old identities no longer fit, and new ones haven’t fully arrived yet. The waitlist is now open. 🔗 Join the waitlist: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming ********************************************* 📲 Connect with Sally: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

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206 The Great Brain Rewiring of Menopause

What if menopause isn’t a breakdown, but a house renovation you’re living inside? In this episode, I reframe menopause in a way I wish someone had offered me. Not as decline. Not as loss. Not as something to “push through.” But as a neurological remodel happening in real time, while I’m still expected to function, work, parent, decide what cheese to buy, and hold everything together. No wonder it feels chaotic. What I share in this episode: Why menopause is not just hormonal, but deeply neurological How fluctuating estrogen affects mood, memory, focus, and emotional regulation Why brain fog, emotional sensitivity, and slower thinking are not failures, but signs of reorganization What’s really happening when my tolerance for noise, pressure, people-pleasing, and nonsense disappears How the amygdala shifts and threat sensitivity gradually dials down Why decisions feel slower, more embodied, and less driven by urgency How identity itself begins to shift during menopause, not collapse The grief, the disorientation, and the unexpected clarity that emerges on the other side Why post-menopause often brings deeper contentment, discernment, and grounded leadership If you’re like me and feeling: Less sharp but more sensitive Slower but more discerning Less tolerant of bullshit Less available for emotional labour More interested in depth than surface-level busyness Nothing has gone wrong. Something is reorganizing with intent. Join me! ****************** ‘Becoming’ is the new membership I’ve created for this phase Becoming is a space for women in this in-between phase where old identities no longer fit, and new ones haven’t fully arrived yet. The waitlist is now open. 🔗 Join the waitlist: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming ********************************************* 📲 Connect with Sally: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

205 Why I’m Speaking Differently about Menopause & Mindset Now

What if menopause isn’t something to manage… What if it’s something to participate in? In this deeply reflective solo episode, I return after time away with a radical reframe of what “mindset” actually means in menopause, and why the phrase has become so triggering, misunderstood, and frankly, unhelpful. Fresh from turning 50 and beginning my Clinical Hypnotherapy diploma, I share what it’s like to be in the middle of a personal and professional unlearning. Long-held beliefs are being questioned. Identities are softening. Certainty is giving way to curiosity. This isn’t a how-to episode. It’s a fireside conversation for women who feel something deeper is happening beneath the surface. In this episode, I explore: 🧠 Why “just change your mindset” can feel dismissive and where that conversation breaks down 🔍 What mindset actually means (and why it’s not positive thinking) 🫀 How perception, nervous system safety, and hormones are in constant dialogue 🌡️ Why you can’t think your way into more estrogen — but can influence how symptoms land in the body 🔥 The biology behind hot flushes, stress, adrenaline, and the feedback loops that intensify symptoms 🌀 What hypnotherapy really is (and no, it’s not stage hypnosis or mind control) 🪞 Why menopause is a transition of identity, not just hormones 🧳 How stress can exist even when life looks “fine” on paper 🧩 Why perfectionism is often a trauma response — and why menopause dismantles it 🌱 Menopause as compost: decay and renewal happening at the same time 🤝 Why this stage of life asks for collaboration, not control This episode is for you if: 😮‍💨 You’re tired of oversimplified menopause advice 😬 You bristle at mindset talk but still feel drawn to something deeper 🐢 You sense menopause is asking you to slow down, not push harder 🤍 You want compassion, nuance, and honesty — not fixes 🧬 You’re curious about the mind–body relationship without bypassing biology A quiet announcement I introduce Becoming, a new membership space I’m creating, not to fix or optimize women in menopause, but to offer somewhere to be while identity, nervous system, and meaning are reorganizing. This is not a course. This is not a program. It’s a space for women who feel the shift and don’t want to rush through it. The waitlist is now open. No urgency. No pressure. Just an invitation. 👉 Join the Becoming waitlist: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/becoming If this episode felt like relief rather than effort… if something in your body quietly said yes… trust that. Menopause isn’t a problem to solve. It’s a process you’re allowed to be in. You’re not broken. You’re becoming. ************************************************************************************* 📲 Connect with Sally: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: Send me a direct message Support the show

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204 Menopause: The Portal to Your Power with Carla Wainwright

This conversation is not about ‘surviving’ menopause. It’s about claiming power, pleasure, and potency on the other side of it. Sally sits down with Carla Wainwright, holistic wellness coach, sexual awakening facilitator, and self-described midlife alchemist, for a deeply grounding, myth-shattering conversation about what really happens when women cross the threshold of midlife. With a background in biology, homeopathy, and over 30 years of embodiment work, Carla bridges science and the sacred in a way that feels both practical and deeply liberating. This isn’t woo for the sake of woo, and it’s not cold science either. It’s the place where metabolism, trauma, hormones, pleasure, and power actually meet. In this episode, we talk about why menopause is not a decline but a rite of passage. Why so many women feel unprepared for it, and why the years after perimenopause can become the most creative, sexually alive, and authentic chapter of a woman’s life…if she’s supported properly. Carla shares how her own journey — from wildlife biologist working with endangered species to guiding women through sexual healing and midlife transformation — came full circle when she entered perimenopause herself. What emerged was a model she calls sacred metabolism: tending not just to blood sugar and hormones, but to the nervous system, the inner child, and the feminine life force itself. We explore why unstable blood sugar can keep women stuck in fight-or-flight, amplify trauma, worsen menopausal symptoms, and quietly erode desire. Why pleasure isn’t indulgent. And why many women lose touch with intimacy, not because something is wrong with them, but because no one ever taught them how to stay connected to their bodies as they change. This episode also dives into sex in midlife — honestly, tenderly, and without shame. We talk about why desire changes, why stress is the ultimate libido killer, and why reconnection always starts with the relationship you have with yourself. No pressure to perform. No swinging from chandeliers. Just curiosity, safety, and choice. You’ll also hear: Why menopause can make women less people-pleasing and more clear about what they want How sexual energy shifts when menstruation ends — and why some traditions call this phase “the second spring.” The link between trauma resurfacing and perimenopause Why women initiate most divorces between 45–55 How sacred feminine practices reconnect women to intuition, creativity, and embodied wisdom The myths about menopause that quietly serve patriarchy Simple daily practices that build momentum when you feel stuck in survival mode This is a conversation about remembering who you are — in your body, in your desire, and in your power — at a stage of life that has been deeply misunderstood 📲 Connect with Carla: Website: https://www.carlawainwright.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlawainwright/ Free Gift: https://www.carlawainwright.com/vibrancyguide Sally's Links: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [Free Guide] Healing The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtraumatheguide [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [On-Demand Workshop] Redefine Your Values at Menopause and Live Life in Alignment With Them [£27]: Send me a direct message Support the show

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203 The World Isn’t Built For Your Cycle with Claire Baker

Your Cycle Isn’t the Problem — The Way We’ve Been Taught to Live Is What if the days you feel flat, emotional, tired, or “off” aren’t something to fix… but something to listen to? In this episode, Sally is joined by Claire Baker — menstrual cycle educator, author, and founder of Cycle Coach School — for a grounded, honest conversation about menstrual cycle awareness, agency, and the long-term impact of ignoring the body’s rhythms. We’re not asking you to ‘love your period’, we’re just saying it might be nice to stop fighting with your body. 🔥 WHAT WE TALK ABOUT 🩸 Claire’s journey off hormonal birth control — and what it was like to experience a natural cycle after 10 years on the pill 🌙 The four phases of the menstrual cycle, explained with nuance (not rigid rules or social-media trends) 📉 Why cycle tracking is about curiosity, self-trust, and noticing patterns — not biohacking or optimisation 🧠 “Cycle amnesia” and why writing things down helps us understand ourselves over time 💔 The shame, silence, and secrecy many of us grew up with around periods — and why inner-teenager repair matters 🔄 How cycle awareness remains deeply relevant in perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause 🌱 One small, practical way to begin building a kinder relationship with your body today “Everything is cyclical — our energy, creativity, relationships, and lives.” 🧭 ABOUT CLAIRE BAKER Claire Baker has spent over a decade teaching women how to work with their menstrual cycle rather than against it. She is the author of 50 Things You Need to Know About Periods, creator of Adore Your Cycle, and founder of Cycle Coach School. Her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health. 🎧 Listen if you’re tired of powering through — and ready to meet your body with more curiosity, compassion, and trust. 📲 Connect with Claire: Website: www.clairebaker.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/_clairebaker_ Sally's Links: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [Free Guide] Healing The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtraumatheguide [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [On-Demand Workshop] Redefine Your Values at Menopause and Live Life in Alignment With Them [£27]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

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202 The Rage, the Rewiring, and the Rebirth: Menopause Yoga with Petra Coveney

As we know, menopause is not a downfall, it’s a metamorphosis, and Petra Coveney—former BBC journalist, founder of Menopause Yoga, bestselling author, and unapologetic menopause rebel—joined Sally to tear down every stale narrative about “the change.” And trust us… this conversation goes there. Petra went through perimenopause early, alone, confused, and dismissed by doctors who had nothing to offer her except a pat on the head and a “good luck.” The frustration, shame and rage… she tapped into all of it. And what came out of that fire? Menopause Yoga—the world’s first specialist yoga program built to support the physical, emotional, and psychological rollercoaster of perimenopause through second spring. In this episode, Petra breaks down: 🔥 Why rage is a superpower (and what it’s trying to wake up in you) 🔥 The moment she realized NO ONE was helping menopausal women—and why she decided she would 🔥 The resistance she got from BOTH yoga studios and doctors (spoiler: everyone thought she was “too much”) 🔥 Why community circles are non-negotiable for healing 🔥 How yoga, breathwork, and evidence-based education can literally rewire your menopausal brain 🔥 The truth about “brain fog” and why it might actually be your brain upgrading itself 🔥 Why we need to stop whispering the word menopause and say it out loud—with pride Petra’s mission is bold: Break the taboo. Reclaim the narrative. Connect women back to their power. Menopause isn't an ending. It’s the doorway to your second spring—a phase of clarity, leadership, and fierce selfhood. If you’re in the weeds of perimenopause, waking up drenched, snapping at your loved ones, losing words in the middle of a meeting, or wondering “Is it just me?”—this episode will feel like a giant exhale. And if you’ve ever felt ashamed of these changes? Petra is here to hand you permission to drop that shame today. ORDER PETRA’S BOOK WITH AN EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT Get Menopause Yoga and Wellbeing: A Daily Practice Guide Use the discount code: %PETRA25 Only valid on the Singing Dragon shop. If you loved this episode… Share it with someone who needs to hear: “You are not losing yourself — you are becoming someone new.” 📲 Connect with Petra: Website: www.menopause-yoga.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/menopause_yoga Facebook: Menopause Yoga Sally's Links: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [Free Guide] Healing The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtraumatheguide [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [On-Demand Workshop] Redefine Your Values at Menopause and Live Life in Alignment With Them [£27]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: Send me a direct message Support the show

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201 The Hormone Revolution We Should’ve Had Decades Ago with Dr. Lara Briden

In this episode, Sally sits down with Dr. Lara Briden, naturopathic doctor and bestselling author of Period Repair Manual, Hormone Repair Manual, and Metabolism Repair for Women. She’s been called the period revolutionary—and after this conversation, you’ll understand exactly why. We talk about the massive paradox in women’s health: Society suddenly worships estrogen and progesterone when women hit their mid-40s… …yet spent the last 60 years casually switching those same hormones off in teenage girls. Yep. We’re going there. What We Get Into Why regular ovulation is not just “nice to have” — it’s literally how young women make hormones How we got stuck in a 60-year loop of shutting down women’s ovarian function (hint: the pill’s “regulate your period” pitch started as a cover story) The weird disconnect between medical guidelines that say periods are a vital sign… and the normalization of medicating them away What a healthy period actually looks like (spoiler: it shouldn’t hurt and it shouldn’t require you to white-knuckle your way through PMS) Why so many modern symptoms aren’t “women being women”—they’re the result of environment, lifestyle, and a system that never prioritized female physiology And the big one: Did menopause evolve? Or is it some biological glitch because women are living longer? The Mic-Drop Moments Lara breaks down why menopause absolutely evolved on purpose—and why humans are more like killer whales than we think The “grandmother effect” and why older women have always been essential for the survival of the tribe The wild fact that among the Hadza, and other traditional-living communities, menopause brings zero symptoms The reality that our cycles are meant to be signals, not punishments If You’ve Ever Thought… “I guess this is just how my period is.” “This is normal for my age.” “Maybe my hormones just hate me.” …this episode might flip your worldview upside down (in a good way). About Dr. Lara Briden Lara practices in Christchurch, New Zealand, helping women navigate PCOS, PMS, endometriosis, perimenopause, and other hormone-health challenges. Her work bridges biology, history, anthropology, and real-world clinical wisdom. 📲 Connect with Lara: Website: https://www.larabriden.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larabriden/ Sally's Links: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [Free Guide] Healing The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtraumatheguide [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [On-Demand Workshop] Redefine Your Values at Menopause and Live Life in Alignment With Them [£27]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Bespoke Transformational Hypnotherapy & Coaching: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/rapid-transformational-therapist Instagram: https://www.in Send me a direct message Support the show

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200 Your Period Isn’t Supposed to Destroy You with Nicole Jardim

Everything went wrong before this interview even started: lagging audio, frozen screens, “Can you hear me?” chaos… which, honestly, became the perfect metaphor for today’s topic: women being told to accept dysfunction as normal. And fittingly, this conversation marks a huge milestone — our 200th episode! Two hundred episodes of unlearning, reframing, and giving women permission to trust their bodies. And today’s guest delivers exactly that kind of truth. Because once Nicole Jardim (women’s health coach + author of Fix Your Period) finally got connected, she dropped a truth bomb most women never hear: 👉 Statistically common doesn’t mean biologically normal. Cramps, mood swings, missing periods, heavy bleeding — we’ve been conditioned to believe it’s “part of being a woman.” Nicole is here to burn that narrative down. In this raw and revealing conversation, Nicole takes us back to where it all began — age 12, pads in the backpack, intuition on point — and then straight into the trauma, the chaos, and the hormonal storm that followed after the sudden death of her father. From survival-mode teen years to being handed the pill as a “solution,” Nicole walks us through the cascade of symptoms that no one connected to the pill, stress, genetics, detox pathways, or trauma. This episode breaks the script. We talk: Why period pain can be a red flag How trauma + puberty + synthetic hormones created a perfect hormonal disaster The COMT gene, stress metabolism, and why some women feel like live wires Why your period is basically your body’s early-warning system The hidden stressors no one warns women about Why we’ve normalized suffering — and why that needs to end Nicole doesn’t sugarcoat. She also doesn’t catastrophize. She reframes powerfully. Because the same genetic profile that makes you sensitive to stress might also be the source of your creativity, drive, memory, intuition, and fire. If you’ve ever been told to “just deal with it,” this episode will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about your cycle, your symptoms, and what your body has been trying to tell you for years. This is your permission slip to stop normalizing pain. And to start listening to your biology instead of fighting it. 📲 Connect with Nicole: Website: https://nicolejardim.com/ Nicole’s Membership - The Fix Your Period Collective: https://www.fixyourperiod.com/ Nicole’s Practitioner Program: https://instituteformenstrualhealth.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolemjardim/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicolemjardim/ Sally's Links: Email: info@sallygarozzo.com [Free Guide] Healing The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtraumatheguide [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [On-Demand Workshop] Redefine Your Values at Menopause and Live Life in Alignment With Them [£27]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One Send me a direct message Support the show

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199 Why Perimenopause Feels Harder in 2025 with Dr. Jessica Drummond

Perimenopause can feel like a 10–15 year hormonal remix, but why is it so much harder for women in 2025?. Dr. Jessica Drummond busts myths, challenges outdated narratives, and explains the overlaps nobody talks about: long COVID, autoimmune flare-ups, endometriosis, stress overload, digital overwhelm, and why so many women enter midlife already running on fumes. 🔥 The Big Myth That Needs to Die Perimenopause is NOT: ✨ “Menopause-lite” ✨ A single moment in time ✨ A sudden cliff-drop hormonal event ✨ A one-size-fits-all hormone prescription ✨ Something you can fix with a supplement stack from Instagram 💥 Why Perimenopause Feels Harder Now Women today face extra layers: • long COVID risk • autoimmune triggers • endometriosis • digital overstimulation • constant work-life overlap • the “3–5 full-time jobs” workload • modern toxic load • stress culture • chronic under-resting 🚨 The Overlap Nobody Talks About Fatigue, brain fog, pain, mood swings aren’t just hormones — they can be: • viral injury • metabolic dysfunction • autoimmune activation • chronic stress fallout • endo flare-ups • nervous system dysregulation 🌡️ HRV: The Underrated Biomarker Heart Rate Variability shows stress resilience — and many women in their 40s have HRV scores of someone in their 90s. Rest isn’t optional; it’s vital. 💆‍♀️ Skincare = Self-care Gua sha, facial massages, and skincare rituals aren’t just vanity — they support the vagus nerve, lymphatic system, and nervous system. Ten minutes a night can do more for your hormones than you think. 🧠 Integrative Medicine, Demystified Not woo. Not extreme. Not pills or plants. Science + lifestyle + nervous system + personalized care — because every transition is unique. 💬 What You’ll Walk Away With: • How hormones ACTUALLY change in midlife • Why symptoms feel inconsistent or contradictory • Why one-size-fits-all prescriptions fail • How viral load, toxins, and stress complicate perimenopause • What HRV reveals about resilience • Why rest matters • How integrative care supports the whole woman • Practical strategies for real resilience 🌙 There Is Light on the Other Side Stable moods, better sleep, grounded energy, and a deeper sense of self — it’s possible, and worth it. 📲 Connect with Dr Jessica Drummond: Website: https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth Sally's Links: [Free Guide] Healing The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtraumatheguide [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [On-Demand Workshop] Redefine Your Values at Menopause and Live Life in Alignment With Them [£27]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Transformational 30 Day Rewire (Includes RTT) [£497]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: Send me a direct message Support the show

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198 Womb Healing: Reclaiming Power, Pleasure, and Potency with Melanie Swan

💥 THE DISRUPTION Forget the pastel “self-care” nonsense. This episode gets raw about perimenopause, womb work, and what it actually means to reclaim your creative power from the inside out. Sally sits down with Melanie Swan, a true rebel priestess of womb wisdom, healer, author, and embodiment guide, currently thriving (and sweating) her way through perimenopause in Northern Thailand. They dive deep into the real feminine: the kind that doesn’t float in flower crowns but breathes fire, bleeds with purpose, and knows when to pull the curtains, strip off the bra, and waft. ⚡️ WHAT WE EXPLORE: Why Melanie left the chaos behind to do “absolutely nothing” and how that saved her sanity The radical beauty of perimenopause as a pause from men, noise, and overdoing The misunderstood magic of womb work and why it’s not just woo-woo poetry What the womb actually represents (spoiler: it’s way more than baby-making) How our cycles are ancient maps for creation, rest, and power if we’d only listen Why “the feminine” isn’t all softness and how divine masculine energy lives inside us too Melanie’s unfiltered take on Instagram spirituality and “the feminine is flowy” clichés If you’ve ever felt the urge to burn everything down just to breathe, this conversation is your permission slip. It’s not about hormones or hot flashes; it’s about coming home to your body’s wisdom and reclaiming your sovereignty as a creator. 🔥 ABOUT MELANIE SWAN Melanie helps women heal the physical and metaphysical womb, restoring the divine balance of masculine and feminine energy. Currently writing her first book, The Sacred Womb, she lives in Northern Thailand, where she swims, writes poetry, and celebrates the art of doing absolutely nothing. 📲 Connect with Melanie: Website: https://www.thesacredwomb.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_sacred_womb Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredwombmswan Sally's Links: [Free Guide] Healing The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtraumatheguide [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [On-Demand Workshop] Redefine Your Values at Menopause and Live Life in Alignment With Them [£27]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Transformational 30 Day Rewire (Includes RTT) [£497]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a voice clip via WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

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197 Menstruality and The Sacred Inner Ecology with Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer

Forget everything you think you know about periods. This conversation blows the lid off the cultural conditioning, shame, and linear thinking we’ve been fed, and replaces it with a radical new paradigm: menstruality as a source of power, creativity, leadership, and spiritual awakening. In this episode, Sally sits down with Alexandra Pope & Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer, the visionary co-founders of Red School and co-authors of Wild Power and Wise Power. With over 60 years of combined experience, they’re not just talking about women’s health; they’re pioneering a whole new language and leadership model rooted in the menstrual cycle. 🔍 What We Explore The Calling Within – Alexandra shares how deep menstrual pain cracked her open to a deeper intelligence, triggering a spiritual awakening that’s governed her life’s work. Menopause, she says, didn’t slow her; it unleashed her. Creativity Flowing Through the Cycle – Sjanie describes how regaining her cycle post-contraception reconnected her to intuition, emotional truths, and her life’s purpose. The menstrual cycle became a living conduit for creativity and confidence. Four Inner Seasons = Four Powers – How menstruation (inner winter), pre-ovulation (spring), ovulation (summer), and pre-menstruum (autumn) mirror nature, and how honoring these phases restores your inner ecology and breaks the burnout cycle of “more is better.” Death, Rebirth & the Menopause Initiation – The transition into menopause is a profound psychological death. Surrendering to it allows a rebirth into your most powerful, purpose-filled chapter. From Inner to Outer Evolution – When you reclaim your cyclical nature, you deepen empathy, reorient your relationship with nature, and become a catalyst for collective change. It’s not just personal, it’s planetary. 🎯 Why This Conversation Is a Must-Listen If you’ve ever felt pressure to hide, suppress, or push through your cycle, this episode flips that paradigm. Alexandra and Sjanie are not simply reframing menstruation; they’re inviting you into a radical new way of living, leading, and creating, one that is cyclical, embodied, and in harmony with nature. This is not about coping. This is about activating the wild, wise power that’s always been inside you. 🔗 Want to Go Deeper? If this conversation lights something in you and you’re ready to step into more understanding, embodiment, and power around menopause and the cycle, I invite you to explore Menopause: The Great Awakener by Red School. Use this link (affiliate) to learn more or sign up: 👉 Menopause: The Great Awakener 📲 Connect with Alexandra and Sjanie: Website: www.redschool.net Instagram: www.instagram.com/red.school/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redschoolonline Sally's Links: [Free Guide] Healing The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtraumatheguide [On-Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [On-Demand Workshop] Redefine Your Values at Menopause and Live Life in Alignment With Them [£27]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine [Online Practit Send me a direct message Support the show

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196 The Genius Wheel: Why Your Life Shifts Every 7 Years with Lulu Minns

Are You Living on Autopilot or Riding the Genius Wheel? What if your life wasn’t random chaos… but a seven-year cycle that secretly shapes your growth, transitions, and genius? In this conversation, Sally sits down with Lulu Minns, author, coach, and creator of The Genius Wheel, to smash the myth that “genius” is reserved for Einstein-types. Instead, Lulu unveils a radically different framework that reclaims intuition, feminine power, and the cycles we’ve been taught to ignore. We dive into: Why midlife isn’t a crisis, it’s a pivot point into a new genius phase. The three kinds of genius (and why you’ve probably dismissed your own). How to spot when you’re in your personal winter phase, and why it’s not failure, but power. The invisible skills patriarchy ignores: intuition, charisma, deep listening, and how they’re actually genius at work. Lulu’s journey from burned-out criminal lawyer to cycle-led coach and author. Forget “hustle harder.” Forget “stay in your lane.” This episode invites you to trust your body, follow your cycles, and redefine genius on your own terms. 🎧 Press play and discover how to finally ride your Genius Wheel instead of fighting against it. 📚 Special Offer: Get Lulu’s book The Genius Wheel at thegeniuswheel.com — use code FRIENDS25 for a discount! 📲 Connect with Lulu Mins: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luluminns/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegeniuswheel/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thegeniuswheel Substack: https://luluminns.substack.com/ Sally's Links: [Free Guide] Healing The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtraumatheguide [On Demand Masterclass] How To Heal The Trauma Underlying Your Menopause Symptom Severity [£17]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/healingtrauma [On Demand Workshop] Redefine Your Values at Menopause and Live Life in Alignment With Them [£27]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine [Online Practitioners Diploma - Self Paced] Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner [£127]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/meno [One to One] Transformational 30 Day Rewire (Includes RTT) [£497]: https://www.sallygarozzo.com/redefine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallygarozzomindmentor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallygarozzo/ Send me a voice clip via WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/FTARBMO7CRLEL1 Send me a direct message Support the show

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