🎙️ Perimenopause: The Survival Guide Nobody Gave Us
Hormones, HRT, food, supplements, exercise and what actually helps

Perimenopause can make you feel as though somebody has quietly changed the operating system of your body and forgotten to give you the manual.

Brain fog. Rage. Anxiety. Hot flushes. Broken sleep. Aching joints. Weight changes. Gut issues. Exhaustion. A body that suddenly reacts differently to foods, alcohol, stress and exercise. IT CAN BE TRAUMATIC!

So what the hell are you actually supposed to do about it?

In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman get practical. Drawing on the science alongside their own experiences, they unpack the treatments, lifestyle changes and everyday strategies that can make navigating perimenopause considerably easier.

We explore:

🔥 HRT and hormone therapy - what it can help with, what women need to understand, and why finding the right approach can take time

🧠 The brain and nervous system - why anxiety, mood, cognition, sleep and resilience can change so dramatically during the menopause transition

🥗 Food and the changing body - why foods, alcohol and caffeine you once tolerated may suddenly seem to trigger symptoms

🦴 The musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause - why joints can start aching, muscle and bone become increasingly important, and why women need to think about strength before they become frail

🏋️ Heavy resistance training and impact exercise - why lifting weights and appropriately loading bone may be some of the most powerful things we can do for our future bodies

🥩 Protein and fibre - why eating enough of both becomes increasingly important for muscle, metabolic health, gut health and healthy ageing

💊 Supplements - the evidence behind vitamin D, K2, omega-3, magnesium, creatine and specific collagen peptides, including what's genuinely promising and what's probably being oversold

🌱 What actually worked for us - the things we've tried, what made a difference, what didn't, and what we wish we'd understood sooner

Most importantly, this isn't about creating another impossible midlife wellness checklist.

It's about understanding that perimenopause is a whole-body transition. Changing ovarian hormones don't only affect periods and fertility. They interact with the brain, nervous system, bones, muscles, gut, sleep, metabolism and emotional wellbeing.

And once you understand what's happening, you can start making much more informed decisions about how to support yourself through it.

🎧 This is the perimenopause survival guide we wish someone had handed us years ago.

Topics Covered: Perimenopause, Menopause, HRT, Estrogen, Hot Flushes, Brain Fog, Anxiety, Sleep, Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause, Joint Pain, Resistance Training, Bone Health, Protein, Fibre, Creatine, Collagen, Supplements, Gut Health, Women's Health, PerimenopauseTrauma.

🎙️ Perimenopause Explained: What on Earth Is Happening to My Body?
Hormones, brain fog, rage, anxiety, hot flushes, weight, sleep and why it all happens

One day you feel relatively normal. The next you're forgetting words, waking at 3am, sweating through the night, gaining weight differently, experiencing bizarre anxiety, losing your patience with everyone and wondering whether you've somehow stopped being yourself.

Welcome to perimenopause.

In Part One of our perimenopause deep dive, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman unpack what is actually happening inside the female body and brain during the menopause transition and why the symptoms extend far beyond periods and hot flushes.

We explore:

🧬 What perimenopause actually is - when it starts, how long it can last, and why symptoms can appear years before your periods stop

📈 The hormonal rollercoaster - what happens to estrogen, progesterone and other reproductive hormones as ovarian function becomes increasingly unpredictable

🧠 Your brain on perimenopause - why changing estrogen signalling can affect memory, concentration, motivation, mood and emotional regulation

😡 Anxiety, irritability and rage - why women can suddenly feel less emotionally resilient or simply not quite like themselves

🔥 Hot flushes and night sweats - what happens to the brain's temperature-control system and why tiny changes in body temperature can suddenly trigger an enormous physiological response

😴 Sleep disruption - why perimenopause can completely dismantle sleep and how poor sleep can then amplify mood, cognition, appetite, pain and stress

⚖️ Weight and metabolic changes - why body composition and fat distribution can begin changing even when you're doing many of the same things you've always done

🥗 Gut and food changes - why some women notice digestive symptoms or find that foods, caffeine or alcohol they previously tolerated suddenly seem to affect them differently

🦴 Aching joints, muscles and bones - the emerging concept of the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause and why estrogen matters far beyond reproduction

💔 Trauma and the nervous system - why this transition can feel particularly destabilising when your nervous system is already carrying a significant stress or trauma load

And perhaps most importantly, we talk about something women desperately need to hear:

These symptoms aren't random.

Perimenopause is not simply your periods becoming irregular. It's a major biological transition involving hormone-sensitive systems throughout the brain and body.

Understanding that changes the conversation from:

“What on earth is wrong with me?”

to:

“Okay. Now I understand what's happening. What can I do about it?”

And that's exactly where Part Two: The Perimenopause Survival Guide Nobody Gave Us begins (stay tuned for Episode 17 for that).

🎧 If you're somewhere in your late 30s, 40s or 50s and wondering why your body or brain suddenly seems to be operating by a completely different set of rules, start here.

Topics Covered: Perimenopause, Menopause, Estrogen, Progesterone, Brain Fog, Anxiety, Rage, Hot Flushes, Night Sweats, Sleep, Weight Gain, Metabolism, Gut Health, Joint Pain, Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause, Trauma, Nervous System, Women's Health.

Autism is not a disease to be cured or a behaviour to be fixed. It's a different way of experiencing, processing, and responding to the world. Yet for many autistic people, living in a world that wasn't designed for their nervous system can be deeply exhausting, and, at times, traumatic.

In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore autism through a compassionate, evidence-based, and trauma-informed lens, moving beyond outdated stereotypes to understand the unique strengths and challenges of the autistic nervous system.

Together, they unpack:

🧠 What autism really is and why it's so much more than social communication differences

⚡ How the autistic nervous system processes sensory information, emotion, and stress differently

👂 The vital role of sensory processing, masking, and autistic burnout

💔 How repeated experiences of misunderstanding, exclusion, and chronic overwhelm can contribute to anxiety, trauma, and emotional exhaustion

🔬 The latest science on autism, including common co-occurring conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, sensory processing differences, and other neurodevelopmental profiles

🌱 Why creating safety, predictability, and genuine acceptance can transform wellbeing for autistic individuals across the lifespan

Rather than asking, "How do we make autistic people fit the world?", this episode asks a different question:

"How do we better understand and support an autistic nervous system in a world that often misunderstands it?"

This is a thoughtful, compassionate conversation about neurodiversity, resilience, and what it means to thrive without trying to become someone you're not. Whether you're autistic yourself, parenting an autistic child, supporting someone you love, or simply wanting to understand autism more deeply, this episode offers practical insights grounded in both science and humanity.

🎧 Join us as we explore autism beyond the stereotypes—and discover why understanding the nervous system changes everything.

Topics Covered: Autism, Neurodiversity, Sensory Processing, Autistic Burnout, Masking, ADHD, Anxiety, Trauma-Informed Care, Nervous System Regulation, Autism Research, Psychology.