OK, so this is a question for women ‘of a certain age’: how would you feel about discussing your menopause-related symptoms with younger or male colleagues? If you mentioned that you were getting ‘brain fog’, or that night sweats had prevented you from sleeping, would you find understanding and a receptive ear, or would your colleagues shuffle a bit and look uncomfortable?

If the latter, you would not be alone. Seven out of 10 women say there is a general lack of support and understanding surrounding the menopause.

Trudi Roscouet is on a mission to change all that and she is bringing her campaign to the island. Next month, as part of the Isle of

Man Chamber of Commerce’s Wellbeing in the Workplace Week, she will be opening the event with her presentation: Menopause in the Workplace… it’s time to talk.

Trudi was born and raised in Jersey. Having had a successful career in the financial sector, her interest in her own wellbeing led her to qualify as a personal trainer in 2010, with a particular focus on women’s and children’s fitness and obesity.

On a recent Zoom chat she recalled her first encounter with the menopause when a routine blood test in 2019 revealed that she was perimenopausal. She was 45 so it should have been no great surprise but she said: ‘It was just madness because nobody had ever spoken to me about the menopause – I knew nothing. I was given six boxes of patches and sent on my way.’

She soon discovered that the menopause has a bewilderingly wide range of symptoms - officially 34 - some of them ‘very generic’. For example she now understood something that had been puzzling her.

She said: ‘As a trainer I’d never been able to understand why women of a certain age weren’t losing weight and I kept on thinking: “You’re just not doing what I say”.’

She soon discovered, from personal experience, about ‘menopause belly’, the tendency of middle aged women to put on weight around their middle.

‘May I now eat those words - I went from a size 10 to a size 14 without even hitting 12 on the way!’ she said.

Trudi continued to struggle with her weight and hormones until the first lockdown came around: this gave her the time to research the whole subject of the menopause, talking to specialists all over the world on the impact it can have on the body and mind. She came up with a programme called Vitality 40 plus, which she delivers online, offering coaching and mentoring to help women lose weight, gain confidence and feel more energetic.

And, whilst asking for more understanding for women in the workplace suffering menopausal symptoms, Trudi is also very much of the opinion that women can do a lot to help themselves.

She said: ‘The woman who is struggling with perimenopausal symptoms needs to take control: if your symptoms are affecting your life in some way, that’s affecting your job, that’s affecting your personal life, then you need to do something about it.

‘In 2022 you can’t play the victim, you have to take responsibility. HRT is now completely different from what it was. It’s not horses’ urine anymore, it’s derived from yams and it’s a ‘body identical hormone’ – it’s natural oestrogen.

‘It’s just trying to take away the fear.’

The wide range of menopausal symptoms mean it can be difficult for busy GPs to diagnose and women should bear in mind that concentrating on just one symptom can lead to problems.

She said: ‘And that’s the hard part because, if you are depressed and sad and forgetting stuff, and feeling like the bottom’s falling out of your world because you can’t remember anything, the first thing you’re going to do is focus on that. And your doctor only has 15 minutes so they listen to that and they go: “right here’s some antidepressants”, and this story is over and over again - male doctors, female doctors, it doesn’t matter.

‘You have to put your symptoms together and join the dots, not just focus on one symptom.

‘It’s all about trying to get women to be aware of their own symptoms, aware and educated, and now what we’re looking at is getting into corporates and educating them because women want employers to open the door to start the conversation.’

Trudi has taken her message to corporates in Jersey where she is a Menopause Ambassador for the 51 Employers Pledge. She explained: ‘It’s a 14-point pledge whereby we’re asking companies and organisations to say they will become menopause friendly associations.

‘It’s getting people to understand the importance of awareness and training in their companies, whatever the companies.’

Her visit to the island is being sponsored by local training organisation, Ganly Learning, which is run by Gerry Ganly and Justin Tipper.

Trudi already knew Justin from trips to the island during her time working in the finance sector. When he suggested that she should come to the Isle of Man and help to spread the word here, she was immediately up for it.

She said: ‘I thought it was amazing that two guys were ready to discuss the menopause and come out publicly and be the front of it so I went: “Yes, lets do it”. And I’m excited about coming back to the Isle of Man.’

She is well aware that this is still a bit of a taboo subject for some men: ‘hormonal’ is a standard insult that gets used on women of all ages, by men who haven’t the faintest idea what a hormone is. But the issue is real nonetheless.

Trudi said: ‘Every day I get a message from a woman saying: “help me”.

‘For too long nobody’s wanted to talk about it but for every man there are women in their lives, whether at home or in the workplace, and some women sail through the menopause but some women don’t.

‘At the end of the day we don’t want it to be a privilege to be menopausal, we just want to be able to start the conversation.’

l Trudi will be available to meet directly with employers during her visit that week for more detailed discussions after the presentation. Contact Gerry Ganly on 490809 or by email [email protected] to schedule a suitable time.

A week of wellbeing

led by Chamber

Trudi’s visit to the island is part of the Chamber of Commerce Wellbeing in the Workplace Week which features events and presentations on different aspects of wellbeing.

Chamber chief executive officer, Rebecca George, said: ‘More and more of our members are interested in how they can follow best practice regarding wellbeing.

‘In addition to being the right thing to do from a moral and ethical point of view, it also makes good business sense. That’s why we have organised our Wellbeing in the Workplace Week.’

All the events are being held at the Eagle Lab, Victoria Street.

Full list of events:

June 28, 9am - 10.30am

Menopause in the Workplace… it’s time to talk, with Trudi Roscouet, supported by IoM Chamber member GanlyTipper Learning Ltd.

l June 29, 12.30pm - 1.30pm

Betterbe: the four most important steps to improve health and performance in your company.

Hollistic health company BetterBe works with companies to implement successful workplace health promotion programmes.

Implementing an effective workplace health promotion programme can be a company’s most powerful achievement in terms of productivity and performance.

l June 30, 12 noon - 1.30pm -

Sleep and the workplace with Simply Sleep: how employees who are also new parents can achieve a good night’s sleep.

SimplySleep teaches parents how to get their baby or young child sleeping through the night so that they can function effectively the next day.

l July 1, 12 noon - 1.30pm - The business case for wellbeing at work with Marbral Advisory, focussing on how wellbeing at work impacts the bottom line through means such as productivity, engagement and retention.

Change management specialists Marbral offer advisory services which have helped to give local businesses and organisations the competitive edge and have unlocked significant gains.

l Full details about the Wellbeing in the Workplace Week can be found on the events section of the Chamber website: https://www.iomchamber.org.im/events/chamber-events/