Carol Vorderman opens up about menopause struggles
Carol Vorderman opens up about her menopause struggles, revealing she went through a “deep depression” in 2015 as she now backs Wellbeing of Women’s Menopause Workplace Pledge campaign.
Credit: Wellbeing of Women Via Youtube
Video transcript
CAROL VORDERMAN: Hello. Vorders here. Aged 61 and post-menopause. But when I was in my early 50s-- I'm going through the peri-menopause as we mainly do-- I didn't have any of the normal symptoms. I didn't have night sweats. I didn't have hot flashes, like my friends did. And I thought, gosh. I'm one of the lucky ones.
But then it hit me. And there was one particular year-- I think it was 2015-- when I started to become anxious, and then a deep depression overwhelmed me for about four months. And there was nothing going wrong in my life at all. I love my life. I love life. So I couldn't quite work out what it was.
Eventually, I realized that it was kind of tied in to the menstrual cycle. I am shocked, to be honest, that an estimated one million women have given up work because of these feelings that they have in the workplace, or have reduced their hours at work and given up promotion at a time, in their late 40s and in their 50s, when they should just be reaching the pinnacle of their careers.
It has to stop. And I'm delighted to be an ambassador for the fantastic charity, Wellbeing of Women, who have campaigned for this, and worked with many employers and are planning on working with many more, with the Menopause Workplace Pledge.
So I am giving my full support to that. Lots of details at the charity's website. And I hope that you can give your support too. Get your employer going on this one. All the best.
