"Their Brains Are Literally Different" – Parenting Teens Alongside Menopause With Lorraine Candy

If you are trying to balance parenting teenagers while experiencing your own hormone rollercoaster, you are not the only one. In today’s episode of ‘Is It Hot In Here?’ Dr. Naomi Potter is joined by journalist, author, and podcaster Lorraine Candy. Lorraine rose through the ranks on Fleet Street to become editor of Elle magazine and Sunday Times Style, but her biggest challenge was parenting four teenage/tweenage children while she was experiencing perimenopause—“It was just so hard.” Her insomnia, rage, and brain fog were so extreme that she thought she had a brain tumour that ran up against her children’s hormones, so how did she find a way to keep peace at home? Naomi and Lorraine discuss what happens when mid-life and adolescence collide and how “medical misogyny” has led to a lack of research into ways to help support women in mid-life and normalises the idea that they are less valuable than they once were. “We have a whole row of greeting cards saying we’re idiots” says Lorraine. Together, Lorraine and Naomi shed light on how things are gradually improving and what needs to happen next. Further reading and resources: Workplace support with Amazing If: https://www.amazingif.com/ Job transition support with Careers Can Change: https://careerscanchange.co.uk/ Career coaching with Rachel Schofield: https://rachelschofield.co.uk/career-development Women over 50 represent the fastest growing segment of the UK’s workforce: https://helptogrow.campaign.gov.uk/hr/menopause-and-the-workplace/#:~:text=Women%20make%20up%20nearly%20half,someone%20in%20their%20immediate%20circle. HRT protecting women from diseases such as heart disease: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9178928/#:~:text=Initiated%20in%20women%20%3C60%20years,lowering%20fail%20to%20do%20so. Cardio Vascular Disease as a leading cause of death for women: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4834856/ Follow Lorraine below: Lorraine’s Instagram: @lorrainecandy Lorraine’s podcast Postcards From Midlife: https://www.postcardsfrommidlife.com/ Lorraine’s books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Lorraine-Candy/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3ALorraine%2BCandy Lorraine’s new YouTube series about parenting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTXUyXW-xCE&list=PL7hzTyTZynYc7IGdaXNq5UAVyKpbeLEXI Follow Dr. Naomi Potter below: Naomi’s Instagram: @dr_naomipotter Naomi’s TikTok: @dr_naomipotter Naomi’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18evLF7Fep/?mibextid=wwXIfr For more information and support about menopause, you can go to: https://www.menopausecare.co.uk/ Submit a question for Naomi to read at: [email protected] #hotinhere #lorrainecandy #naomipotter