Reframing Perimenopause and Menopause an Opportunity Ft. Shirley Weir w/Anita Nowak - Purposeful Empathy

Menopause is not a medical condition or gateway to decline. In this special series devoted to widening our circle of empathy for people who often feel marginalized or misunderstood, watch this illuminating episode featuring Shirley Weir, founder of Menopause Chicks.As one of Canada’s most trusted voices in women’s health, Shirley cuts through the stigma and misinformation about perimenopause and menopause. Instead, she reframes this mid-life transition as an invitation, arguing that the first generation of women to turn 50 have another 50 quality years ahead  of them - and that changes everything.Together, we discuss:How estrogen affects not just your ovaries but your brain, heart, bones, and sleepWhy sleep disruption is one of the most overlooked and consequential symptomsThe truth about hormone therapy The staggering cost of menopause to organizations without a planExtending empathy to women with menopausal symptomsThis conversation addresses the urgent need to reframe menopause as an invitation for women to invest in their health and quality of life for the decades ahead.00:00 Preview01:04 Introduction 02:58 About Shirley Weir04:58 Shirley’s backstory06:55 What is perimenopause?11:12 Symptoms of menopause14:56 Shirley Weir’s book, The Unexpected Joy of Menopause19:36 Hormone therapy as a first-line treatment for menopause24:11 Unpacking physiological changes in women’s bodies29:36 Menopause at work: what employers are getting wrong or missing entirely35:58 The real cost of ignoring menopause at work42:23 How understanding your hormones empowers you at the doctor's office45:13 Perimenopause & libido: Why intimacy changes in midlife50:21 How partners can be more supportive without trying to fix everything54:33 Menopause as a social issue; not a personal one57:48 Shirley Weir’s Purposeful Empathy storyCONNECT WITH SHIRLEY✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirleyweir/✩ Website https://menopausechicks.com/✩ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/menopausechicks/ CONNECT WITH ANITA✩ Email [email protected] ✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.socialSHOW NOTES✩ Feel Amazing: Your Invitation to Rethink Perimenopause, Menopause & Postmenopause https://fliphtml5.com/ctghh/euqe/✩ Menopause Chicks Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/MenopauseChicks✩ Shirley’s White Paper https://6c96db96-14e3-4d32-b814-5ff916437257.usrfiles.com/ugd/6c96db_f06bcf5cc9ba46fa84a9582af7b8ede1.pdf ✩ Extent and Health Consequences of Chronic Sleep Loss and Sleep Disorders https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio