I never thought I'd be calling myself an entrepreneur in my mid-50s, but I guess that's what I've somehow found myself becoming. For over 30 years, I worked a normal job for the British military, first the Army - starting out in the Outer Hebrides off the West Coast of Scotland - then the Royal Air Force, which brought me to the Midlands and into the path of my ever patient husband, Mark. We have two grown up kids, one sassy little granddaughter and a long succession of fur babies. When I'm not spouting off about menopause, I love nothing more than sticking some jigs and reels on Spotify and bashing along on my Bodhran (pronounced bow-ron it's an Irish frame drum made of wood and goat skin). Before the big 'M' hit, I had a great life working for the Royal Air Force. We lived in Cyprus for three years and brought in the millennium there. The Ministry of Defence put me through my business degree, took me on trips all over Europe studying military history, and brought me the most amazing group of long-term friends and more work pals than I can even begin to recall. But when I turned 50 in 2016, something shifted in me. For a start, along with the gorgeous birthday cake and huge '50 Today' badge, I also got my first hot flush! What followed was two years of confusion as anxiety, low confidence, brain fog and self-doubt plagued what I had always thought was a pretty steady, normal brain. Despite my best efforts at getting myself fit and healthy, I struggled to shake off the feeling that I was constantly failing and never close to being enough.We had a lot going on around that time. Mark was leaving the Air Force after 38 years, my daughter had a traumatic labour and had been in and out of hospital for nearly two years and remained undiagnosed, and my physically and mentally disabled sister had moved into the house next door to us so that Mark could help to take care of her. It was the perfect storm, with everything hitting me at once. Little did I realise that many of my symptoms were menopause related. After struggling for two years, I decided to ask for 12 months unpaid leave to help get myself sorted out but sadly, due to financial constraints, my request was rejected. Feeling somewhat stuck for options, I resigned from my job in March 2018. I set up Floresco Training and Coaching in 2018 to help raise awareness of the impact of menopause on working women. I don't want women to feel as I did, that they have no option than to give up their career because of a lack of education, understanding or support. Unlike so many women, I actually had an amazing boss, but at the time, the MOD offered no awareness training either for colleagues or managers. Consequently, I wasn't aware that many of my issues were menopause related, which meant I didn't ask for the help I probably needed. And even though my boss was great, he had had no training either to help him spot the signals. Since starting Floresco, I've been lucky enough to speak to hundreds of businesses, across all sectors, and thousands of women and colleagues to raise the level of education around this natural period in every woman's life. I feel passionately that the narrative around menopause and older women has to change. The taboo, stigma and 'hush hush' mentality that pervades around menopause, and indeed women's reproductive health, in general, has to go. I am committed to keeping the menopause conversation going and supporting women to feel positive about this amazing metamorphosis through which every woman, God willing will pass. Bev Thorogood
