World Menopause Day workshop to help stop Harborough women suffering in silence

Menopausal and perimenopausal women are invited to a therapeutic workshop on Wednesday October 12 to share their experience and gain information and support from experts.

The workshop, [Meno]pause for Thought, is timed to mark World Menopause Day later that month and will be run by the team at Makepeace House, led by psychotherapist Thomasin Pritchard.

She said: "The perimenopause and menopause are issues that our clients are talking to us more and more about. Many seek out a psychotherapist because they have been incorrectly diagnosed with depression and prescribed antidepressants. We wanted to mark World Menopause Day by doing something practical and therapeutic for women, providing a space for sharing, support and information."

Thomasin said that the perimenopause and menopause are times of huge change for women, but this change is all too frequently accompanied by misinformation and misunderstanding. She added: "The menopause can have a huge impact on women’s work, their relationships, as well as their physical and mental health. Debilitating symptoms are too often accompanied by little effective support or treatment from healthcare services. It’s time to break the taboo and stop suffering in silence."

A recent study by the Fawcett Society showed that 44 per cent of women experience three or more severe symptoms during the menopause, such as trouble sleeping, brain fog and anxiety or depression. However, 80 per cent of the women surveyed reported no basic support from the workplace and almost half had had no contact with their GP.

[Meno]pause for Thought will take place at the Congregational Church Centre in Market Harborough at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 12. For more information, email Thomasin Pritchard at [email protected] or find Makepeace House on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MakepeaceHouse/