The Wellness Drop Special Edition: Perimenopause & Vitality

Hi everyone,

I’m Leanne and I’m SO excited to join The Wellness Drop as their first ever Guest Editor, exploring all things Perimenopause & Vitality.

This is a topic I’ve become deeply passionate about, not only through my own experience, but because the truth is every woman will move through this transition. For some it begins as early as mid-thirties, and for others in their early forties, this isn’t an “if” but a “when”, so its important to start preparing now by empowering ourselves with the knowledge, tools, and understanding to move through it with grace, confidence, and clarity rather than fear or confusion. My hope is that together, we can shift the lens toward awareness, connection, and wellbeing, so no woman feels she has to navigate this chapter alone.

In this special edition, I’ll share some of my key takeaways from the GCC’s first Menopause Summit — an eye opening and grounding experience that reminded me how powerful it is to be in a room filled with women all there for the same reason: to understand, to feel supported, and to open up this conversation (long before we’re in the thick of it!)

You’ll also find a spotlight on Functional Hormone Coach, Roshani Hill, a rare practitioner who takes the time to understand the whole person, crafting personalised protocols that truly work. She’s deeply committed to helping women find balance and won’t rest until she’s done just that.

So please do take a moment to read this edition and if it resonates, share it with a friend, sister, or colleague who might be quietly navigating this chapter.

Together, lets break the stigma and start an open, informed conversation, one where women no longer feel they have to hide their symptoms or quietly cope in confusion, but instead feel seen, supported, and empowered to self advocate for their health and wellbeing. Because this chapter certainly isn’t something to fear, it’s an invitation to reconnect with our strength, deepen our self-awareness, and truly thrive in this next phase of womanhood.

With love,

Leanne x

It began subtly. I just didn’t feel like myself. Everyday things felt heavier. My emotions were unpredictable. I was exhausted, anxious, forgetful, and unable to keep up in the way I always had. Then came the migraines, joint pain, hair loss, sleepless nights, and that unsettling feeling of not quite fitting into my own skin or recognising the person staring back at me in the mirror.

I was passed from doctor to doctor claiming my tests were all “normal”. I had even ended up in the emergency room with heart palpitations and a migraine I thought must have been a brain tumour, only to find once again all results came back as “normal”. I didn’t know where to turn and had no idea that all these symptoms could have actually been related.

The moment that changed everything came about a year ago. I was in bed with one of my worst migraines yet, missing another bedtime with my daughters, when my four year-old tiptoed in and whispered, “Mummy, are you dying?” And truthfully, that’s how I felt, like I was disappearing from my own life. That night, I promised myself I’d find answers, not just for me, but for them.

So I did what I always do when faced with something I don’t understand, I studied it. I devoured books, podcasts, and research. I spoke with doctors, nutritionists, and hormone specialists, and listened to women’s stories that were real, raw, and unfiltered. Slowly, the pieces began to make sense.

What I discovered is that perimenopause is not an ending, it’s an initiation and a transformation. Yet we’re expected to move through it with almost no guidance. No one prepares us for how it affects our relationships, work, confidence, or sense of self. We’re not taught how to nourish our bodies, calm the anxiety, lift the fog, or remember that we are not broken, we are evolving.

When Harriet and Katie talked to me about this Guest Editor role for The Wellness Drop, I didn’t hesitate. I said yes because I know how isolating this can feel and how powerful it is when someone gives you the language, knowledge, and support you didn’t know you needed.

I’m not here as an expert with all the answers, but as a woman walking this path beside you. My intention is to open this conversation with honesty, compassion, and solidarity and to help us move through this chapter with more understanding, more ease, and the confidence to truly thrive.

The strongest message of the day was that we cannot prepare for something we don’t talk about, and that the time to understand perimenopause is not when symptoms are already overwhelming, but long before.

One of the most powerful reframes was that perimenopause and menopause isn’t the final chapter of our vitality. It marks the start of a new biological phase that can be vibrant, purposeful, and fulfilling when we know how to support ourselves through it.

1) “You’re Not Losing Your Mind — You’re Buffering.”

That line got a laugh, but it also landed. Because every woman in that room knew exactly what she meant. The brain fog. The anxiety from nowhere. The forgetfulness midsentence. The waves of emotion that make no sense. 

“It’s not you, it’s your hormones” and once you understand that, the story starts to change. You can step back as a curious observer rather than a passenger being pulled along, noticing the shifts with awareness instead of resistance.

Perimenopause isn’t just hormonal, it’s emotional, cognitive, relational. It’s everything! and when we treat those shifts with curiosity instead of shame, something shifts. We stop labelling ourselves as “crazy,” and start seeing what’s really going on. That understanding alone can be life-changing.

2) Sleep, Strength & Self-Respect

If perimenopause is a biological shift, sleep is what keeps us steady through it. Dr. Shefali Verma reminded us that it’s not a luxury “Sleep is hormonal therapy in disguise.” 

Practical tips included cool the room. Keep a routine. Protect your sleep like it’s medicine, because it is. A key take away was the recommendation we all start teaching our daughters that good sleep is self-care, not indulgence so that we can set them up for all their hormonal shifts. 

Then there’s strength. Every expert agreed, two 45-minute sessions a week can transform how you age. Muscle is your metabolic currency. It keeps your bones strong, your energy stable, and your mood balanced.

And one of my favourite quotes from the day? “Feed your body. Don’t starve it.” Simple. But so true. What once worked for you no longer will, so we need to adapt to evolve and thrive.

3) Redefining Longevity

We talk a lot about longevity as if it’s about living longer, but as one doctor said, “We’re not here to extend lifespan — we’re here to expand healthspan.” That distinction really stayed with me.

Longevity isn’t about fighting age; it’s about living well. It’s about energy, purpose, vitality and feeling at home in your body for as long as possible. Personalised care, nutrition, movement, sleep, emotional balance, these are the real anti-aging tools.

Food is medicine. Movement is therapy. Connection is what holds it all together.

4) The Family Affair

One of the most touching realisations was that perimenopause doesn’t happen in isolation. It impacts everyone around us, our partners, our children, our colleagues. When we teach our daughters about puberty, let’s also teach them about this. When we raise our sons, let’s help them understand it too. Because when something affects a woman, it affects everyone.

Let’s shift the taboo and empower the next generation of women to expect and demand better care. Not as a privilege, but as a right.

5) “Humour Is the Seatbelt That Keeps Us Buckled In.”

I loved this line so much because if there’s one thing that helps you hold it all together through this wild ride, it’s the ability to laugh. At the night sweats. The brain fog. The lost keys. The random tears in the grocery aisle. Humour doesn’t dismiss what we’re going through, it anchors us in it. It reminds us that even in the messy moments, we’re still here, still strong, still us and helps us to share it in a fun and relatable way.

6) From Taboo to Togetherness

Finally the conversation is starting. But as inspiring as it was to see so many women show up, it also struck me how small that number is compared to the millions this transition touches.

Let’s make this conversation part of everyday life, not something whispered in bathrooms or Googled in the dark. Ask questions. Share stories. Listen without judgment. Because the more we talk, the less isolated we all feel.

If we’re going to truly support and empower women through this chapter, we need to start seeing this for what it is: not a “women’s issue,” but a human one. As one speaker said with a wry smile, “If men went through this, we’d have a Ministry for it.” She wasn’t wrong.

Functional Hormone Coach, Roshani Hill

When Harriet first introduced me to Roshani, I knew instantly that this was a woman who shared my mission. Her own story of early perimenopause led her to dive deep into functional health — determined to understand what truly drives hormonal fluctuations and, more importantly, how to restore balance.

Roshani’s approach is refreshingly holistic and deeply personalised. She looks at the full picture: comprehensive blood work, nutritional and lifestyle factors, supplementation, and when appropriate, hormone replacement therapy. But what really sets her apart is the time she takes to listen and the care she brings to every detail.

When she reviewed my results, she didn’t dismiss my symptoms as “normal” or tell me to wait it out. Instead, she validated what I already knew in my gut — that something was oZ and that my quality of life mattered. That reassurance alone felt like a turning point.

Roshani spent hours reviewing my medical history and current supplements (because let’s be honest, anyone in this transition has a cabinet full of half-used “miracle” bottles). She helped me make sense of what I actually needed, when to take it, and how much for it to truly work.

Her thoughtful supplement and lifestyle protocol has not only brought me relief but helped me reclaim something far more valuable - my sense of vitality and trust in my body again.

If you’re navigating perimenopause or suspect your hormones might be changing, Roshani’s work at @vitalwoman_wellness is a wonderful place to start.

Thank you for taking the time to read, learn, and stay open to this conversation. I’m so grateful to be sharing these insights with you, and I hope they bring a sense of clarity, comfort, or even the smallest spark of reassurance.

We’re not meant to do this alone — and the more we share, the stronger, softer, and more supported we all become.

With love,
Leanne x