Women What Whistle

Not falling in line or fading away, it's about finding our brave through the stories of other women who had to find theirs. #becausewecan

109 That Was 2022 12/21/2022

108 Cliteracy and The G-Spot 12/14/2022

107 Your Sexlife, Dutiful or Beautiful? 11/22/2022

106 Helena Croft: Once a Shy Girl, Now A Warrior For Women 11/01/2022

105 Not Scary For Cary 10/18/2022

104 To HRT or Not? 10/13/2022

103 Diane Danzebrink on menopause, breaking point and activism 10/03/2022

103 Diane Danzebrink on menopause, breaking point and activism This week we talk with Diane Danzebrink, campaigner, psychotherapist and menopause expert about her experience of menopause which was brought on by surgery for a hysterectomy, after discovering she had ovarian cysts, endometriosis, adenomyosis and a large fibroid. So severe were the psychological effects of menopause that it almost resulted in Diane ending her life. She tells the story in this episode. Her website is and you can sign the petition (please do because it’s getting very close to the all-important 200k) . There are also extensive available on her website, she also records a podcast called Other episodes we have done on the menopause are: 78 with Diane Danzebrink 79 with psychologist Dr Becky Quicke 91 Sharon Hartmann – – Emma Ellice Flint , another great campaigner Dr Zoe Hodson Please do come and , and if you’d like to subscribe so you receive the podcast into your inbox, then please do on Finally, just a quick reminder - menopause itself is one day. It’s one year after your last period, however, it takes approximately 10 years of hormone change to get to that point, and it’s those years that we refer to when we say perimenopause. A LOT happens in that time – far from hot flushes!! Estrogen receptors are scattered throughout our bodies and so when our estrogen levels drop, it can affect us dramatically – the list of symptoms is long! Physical: Hair loss Weight gain Brittle nails Vaginal dryness Sleep disorders Dizziness Incontinence Allergies Breast pain Headaches Joint pain Itchy skin Irregular periods Irregular heartbeat/palpitations Osteoporosis Burning tongue Tingling Gum problems Night sweats Hot flushes Changes in body odour Digestive problems There can also be profound Psychological symptoms too, as we hear in this episode Mood swings Fatigue Depression Anxiety Irritability Difficulty concentrating Memory lapses Loss of libido Remember, everyone's journey will be different. Please do not suffer in silence, there are many support groups and a wealth of information available. Reach out and connect, please don't hold back. Pipa x /episode/index/show/insidemywardrobe/id/24577962

102 Brave Enough 09/19/2022

101 What Is Normal? Does it even exist? 09/06/2022

101 What Is Normal? Does it even exist? Here we go, the first episode of Women What Whistle, renamed and revamped and very much about not falling in line or fading away. It’s about finding our brave through the stories of other women who’ve had to find theirs. We start this week with a conversation laying out the concept that challenges our perception of normal. We so often berate ourselves for not being like someone else, but ultimately, normal is most beneficial when measured against ourselves. Dr Sarah Chaney, historian of nursing and emotions, joins me for a conversation in which we talk about how this concept of normal came about, and just how flawed it is. Sarah touches on her own experience growing up, of trauma, living with grief, being bullied, self-harm and feeling immensely anxious on a daily basis. She’s a wonderful example of being shaped by her experience of life so far, allowing the process to mould her into who she is today and embracing her past in order to shape her future – surely that is the perfect example of finding true personal fulfilment. Culturally we have become obsessed with happiness, but I think contentment and fulfilment is perhaps a more valuable aspiration. But, those things don’t come from what we have or what others see, they come from allowing ourselves to embark on our own journey, by owning our past and allowing it to shape who we are today and carry us into tomorrow. Sarah has written 2 books, , and . She’s also co-hosted a fascinating podcast series called and if you can follow her on Twitter @kentishscribble It's so great to be back and thanks for listening! Each new episode will be published every other Tuesday across all podcast platforms. You can also subscribe for free on which means you will get it delivered to your inbox, and you'll also receive my fortnightly newsletter/chat on non podcast weeks. If you would like to support with £4 per month, you will also get access to the undedited video conversation – it won’t be polished like the podcast is, and won’t have my chat at the beginning and the end, but will give you the opportunity to see how the interview actually went in real time, warts and all. It will also help keep the podcast going without the need for random ads! Please note that if you’re a free subscriber, you don’t miss anything, you still get all the best bits in the podcast itself. /episode/index/show/insidemywardrobe/id/24266856

100 Coming Out and The Story So Far 07/22/2022

099 It Isn't What It Is 07/14/2022

098 Follow Your Nose 07/07/2022

097 GIVE IT LEGS 12/31/2021

096 Jo Good, She’s The Rolling Stone 12/06/2021

095 Women, Politics, Patriarchy and Weight Loss – A walk in the park with Alison Cork 11/22/2021

094 WHAT IS GOOD SEX? 11/08/2021

093 TESTOSTERONE IS NOT JUST FOR BOYS 10/25/2021

092 FOODS, MOODS, AND HORMONES 10/17/2021

091 MENOPAUSE, HRT AND HOW TO APPROACH YOUR GP 10/11/2021

090 WHAT IF THERE'S NO SABRE-TOOTH TIGER 09/27/2021

089 Gut health, Alcohol and Making Life Changes 09/13/2021

088 BIG T LITTLE T TRAUMA IS TRAUMA 06/13/2021

087 GOOD GRIEF THIS IS EXHAUSTING 05/20/2021

086 Hindsight is 2020 12/10/2020

085 Life, Loss & Lemonstones 12/03/2020

084 The Story You Tell Yourself 11/26/2020

084 The Story You Tell Yourself 2020 has been hard in so many ways, but like in any trauma or tough time in life, how we cope is often determined by the story we choose to tell ourselves. Here's a moving podcast illustrating how to find strength when we keep going anyway. Accepting who we are and where we are at, gives us so much power and once we find that place, we begin the journey of healing and freedom! This episode is perfectly timed as so much change has occurred this year in all of our lives. Much of it for the better, but also with lots of trauma and sadness in the mix. Nina Chesworth's story is a real example of courage, determination and resilience. She has had to overcome trauma in a way that none of us would ever imagine. Having become severely short sighted after having the flu when just 2 years old, had multiple operations that would succeed and then fail after a time taking her through years of torture; then in her adult years, had 2 separate accidents that each involved losing an eye. She kept strong for everyone else, until the final accident when she came apart and fell into a deep depression. Her resilience however, unfailing, eventually found the lifeline to pull her back out. She’s an inspiration and a true example of HOW to keep going when we are struggling to see the way forwards …. In this incredibly inspiring episode we talk about how Nina has developed practices to maintain a good place when it comes to her mental health, how she manages the ongoing stress that comes from Charles Bonnet Syndrome, a syndrome of hallucinations that comes about with sight loss; she talks about how her friends and family have been her support line and how she's had to rebuild her life over and over, clinging on to the determination that protects her independence and ability to be productive, creative, help others and most importantly be a mum. Nina has a degree in Design and art direction despite her visual impairment at the time, started her own business making her own handmade jewellery, and began the creative craft café in Manchester where people could come and express their creativity in order to help their mental health. Nina continues to support others with their mental health all the while adjusting and working with her own. Our mental health is an ongoing journey and the tips and insights that she shares during this episode are doable for us all. Do check out The Bridge and so if those sounded like they could be helpful to you, definitely take a look. Also remember that we have a where you are always safe to come and offload to those who will support you, and please remember, as Nina said, things always get better. Nina's Blog - Twitter account @blind_but_sound Instagram and as @NinaChesworth /episode/index/show/insidemywardrobe/id/16967402

083 Why We Are Feeling Exhausted 11/19/2020

083 Why We Are Feeling Exhausted This has been an immensely difficult year for everyone – in different ways we have made sacrifices, managed stress, illness, loss …the list for everyone is different. Whether its been isolation and loneliness, or fear for loved ones who you can’t see, or managing children whilst working, or desperately trying to find creative ways around running a business so that you can keep your head above water – we’ve all gone through it and everywhere I turn right now, people are tired, fed up, hanging on by a thread. In the news this morning there was a piece on how anti social behaviour and abuse is escalating in supermarkets ….. but it really highlights the mental state that some are in, there are many fragile people walking around on the brink So for my wrapping up of the people pleasing series, I want to finish with the importance of understanding how we are effected by life and what goes on around us and giving ourselves the freedom to roll with some punches – I don’t mean being tossed by the waves, we have a responsibility to manage how we respond to negative feelings but at the same time, it’s important that we acknowledge and understand what we are feeling – for ourselves. We’ve been a generation of goal setting reach for the stars and that’s great, the world has offered so many opportunities to us however right now, it’s so much more important that we take the gas off, that we allow ourselves to feel our way through the rest of this pandemic, to be connected to our feelings so that we don’t come out the other side disorientated or burned out but instead, we come out grounded, knowing what really matters One of the things this second lockdown highlighted for me was realising how quickly we had reverted back to life as we knew it pre Covid just in the last couple of months… shopping, seeing friends, people were having parties, meeting in restaurants, sitting close together …as if it had all gone away and we had forgotten. If anything, we can use this as a reminder that despite all the horrific things going on during lockdown, all the stresses and strains, we also all began to pair down and connect with the things that matter most. A friend of mine tweeted this morning about how low she’s been feeling of late …. Brian and I were talking over coffee this morning about the exhaustion we are all feeling right now – he was saying it’s a bit like when you learn something new, your brain gets tired – and we’ve all had to learn so much “new” this year – in the past we could go to work, go to the shops, go on holiday, all on auto pilot without having to think, everything was so familiar to us and suddenly this year that has all changed, very little is familiar, we are always having to think, be aware, do things a different way – of course we are exhausted! One of the things we have talked about over the last few weeks has been menopause as last month was menopause awareness month so add to that the influence on hormones in our lives, whether it’s your monthly cycle or hormone change in perimenopause or post menopause, add to that all the different stresses and strains being carried by those around us, add to that the not knowing of what’s ahead – yes the vaccines look really promising but we aren’t there yet – it’s difficult – let’s acknowledge that. . The reason I’ve included this as the final part of the people pleasing series is because it is vital that as part of learning about who we are, about getting to know ourselves and be ourselves, that we also learn to be comfortable in ourselves during the difficult times and give ourselves what we need – rest, support, a good book, a podcast, a walk in the woods …whatever it might be. That we learn to lean on each other, feel our feelings, not sweep them under the carpet but allow ourselves to mirror the seasons, right now to prepare for hibernation – we’ve earned it this year!!!! We NEED to rest and reset. Usually this time of year I start to plan ahead for the following year but as that process has begun, I’ve started to think about how I’m going to nurture myself and my family first, as Gayle Johnson talked about back in episode 75, use journaling and creative ways to process through emotions and really get in touch with ourselves, last week we talked about cold water swimming and how shocking our body into fight or flight, learning how to breathe through that panic response enables our neural pathways and physical responses to become stronger and more resilient to stress – in fact next week we have an incredible guest on who is the most inspirational example of living through trauma and coming out the other side – and that’s really what this year has been for us, By definition, a A traumatic event is an incident that causes physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological harm in which we might feel threatened, anxious, or frightened as a result. The reactions to trauma can include exhaustion, confusion, sadness, anxiety, agitation, numbness, dissociation, confusion ….all sorts. So in becoming more of ourselves, in grounding ourselves stronger in who we are and what we want from life, we also need to know and understand the other side of that coin, be able to recognise our negative feelings, where they have come from and sometimes allow ourselves to go through that muddy puddle, even sit in it for a while. We can’t rush these things – that’s something I learned through my divorce, I was devastated when I heard it would take a good couple of years to grieve and feel like myself again but that person was so right - and we can’t rush Covid either, we are here, we are moving forwards and we have all been marked in one way or another by 2020 – remember its generally the bad stuff in life that we learn from so let’s not race back to life as we knew it, let’s take the time to reflect deeper into ourselves, to get to know who we are and how we are feeling, allow ourselves to feel the Autumn and Winter of this year because Spring comes next and then summer. So however life is looking for you right now, keep going but be kind to yourself, be aware of what you need so that you can be even more of yourself both through the good times and the more difficult ones. I think you’ll love next week’s episode, it’s an incredible story of resilience In the meantime, take care, keep washing your hands and wearing your masks and if you’re feeling frayed around the edges, that’s ok, spring isn’t too far away – in fact it’s about the same distance as we are now from when we came out of the first lockdown – and that doesn’t seem to far now does it? Other episodes in this series: – how can you be yourself unless you know who you are, start to notice and be curious : continuing with getting to know yourself, take it further and start to ask yourself about your opinions – read, think, question – be curious! Often people become people pleasers not because they are wanting to be liked, but because they just don’t know their own answers. How can you find your tribe, your people, if you don’t know what defines you? Why join a netball team when you prefer to be on water? – learning to say no and that realising that when you give your power away, when you’re always saying yes and standing aside, it opens you UP TO FEELING VIOLATED and ABUSED #83 Part 4: today – putting all those things together in many ways is really simple but then the final point is this – life happens – and it’s all very well knowing the colourful side, but we are whole people and we also need to know our darkness. Brene Brown says “You can’t selectively numb your emotions” and in the same way, we can’t only know what we want, we also need to know what we feel …. - eating disorders with Michelle Scott Menopause and how hormones dramatically effect the way we do live – knowing your dosha and going with the seasons with Olivia Sharron /episode/index/show/insidemywardrobe/id/16873991

082 Just Keep (Cold Water) Swimming 11/12/2020

082 Just Keep (Cold Water) Swimming Welcome to another episode of Inside My Wardrobe – I was originally going to call this “Keeeep Talking” as it’s Strictly Come Dancing season but then I remembered “just keep swimming, swimming swimming” – and I couldn’t really move on from that. You have to have seen the movie Nemo to get the title. “Just Keep Swimming” is Dory’s line, played by Ellen DeGeneres and her motto taught to her by her Mum, when life gets hard, to just keep swimming …. This week’s guest came about after #76 “How To Eat And Be Happy” with therapist from the Recovery Centre, Michelle Scott talking about eating disorders – she asked if I would be interested to talk to Olivia Sharron – Founder of Chilly Dippers which is a cold water swimming community that is growing across the UK to encourage not just physical wellbeing but to help people find and develop natural coping mechanisms for dealing with every day stress and anxiety – which of course was a definite yes from me because I hand on heart believe that the more comfortable we are with ourselves, our emotions, our feelings and learning how to express them, the easier life gets – it doesn’t stop the mountains from standing in our way, but when you have confidence in every aspect of who you are and where you’ve been, you develop a strength that carries you forwards over mountains and through the storms which are inevitable – how boring would it be to sit on a beach all day every day? I’ve talked before about how I was going to spend a weekend with a group of friends walking up Snowdon and down again but as life would have it, a family emergency cropped up which meant I couldn’t go but when they all came back, no one talked about reaching the top, it was all about the journey and who struggled and who slipped and then the champagne in the hot tub afterwards – mountains are good particularly when we climb them with friends. In this episode we talk about the importance of talking, of community, of looking around and seeing that we aren’t climbing the mountain on our own, so it’s important to express how we feel and then there’s this amazing effect that cold water swimming has – not just in the camaraderie around a hot chocolate afterwards, but also about how physically shocking your body into fight or flight helps bypass the mind and speed up the process of freeing our instinct to help us become people who have confidence in our own ability to cope when the going gets tough. It’s been proven to: Encourage Better sleep Improves circulation A Natural high Increases your metabolism Boosts your immune system Enhances happiness – releases endorphins Is great for the skin The premise of Chilly Dippers (), is a mental health initiative set up by Olivia Sharron whilst at The University of Edinburgh to encourage more natural coping mechanisms for dealing with everyday stresses and anxieties. The focus is on how cold-water swimming and its mental and physical health benefits really takes people out of their normal routines, for even 5 minutes of something different to really help them gain some perspective of their worries. Olivia says “I had noticed too frequently, so many of my friends battling with mental health issues and not being able to speak about it. Luckily, through the many ‘Chilly Dips’ I have hosted up in Edinburgh and in London’s Serpentine Lido - we have been able to challenge the taboo around mental health through opening up opportunities for likeminded people to share their stories / or simply just engage in a fun, outdoor activity”. You’ve heard me waxing lyrical about the benefits of Japanese practise of forest bathing. It has been proven that intentionally spending time around trees, walking through woods and forests lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduces stress hormone production, boosts your immune system and improves the overall feelings of wellbeing – it just goes to show the importance of being aware of all the natural world has for us. On top of that, Chris Evans has been singing the praises of cold showers for months so you don’t necessarily have to take the whole plunge although I have to say, from those I know who do it, it seems to be addictive, my aunt in her 50s swims all year round in the sea in south west Wales – she posted a photo just the other day after they came out of their lockdown, the first thing she and a group of women did was to leap in the car and head to the beach, in November – and it’s cold on the welsh coast ALL year!! Lorraine Candy, editor of Style Magazine in the Sunday times recently wrote a piece on how HRT and cold water swimming together have really helped her through the menopause – and she only learned how to do the front crawl in her late 40s so there’s hope for us all! You don’t have to be a natural or seasoned swimmer – “the endorphin high lasts for some time, I can only liken the buzz to the heady days of the 90s rave scene” People make extraordinary claims about how cold water swimming has literally saved their lives because it’s had such a profound effect on their mental and physical health – stress relief, depression – all caused by the body learning how to protect itself when faced with a surge in cortisol Cold water swimming may help defend from dementia by stimulating latent hibernation protein, scientists say 'Cold-shock' protein - RBM3 - was first identified in mice after they were cooled It was found to trigger the removal and then regrowth of synapses in the brain Scientists wanted to see whether humans would also be able to make the protein And tests on lido swimmers have confirmed people can also produce it So the evidence is there, for ALL ages there is a huge benefit to cold water swimming but equally, and so importantly as Olivia pointed out, the importance of talking can never be underestimated. A few weeks ago we did a couple of episodes on what Dr Becky Quicke referred to as the third initiation of a woman’s life – of menopause, and of stepping into your queendom and being there for all the other younger women who cross your path so whatever age you are, reach out, not just to your peers, but to those older than you and to those younger than you, we are not designed to live isolated and disconnected lives, we thrive on connection and community so keep swimming and keep talking – and come and join in our page as there are women of all ages ready to connect and share together. Links are dotted through the notes but the main one for Olivia is and my website where you can find all the podcast episodes and more /episode/index/show/insidemywardrobe/id/16783721

081 Balancing Your Dosha 11/05/2020

081 Balancing Your Dosha During this episode we talk with writer and holistic therapist Ellen Carr about connecting with our bodies at a deep level so that we can discover who we are and find fulfilment and joy in life. We talk about how the seasons around us affect us according to our Dosha, we talk about masculine and feminine energy, how the Western culture in which we live promotes more of a goal based masculine existence which pushes us away from the nurture and reflective nature of the feminine energy. We all need both, but as a society, we have become incredibly linear which isn’t good for us so we talk about lots of different ways we can find balance and develop non-linear ways of being that will help us to feel good about and connected to our lives. It’s a beautiful conversation laden with wisdom and once again, lots of food for thought. You can find all the information we talked about by clicking this link to take the if you’re up for it and come and find me on my or social media :) and here's the story of the fisherman: There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village. As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish. The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?” The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.” “Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished. “This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said. The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?” The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.” The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman. “I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.” The fisherman continues, “And after that?” The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.” The fisherman asks, “And after that?” The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!” The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?” /episode/index/show/insidemywardrobe/id/16695068

080 Lipstick and Bloody Mindedness 10/29/2020

Women What Whistle

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