Women What Whistle
In this episode I talk with Michaela Hyde from Marriage Foundation. It's more of a personal chat and debrief of 2022 really in which we cover empty nest syndrome, long term relationships, living with chronic pain, Michaela's menopause journey and my return to education. We also talk about HRT and also other techniques for resilience that help us survive the ups and downs of life. As promised, here are the menopause-specific episodes: 104 To HRT or Not with Sharon Hartmann (this is an edited-down version of 91, Menopause HRT and your GP) 103 - Diane Danzebrink talks about her surgical...
info_outline 108 Cliteracy and The G-SpotWomen What Whistle
Sex therapist Emma Waring joins me for part 2, following on from episode 107, ‘Is Your Sex Life Dutiful or Beautiful?’ to discuss the more intimate side of pleasure and our sexual relationships. We discuss orgasms, how the clitoris works, how vibrators can improve our sex lives and she reveals the all-important location of the not-so-elusive G-Spot. (Did you know that 96% of women need clitoral stimulation to orgasm? Hollywood might have us think otherwise). Emma shows various vibrators during this episode which we describe for audio-only purposes, however we did also film the conversation...
info_outline 107 Your Sexlife, Dutiful or Beautiful?Women What Whistle
In this episode we talk about equality in sex and relationships. We delve into the roots of cultural and religious writings that have informed a male superiority over the centuries, where women's shame around sex, nakedness and physical desire comes from, how we can recognise if our sexual script is skewed/damaged, and what to do about it. NB trigger warning at 15 minutes where Emma describes the action of rape, it is no more than one minute long. Once again, Emma is fantastic and gives us lots to think about. If you've not heard the first episode she did, Episode 94 'What is Good Sex?'...
info_outline 106 Helena Croft: Once a Shy Girl, Now A Warrior For WomenWomen What Whistle
10 years ago, Helena Croft founded Streetlight UK. Prostitution and trafficking is a very real issue. It’s quite of the moment to suggest that sex work is empowering, but Helena has a very different and experienced take on this narrative which is currently being pushed about. This episode is a conversation of two halves. First is about how Helena overcame terrible shyness and uncontrollable blushing that often held her back in life. And then how her faith helped her find her voice, which began her transition into politics. 10 years ago, she then founded Streetlight UK which gives support to...
info_outline 105 Not Scary For CaryWomen What Whistle
In this podcast episode, author talks to me about her epic midlife adventure in which she went back to university, already as a mum of twins, and having also navigated divorce. She accidentally fell in love and decided to relocate to Sweden once she graduated… and then found out she was carrying more than suitcases! I’m not so sure she set out for it to be an adventure but it really was, and then, of course, hormones began to change so she had some more navigating to do. During that time, she’s raising twins, a new baby, paddleboarding, cold water swimming and writing short stories and...
info_outline 104 To HRT or Not?Women What Whistle
This is an edited-down version of podcast episode 91 in which Menopause specialist Sharon Hartmann discusses hormone change with me and how we can best navigate it. She covers things like when hormone change begins, what can instigate it outside of the natural rhythm of life, and then she covers various symptoms, some more unknown than others. We also discuss natural v HRT (spoiler: topically applied HRT IS a natural product), the difference between gel, patches and spray; the importance of how you apply, testosterone, the Mirena coil, and also the length of time to take HRT and if it's ever...
info_outline 103 Diane Danzebrink on menopause, breaking point and activismWomen What Whistle
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...
info_outline 102 Brave EnoughWomen What Whistle
Grief is something that we’ve all found ourselves talking about with the loss of Queen Elizabeth. It has a profound impact on us and during this collective time, many of us have experienced the pain of other losses rise to the surface. In this episode, we talk to Jo Moseley, who found herself feeling at the end of herself after her own journey of grief and in the midst of menopause. Almost accidentally she turned it around and literally paddled her way out. She’s now a filmmaker, podcaster and writer, and the first woman to stand up paddleboard the 162 coast-to-coast trail from the west to...
info_outline 101 What Is Normal? Does it even exist?Women What Whistle
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...
info_outline 100 Coming Out and The Story So FarWomen What Whistle
THE STORY SO FAR: Welcome to our final episode from inside the wardrobe. We are relaunching with a slightly new focus in the Autumn which I explain about in this episode The previous episodes I signpost are: Menopause: 72, 78, 79, 91, 92, 93 The 5 love languages: 25 What is good sex: 94 Eating disorders or food related: 29 76 92 95 Grief and depression: 49 84 85 The link to my website is The link for subscribing to Women What Whistle is And the link to our Facebook group page is As ever, thank you so much for listening – much love all round!!
info_outlineHow many times have you said "I should have ...." today? Laced with guilt and expectations often from an unknown source, we regularly put unnecessary pressure on ourselves to live according to someone else's expectation, but why?
I was watching Avengers Assemble the other day and Thor's mum delivers this profound line: "Everyone fails at who they should be, the measure of a person is whether they succeed at being who they ARE"
So in this episode we talk about emotional intelligence, boundaries, acknowledging and giving language to our emotions, recognising our needs, knowing our limits, lessons learned from lockdown and most importantly, tools to help us peel back the layers of life that we have built up over the years that hold us back from fully engaging with who we are for fear of rejection, further pain or just getting something wrong - HOW TO RID OURSELVES OF THE SHOULDS!
My guest Angie Fadel is based in Portland Oregon, runs meditative archery workshops, does a lot of work with people around managing trauma and emotions, works closely with the LGBTQ community and her podcast is called Soul Care with Angie Fadel, you can find out more by accessing her website (she's the one in the cool swirly earrings!)
At one stage I refer to the episode we did last year talking about the script that is formed in our minds during our formative years, if you wanted to listen, it is episode 9 called "Unashamed" and is still one of the most listened to episodes that I have recorded.
The other episode we referred to called "Smile When Naked" was number 25 so just scroll through to find those if you want to take a listen.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one, if you cast your mind back to last week, we talked about the skimming stones and how the speed at which they skim across the water, prevents them from going down into the depths of what is below – in the same vein, when we charge through life at a pace, we miss out not only on the depths of the good stuff but also on exploring some of the not so good stuff that lurks down there that we continue to push down and pretend isn’t there. The more we pretend, the less we are able to be our ourselves or as Brene Brown says, you can’t selectively numb your emotions, if you numb one, you’re numbing them all.
So in this episode we talk about emotions, the importance of grieving our pasts rather than just shoving the memories and feelings away, the value in taking the reins so we can write our own futures, and perhaps most importantly, we talk about shoulding – the dreaded “I should” that we so often battle with for one reason or another, I should have said …. Or I should have done …. Or I should go to …… Or I should say yes to ….should start my own business, should have a degree etc etc etc
As always please do come and find me on my website and please do join in with the facebook group page "Inside My Wardrobe"