You’re Not Imagining It — It’s Perimenopause (or Cougar Puberty)
Feeling flat, frazzled or just “off”?
Maybe you're waking at 3am, snapping at people, or forgetting things you usually never would. You’re not crazy. And you’re definitely not alone.
This is perimenopause — and it’s real.
What is Perimenopause?
Perimenopause is the lead-up to menopause — and it can begin as early as your 40s. Your hormones (especially oestrogen and progesterone) start fluctuating. That can affect not just your period, but also your mood, sleep, memory, energy levels, and emotions.
Common Perimenopause Symptoms:
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Anxiety or mood swings out of nowhere
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Brain fog and forgetfulness
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Hot flushes or night sweats
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Sleep disruptions
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Low motivation or feeling flat
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Sudden overwhelm or tearfulness
Why It’s Happening (The Simple Science)
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Oestrogen supports mood, sleep, and brain clarity — when it drops, so can your emotional stability.
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Progesterone is calming. Less of it = more irritability and stress.
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Your brain’s stress response becomes more sensitive — which is why small things can suddenly feel big.
Bottom line? Your brain is reacting to hormonal changes. It’s not all in your head — it’s in your hormones.
You’re Not Broken. You’re Changing
Perimenopause is a natural transition — like puberty or pregnancy — but we often don’t talk about it. If you're feeling confused or overwhelmed, you’re not weak.
You’re just human — and your body is asking for support.
What is Perimenopause, Really?
You're not losing it — your hormones are just shifting.
Perimenopause is the natural lead-up to menopause — a transition that usually begins in your 40s (sometimes late 30s). It can last anywhere from 2 to 10 years.
Your body is changing, but you’re still you. Let’s demystify it:
💡 Quick Definition
Perimenopause means "around menopause." It’s when your hormones start fluctuating, and you begin noticing changes in your periods, mood, sleep, energy, and focus.
It’s not just hot flushes — it’s also brain fog, irritability, anxiety, and that feeling of “what is going on with me?”
🎯 Who It Affects
Most women experience perimenopause in their mid-40s, but it can start earlier.
You're not too young.
You're not imagining it.
You’re not alone.
What’s Happening Inside
Your oestrogen and progesterone levels rise and fall unpredictably — like a hormonal rollercoaster.
Add in cortisol (the stress hormone) and your nervous system is constantly trying to recalibrate.
And if you live with ADHD - suffering can amplify (read more here)
This can affect your:
😴 Sleep
😡 Mood and patience
😢 Emotional sensitivity
🧠 Mental clarity
⚡ Energy levels
The Nervous System Effect
These hormonal shifts put your nervous system on high alert — making you more sensitive to stress, reactive, and emotionally drained.
It’s not weakness. It’s your biology — and it’s manageable.
You’re not broken.
You’re becoming a new version of you — one with deeper wisdom and a stronger voice.
There is support to help you feel more like yourself again.
“By sharing stories, you’re instantly halfway to solving the issue just by being honest and addressing it—it’s a sense of self-preservation.”
- NAOMI WATTS
“Is This You?”
Checklist
🌫️ Feeling flat or low
💥 Snapping at loved ones
😴 Trouble sleeping
💔 Losing confidence
🧠 Forgetting things
Get off the symptom-anxiety merry-go-round
The Mental Health Connection
“Why don’t I feel like myself anymore?”
You're not the only one asking themselves this question.
Perimenopause is more than a hormonal shift. It can feel like an identity shift. And it deeply affects your mental and emotional wellbeing.
What’s Really Going On?
As oestrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate, so do the chemicals that help regulate your mood — like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA.
These aren’t just “hormones.” They’re messengers to your brain, your mood, and your sense of self.
When they’re out of balance, it can cause:
😰 Anxiety & Irritability: You may feel edgy, overwhelmed, or like your fuse is suddenly shorter. This isn’t a personality change — it’s chemical.
😔 Low Mood or Depression: You might feel flat, disconnected, or more tearful than usual. Even small things can feel emotionally heavy.
🌪️ Loss of Confidence & Identity: Brain fog, forgetfulness, and low motivation can shake your self-trust. Many women start to question their abilities, roles, or purpose.
💤 Disturbed Sleep & Energy Drops: Poor sleep from night sweats or racing thoughts leads to exhaustion — physically and emotionally. And tiredness amplifies everything.
“I thought I was burning out, but it was perimenopause. I wish someone had told me.”
— Real client, age 47
⚠️ Many Women Are Misdiagnosed
Perimenopausal symptoms are often mistaken for:
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Depression
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Anxiety disorders
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ADHD
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Work stress or burnout
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Fibromyalgia
Which means women are too often prescribed medication or dismissed — without addressing the root cause: hormonal transition.
Did You Know?
1 in 2 women aged 45–55 say that perimenopause negatively affected their mental health.
Yet, many never receive clear guidance or tailored support.
You Deserve Real Support
Your experiences are valid. This doesn't need to be "just life" or something to push through.
Strategic psychotherapy and hypnotherapy can help calm the nervous system, reframe unhelpful thought patterns, and support emotional regulation — without needing to talk through the past again and again.
DISCLAIMER: Hypnotherapy is not a replacement for your existing treatment plan. Talk to your GP before making any changes
You’ve tried to get help — but it often feels like you're hitting a wall.
You might walk into the GP's Office…
And walk out with:
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A prescription for antidepressants
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A suggestion to “get more sleep” or “try yoga”
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Or worse — the feeling that your concerns were brushed off
You’re not imagining it.
Many GPs are doing their best, but they may not be trained to fully understand the complex, emotional effects of perimenopause.
Long Waitlists. Short Sessions.
Want to see a psychologist? You might wait weeks or months.
When you do get there, you may be asked to rehash your past, even if what you're really struggling with is how you feel right now — anxious, tired, snappy, overwhelmed, not yourself.
“I Just Feel Dismissed.”
Many women share this same experience:
“I said I was struggling, and they told me it was just stress.”
— Client, 45
It’s not that traditional care isn’t valuable — it is. But when it doesn’t feel like care, it can leave you feeling unseen, unheard, and more confused than before.
Complementing, Not Replacing
Let’s be clear:
This is not about replacing medical care.
It’s about filling the gap — offering emotional and nervous system support when you're in the thick of it.
❤️ What Hypnotherapy + Strategic Psychotherapy Offer
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Fast, practical relief — no 6-month waitlists
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Tools to calm the nervous system naturally
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No need to relive painful memories
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Space to feel heard, understood, and back in control
You don’t have to choose between a script or suffering. There’s a middle path — one that meets you where you are.
Complementary support
How Hypnotherapy & Strategic Psychotherapy Help
What if your mind could feel more calm, clear, and in control?
That’s exactly where hypnotherapy and strategic psychotherapy come in.
Why You Feel “Out of Sync”
During perimenopause, your brain becomes more sensitive to stress. You may feel like you can’t cope the way you used to.
That’s not weakness — it’s your brain reacting to shifting hormones.
Your nervous system goes into overdrive, triggering:
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Anxiety or panic even in safe situations
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Overthinking or racing thoughts
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Trouble switching off at night
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Low confidence or self-doubt
What Hypnotherapy Can Do
Hypnotherapy helps your mind feel safe again.
It works by guiding you into a focused, relaxed state — like a mental reset button or "focussed daydreaming".
In this state, I can help your brain rewire unhelpful responses like stress, overwhelm or emotional triggers.
Think of it like calming the noise so you can think clearly again.
What Strategic Psychotherapy Adds
Strategic psychotherapy is practical and focused.
It breaks problems into smaller parts — so you can find doable ways to change habits and thought patterns.
Combined with hypnotherapy, it helps you build confidence, resilience and emotional control.
Real Benefits Women Notice:
✅ Less overthinking and mental chatter
✅ More emotional control and confidence
✅ Better sleep and clarity
✅ Feeling more in control and like yourself again
You can’t control your hormones — but you can retrain how your brain responds to them.
Approach
Why This Approach Works Faster
You don’t need years of talk therapy to feel better.
You just need the right tools that get to the root — fast.
Hypnotherapy Speaks to the Subconscious
When you’re in perimenopause, it’s not just your hormones causing chaos — it’s the automatic responses your brain has developed over time.
Hypnotherapy helps by working with the subconscious mind — the part of you that stores:
Old or less useful belief patterns
Stress triggers
Emotional reactions
Instead of just talking about what’s wrong, we guide your mind to interrupt unhelpful patterns and create calm, new responses. Many women say they finally feel like their brain is “on their side again.”
Strategic Psychotherapy Breaks the Problem Down
Overwhelm, anxiety, low mood — they often feel like a tangled mess.
Strategic Psychotherapy unpacks these big feelings into smaller, solvable pieces.
Together, we identify:
What’s actually going on
What’s keeping it going
What can shift right now
This structured, no-fluff approach helps you feel clearer, more in control, and less stuck.
⏱️ Results — Without the Wait
Most women notice a shift within just 1 to 3 sessions - and many report having the best night's sleep in years after one session!
No months of rehashing the past.
No waiting to feel like yourself again.
Case Study: “I Was Snappy, Tired, and Couldn’t Focus”
“After just three sessions, I wasn’t snapping at my kids every night. I was sleeping better and could finally think straight. I didn’t realise how much I’d been running on empty until I wasn’t.”
— "Jane", 44
Jane came in feeling foggy, emotional, and frustrated. After 3 focused sessions:
Her sleep improved
Her mood stabilised
She felt calmer and more resilient at work and home
She didn’t change her whole life. She just got the right support at the right time.
Who can Benefit
If you’re reading this, it might be because you’re feeling off in ways you can’t quite explain.
Maybe you’re wondering if this support is right for you.
Here’s who benefits most from hypnotherapy and strategic psychotherapy during perimenopause:
Women aged 35–55 navigating hormonal changes
You’re in the thick of it — juggling fluctuating hormones that impact your mood, sleep, focus, and energy. You want to understand your body and mind better and feel like yourself again.
Any ladies feeling stuck, misunderstood, or “not themselves lately”
Maybe you’re tired of feeling like no one really gets what you’re going through. You want to be heard, seen, and supported — without judgment or confusion.
Professionals balancing work, family, and emotional overwhelm
Your days are full — meetings, deadlines, family needs — but inside, you’re stretched thin. This support helps you find calm without adding more to your to-do list.
Open to exploring options beyond traditional talk therapy
If you’ve tried counselling or therapy before but found it slow, frustrating, or just not quite right — this might be your new path. It’s practical, results-focused, and tailored to your unique experience.
What To Expect
When working with me
Choosing support for perimenopause is a big step — and I’m here to make it as comfortable and effective as possible.
Warm, Confidential Support
You’ll be met with kindness, understanding, and zero judgment.
Whether you choose to see me for a one-on-one session or join a group workshop, this is a safe space where your experiences and feelings truly matter.
Real Tools From Session One
No endless talking without action. From our very first session, you’ll walk away with practical, easy-to-use tools designed to calm your mind, manage stress, and restore balance.
Tailored Strategies Just for You
In our one-on-one sessions, your journey is unique. Together, we’ll create personalised strategies that fit your lifestyle, your cycle, and your goals — whether that’s better sleep, mood stability, or confidence.
Extras to Support You
Many clients appreciate bonus resources like:
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A complimentary check-in session to track your progress
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Personalised hypnosis recordings for home use
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Workbooks and exercises to empower your ongoing growth
“I felt truly supported and understood from the start — and I finally had tools that actually worked in my daily life.”
— Client, 46
