How Simone is Keeping Calm and Creative Through Perimenopause

Simone Suss could be you or me. Actually, scrap that, she’s your terribly successful, creative, driven, aesthetically perfect friend, even worse, your sister. The founder of Studio Suss, a company wholly dedicated to building the future through sustainable interior design and construction, Simone is a high flyer and her lifestyle depends on her firing on all cylinders.

But at 46, she started to question what was the stress associated with running a business whilst juggling a family and what might just be the beginnings of perimenopause. “My friends have been talking about perimenopause and their own personal symptoms for a while now but honestly, none of us truly know what perimenopause is. It’s still so vague as a concept and we’re just guessing by how we’re feeling from one day to the next. That’s why the perimenopause conversation is so vital and one that needs to happen. In fact, I don’t understand why it’s still so quiet.”

“I run my own interior design business, I have three teenagers and I’m an advocate for sustainability in construction, so believe me when I say I’m very comfortable with deadlines, outrageous demands and a continuous level of stress! Only a few months back, I noticed I was increasingly feeling the pressure, both at home and at work and I wondered if the anxiety could be something besides the juggle. Then the first clear indication of a physical perimenopause symptom kicked in when my menstrual cycle became less regular.”

As a health tracker devotee, Simone input her period into the apple health app that records her cycle history, and suddenly clocked a 14-day cycle - half of what it used to be. “I was pretty disheartened when I mentioned to my GP about my 14-day cycle and she said there was nothing to be done right now, so best to just relax until things amp up more.” So Simone started monitoring her periods more closely with a detailed menstruation app that was even meticulous enough to assess her pad flow.

One perimenopause symptom that’s shot off the charts though, is her sleep. “I don’t get tired anymore before bed, I’m wired every evening. I have to force myself to go to sleep and I wake up like an alarm’s gone off at 6.30am. I’ve been surviving on 4hrs of sleep a night. I know it’s my raging hormones because last night I was simply adamant I couldn’t cope with the mess around me, so I deep cleaned my house for five hours straight.”

Like many households, Simone’s family are simultaneously going through transitions under one roof. Adolescence, puberty and perimenopause are not dissimilar developmental stages and symptoms like stress, hormonal mood swings and exhaustion often cross over. “Perimenopause has hit, like it must do for everyone, when I’m at my busiest. I keep saying, ‘take a ticket and join the queue people!’ I am not naturally a stressed person but I do find I snap when my adolescent children are being difficult, when school commitments pile on, or if people let me down or plans suddenly change. Then of course I have ageing parents to worry about too - it’s a full on melange of intergenerational stresses!”

Being a working mum, Simone finds she has to intentionally mark out the time to check in with herself. “The very fact I’m speaking about myself right now feels indulgent. Self-care is on my list behind a hundred other things. There are more urgent pressing things that need to be done each day. However, I am much more confident now in recognizing the symptoms of perimenopause and when I’m passing through them. I’m slowly deciphering which are life stressors, what’s perimenopause and when I need a break. For me that’s exercise; I walk the dog on the heath every day, racking up 10,000 steps before my working day begins and I do an online yoga class at lunch.”

Despite all of this craziness going on right now, Simone says she feels surprisingly positive about life and she credits that to LYMA. “LYMA maintains me. I’ve been taking it for nine months now and I’m mentally strong despite perimenopause, work and family demands. Perimenopause continues to make itself known but I remain in a good place. I have never taken a supplement so consistently but I take my LYMA Supplements everywhere; on holiday, even out for dinner - I’ve never been like that before. Just like how I’m committed to cleansing, toning and moisturising in my skincare, LYMA has become part of my day. I feel the ashwagandha working and I know the formula as a whole is powerful and good. LYMA builds in adaptability, resilience and it’s what helps me to take each day as it comes.”

“My grandma never spoke of it and mum had a hysterectomy at 35, so I have no idea when I’ll reach menopause. My sister is a few years older and ahead of me in the journey, so she’s passing on what she’s experiencing to prepare me and that’s all I’m going on. My daughter is so much more free though, it's a different generation of being more open and upfront about what you’re going through. We live in different times now, female reproductive issues are no longer taboo, so the conversation should be far more ‘out there’. I want her to know about perimenopause long before she experiences it. That way she can be mentally and physically prepared for the changes to come and I can get her onto LYMA!”