It's not you. It's your hormones.

It's not you. It's your hormones.

Is this an excuse?

I don’t think so.

The truth is, women are suffering.

The ravages of change that can come over a woman — physically, emotionally, mentally, even spiritually — approaching perimenopause, in her 40s, sometimes even in her late 30s, can be overwhelming, destructive, shocking, and completely discombobulating. To those around her… and certainly to herself.

Plagued by disbelief that her memory seems to be forever out of reach, even though she’s been a powerhouse for decades — juggling jobs, children, a household, a relationship.

Disturbed by sudden outbursts of rage that arrive like a storm without warning.
The car in front is too slow.
That comment hurts too much.
Why are those clothes still on the floor?
Please!

Her body is bloating. Her skin is changing. Her libido has left the building.

Women who were once confident and breezy begin to ruminate, to worry, to feel overcome by anxiety about the smallest things. Catastrophic thinking starts to take over.
Why?

Because falling oestrogen in perimenopause also pulls down serotonin — our calming, settling, soothing brain chemical.

As oestrogen drops, the system goes haywire. Adrenals pump out cortisol and adrenaline. Women wake at 2am with palpitations for no reason, anxiety out of nowhere, because cortisol rises while serotonin sinks.

Only now is medicine finally piecing together the undeniable link between mental health and hormones. Dr Louise Newson — a UK GP who questioned the tiny amount of menopause education she received in training — has been one of the loudest voices showing how deeply women have been sidelined.

The facts are staggering:

• Women’s suicide rates rise sevenfold in their late 40s.

• 98% of women experience psychological symptoms during perimenopause and menopause: reduced self-worth, low self-esteem, debilitating anxiety, depression, catastrophic thoughts, and rumination.

• Psychiatrists have long dismissed this monumental hormonal shift — one equal in impact to the onset of menstruation — as having little effect on women.

• The average age of divorce for women in Australia is 43… right when perimenopause often hits, like a cloud gathering in the distance before suddenly arriving overhead.

Suddenly, you can’t go on the way you used to.
You’re done — sexually, physically, emotionally — in the sense that something deep inside says this can’t continue.

Yet up until now, as Dr Louise Newson says herself, women simply haven’t been considered in medicine. Most studies have been done on men because men don’t have a menstrual cycle. Women change too much. But that’s exactly the point.
Who is asking why, how, and what do women truly need to move through this cataclysmic change with care, dignity, and support?

Thankfully, this conversation is finally entering boardrooms, governments, and workplaces.
Anyone ignoring women — more than 50% of the population — is now undeniably behind the times.

If you want to go deeper into this, listen to this ground-breaking interview with Dr Louise Newson - Maybe it's Menopause on 'The Imperfects', an Australian mental health podcast. It is also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT medical advice. This podcast was recorded in 2023, so some information may be outdated. By sharing this podcast, Janet McGeever and her team do not endorse or oppose the hormone replacement advice by Dr Newson. Every woman must make her own decisions about how she treats her Menopause symptoms. Please seek sound medical advice from a doctor who is trained to treat the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms regarding Menopause.

And... this is exactly why Womantime Retreat exists.

It’s 8 months away — 13th–16th August 2026 — and we are already almost half full.
This retreat truly has a life of its own because women feel the call. They know they need something.
Something restorative.
Something nourishing.
Something that finally puts them back at the centre of their own life.

At Womantime, you’ll learn and experience what is, quite literally, the antidote to the pressures, expectations, and invisible load of modern womanhood — especially during perimenopause and menopause. Yet younger and younger women are attending Womantime Retreat because something inside them also feels this calling.
Womantime Retreat is where your nervous system softens.
Where you exhale.
Where you remember yourself again.

If this season of life has felt overwhelming, disorienting, or lonely… you’re not broken. You’re not failing.
Your hormones are shifting — and you deserve a space held with wisdom, compassion, and deep understanding.

Read more and book your space here.
Womantime fills quickly — and for good reason. We only take 14 women on this retreat. If you're feeling it too, don't hesitate.

Click here to download The Three Truths Every Woman Should Know About Sex and Menopause