Frome Menopause Cafe

🌸 BYE FOR NOW 🌸

Since starting the Menopause Cafe in April last year, it's been wonderful to meet and support many women who have attended our monthly sessions at the Good Heart. I have always hoped to grow the group into a community that can self-support but this has not been possible so far. This was always a voluntary initiative that I started and has remained so. For that reason the menopause cafe will stop for now: like everyone else I have significant work, family, health and study commitments... and my cup is a little empty right now.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this group, who has attended, spread the word and offered such kind feedback. This experience has taught me that beyond a doubt, safe and supportive spaces for women in menopause are VITAL. If anyone is interested in picking up the running of the group I'd be happy to discuss and provide advice.

If you're looking for menopause support in the meantime, The British Menopause Society is excellent for information and advice.

If you need a beautifully held space I can highly recommend Yoga with Cecilia in Frome.

If you need someone to listen, remember that Samaritans is always there.

With love and gratitude,
Kate 🌼

If you're wondering about your options in menopause, this is a great place to start!

If you're perimenopausal or menopausal and considering taking HRT for the first time then you might find coming along to one of our Menopause Discussion Groups really helpful.

The groups are led by one of our female GPs and mean we can cover so much more about the menopause and HRT than we can in a normal appointment. If you decide you'd like to go ahead with trying HRT we can sort that out for you at the group too.

Feedback on these sessions is overwhelmingly positive so please get in touch if you'd like to come along to one. Our next session is on Tuesday 23rd April (6-8pm)

If you'd like to come along, we need you to fill in our online form. More details and the online form are available on our website. Search for 'menopause group discussion' or click the link below:

https://www.fromemedicalpractice.co.uk/menopause-group-discussion

Here's a great article shared by our lovely member Violetta. Did you catch it?

Perimenopause has brought chaos to my life – but also peace Trying to learn about menopause has been disorienting, but Angela Garbes has also experienced ‘a softening, an openness’

Might be interesting for anyone who fancies finding out more!

Navigating Menopause Webinar Navigating Menopause: Small Tweaks for Supporting SymptomsAre you experiencing menopause, post or peri? Are you seeking ways to regain control of your health with simple yet effective adjustments?Join Dr Rebecca Hiscutt. PhD. Registered Dietitian and Practice Manager for a One Hour webinar that will

Happy Friday!
Complete this sentence: "Menopause has taught me..."

🙌

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY to all the amazing women who work, volunteer and support the work we, and the many other Frome charities, do! As the saying goes,
“If a job needs doing, ask a busy woman” ❤️ ( but yes doesn’t have to be the answer!!)

Come and join us at The Good Heart this Saturday! We will be joined this week by herbalist and naturopath Caroline Evans, founder of Heaven on Earth Herbals, who will be sharing some of her vast and varied knowledge of how herbal approaches can support all stages of menopause - whether or not you are taking HRT. Please do come along and meet Caroline, as well as having the opportunity to chat and share with other like-minded people.

Don't forget, it's time for our Menopause Cafe again this Saturday. Please drop by to this free, warm and welcoming space. ❤️

Need information about menopause? Considering HRT? This is great place to start....

Our next menopause group takes place on 27th February from 6pm - 8pm at the practice, hosted by one of our female GPs.

If you're considering taking HRT for the first time this group is for you. We will discuss the many symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, how we can try and manage symptoms, treatment options and the pros and cons of HRT.

You'll need to register to come along and we will be in touch to confirm your place. Find out more and register via our website, either search 'menopause group' or click the link below.

And if you can't make the date this month more dates will follow - so please feel free to register and we can hopefully schedule you in for another session.

https://www.fromemedicalpractice.co.uk/menopause-group-discussion

Tomorrow is the February meet up of Frome Menopause Cafe! We'll be The Good Heart from 1000-1130 - if you've never been to a session before ans are curious, come and say hi! It's free to attend to a warm welcome is guaranteed.

No need to book: just show up! See you there 🫶

Just in case you needed to hear this (and a reminder that if you want to move, have a laugh and feel great, Mojo Moves Comedy Aerobics is a perfect place to start) 🫶

In an effort to protect our mental health and wellbeing, we are often advised never to compare ourselves to others. Yet the good old advertising industry relies on just that, creating unrealistic expectations and goals for us mere mortals.
Not to mention the photoshop, 6 figure plus income and laser focus on presenting a well balanced and “perfect” persona to the world (oh and to sell a s**t load of subscriptions too).

Don’t fall for the January hype.
Barry White and myself love you just the way you are # #

We're starting the year with some great news! Frome Menopause Cafe has been awarded some funding to make the next few meet ups at the Good Heart 100% free to attend (as usual for TGH, donations for drinks are always welcome)! This is a massive step forward to realising the dream of making this resource available to all, regardless of means. Huge thanks to Vicki at The Good Heart for her help in making this happen, and to Somerset Community Foundation for the funding!

So come and celebrate with us next Saturday, 13 January! The wonderful Violetta will be hosting, and all are welcome. If you haven't made it to the menopause cafe yet, this is a great chance to come and see what it's all about. A warm welcome is guaranteed 💛

Good news for women struggling with hot flushes!

‘Gamechanging’ drug to prevent hot flushes wins approval in UK — The Guardian Veoza, also known as fezolinetant, is prescription-only and will be available privately from January

Hello! There will be no menopause cafe meet up this month, but we'll be back in the new year. Keep tuned for dates and details!

It's a bit miserable outside but The Good Heart is always cosy! Come along and join us today from 1030-1200 for a warm welcome, great chats, support and a chance to try out breathwork (which can help with menopause symptoms!) 💛

All welcome. Suggested donation £4/£2.50 according to means.

This Saturday we'll be meeting at The Good Heart for chats, support and a breathwork taster session with wonderful Sookhi.

All welcome! Check out the details in the event post and come and join us, no matter what stage of menopause you're experiencing 🩷

The sun is shining, the kettle is on, and a warm welcome awaits! Join us today from 1030-1200 at The Good Heart ❤️

Thank you, Frome Times for writing about our first brilliant six months of Frome Menopause Cafe! Read the full article here: https://www.frometimes.co.uk/2023/10/12/menopause-cafe-serves-up-support-for-frome-residents/

Next Saturday will be be the next meet up at The Good Heart - and we're excited to announce that we'll have a guest speaker! Janie Godfrey of Frome Bowen Clinic has kindly agreed to speak to us about Bowen Technique and how it can help with menopause symptoms such as hot flushes - so come along and find out more! There'll also be plenty of time to chat about whatever's on your mind, as always 🙌

1030-1200, suggested donation £4/£2.50 according to means. Please bring correct change or email [email protected] to book a space and pay online.

Important! For anyone who booked on the day retreat originally scheduled for tomorrow, 1 October, you should have received emails over the last month informing you of the new date (3 March 2024) and offering either a transferred ticket or refund.

To confirm, the retreat will not go ahead tomorrow but will take place next year (spaces still available). Please pm for any questions!

Frome Menopause Cafe is now 6 months old! In that time we've welcomed more than 75 women to a supportive space that simply wasn't there before. And we hope to welcome many more.

But if menopause teaches us anything, it's that we all need support - and Frome Menopause Cafe is no different. So how can you help?

🕰️ TIME: Currently the team is one (me, Kate!) and I give my time freely and with love - but I'm often short on time. Thank you to Becky, Violetta and Lissie, who have supported me on occasion. Would you be interested in helping?

👛 DONATE: As an organic and casual group, we have no charitable status or easy route to funding, which is why we request donations (£4/2.50 according to means) to attend, to cover the hire and ad hoc costs. Please always donate if you can - otherwise the hire costs fall to me - by bringing correct change or paying in advance (or after, if you forgot) online (pm for details).

🫶 PAY IT FORWARD: Can you afford to cover a pay-it-forward place, so that everyone can attend, regardless of means? It could make all the difference to someone. PM or double up your donation next time if you can!

🎙️ SPREAD THE WORD: Perhaps the most important of all, keep telling your friends, sharing our posts and events and help people find us.

Let's keep this special movement going - we're all in this together! Next meet up at The Good Heart is Saturday 14 October. See you there? 💛

Looking to incorporate some self care in your routine? Look no further 💛

The wonderful Cecilia offers beautifully supportive classes for all levels. See you there?

We're ready for you! Violetta is here to welcome you and the kettle is on, so come and join us from 1030-1200 today! Good Heart, Palmer Street, Frome 💛

A wonderful reminder about embodiment from Jo Porritt at Stillpoint Health Ltd, who'll be joining us on 3 March 2024 for our first ever day retreat 💕

“If you are divided from your body, you are also divided from the body of the world - which then appears to be other than you, or separate from you, rather than the living continuum to which you belong” Philip Shepherd.

In western culture we’re taught to think about the body through the lens of possession: having a body. This suggests your body is an object that belongs to you like your phone or your car. That the body is a thing.

But there is another way of thinking about the body; that the body is not something you have but something you ARE. The body is the place where we are self. Where we are the sum total of all of us, all of our life experiences.

Because we have been systematically trained to numb ourselves to wholeness and to confine our attention to the boundary of the self, we live in our heads, disconnected from the body and at odds with the world.

Everything is in relationship with everything else and wholeness surrounds us, yet blindness to this obvious fact continues to manifest in our culture and our bodies. That we are separate.

Ways to come home to yourself:

Think about the stories you have been told that might make you feel like this way is the only way to be in your body?

How can you counter this?

How might you be differently, as a body, if you allowed yourself to remember that between your head and your toes there are miles of unexplored wilderness?

This is even more urgent in a culture that rewards punishing ourselves to twist us into shapes that “look” ideal. The Instagram ideal. The carbon-copy ideal.

How limiting and one dimensional!

See if you can catch yourself talking to your body as if it’s this “thing” that needs to behave, that you berate, possibly even hate.

If this is your current narrative it’s ok, but try to gently remind yourself you’d never talk to anyone else in this manner; why then do you do it to yourself?

Becoming embodied is a practice. It’s a day to day reminder to reject cultural norms and to remember the wondrousness of what it means to be human.

See if you can start to notice your narrative and gently orient towards a healthier, more meaningful way to connect to yourself.

💜

Breathwork can be a wonderful way to regulate and relax. This is a great opportunity to try it out! See you there?

FREE Breathwork sessions, starting on Monday at The Good Heart 4-5pm! Email Sookhi at [email protected] to book your place.

This sounds very lovely! 😍

Our lovely Verity has been busy designing us a Flyer....keep your eyes peeled in town...these will appear shortly.......

Happy sunny Thursday! This Saturday is the next meet up event at The Good Heart and will be hosted by the wonderful Violetta, who has been to almost all of our meet ups to date!

Come along for a chat, bring your questions and experiences and meet a likeminded, friendly bunch! 1030-1200, all welcome.

Donation of £4/£2.50 concessions requested to cover hire costs and refreshments - please bring correct change or PayPal fromemenopausecafe x