Bron Lewis

We're so used to seeing women struggle with their mental health over massive hormonal shifts in their lives, whether it is having a baby or down the line menopause.

When my mum went through menopause, she lost her mind completely.

We were living with a stranger and we had no idea where our mum had gone.

And at the time we were the victims in that.

We really felt like we were the victims because we were like, where did our mum go?

We'd just been replaced by this angry, angry lady.

Yeah.

We need our mum.

We're teenagers.

Why is she yelling at us again?

Why is she slamming the door?

Why is she throwing a casserole dish across the kitchen?

What is happening?

But now as an adult I can reflect on that and I'm like, how scary for her.

Like she has no idea why she's this angry.

And her mum wouldn't have talked about menopause with her and it was – and my nan, like God knows what she went through when she went through menopause because no one would have talked about it then.

But they would have witnessed all their friends kind of losing their minds because it's this huge hormonal upheaval where we just go, oh, I don't know who I am anymore or I don't know if I've made any of the right decisions but I know I feel uncomfortable in my own skin.

And then all the people who depend on you because as a mother you've got all of these dependents around you and all these people who think they know who you are and you've always put yourself last.

So why on earth would you now make a fuss of yourself?

So I think we are used to watching women go mad and we're used to waiting patiently for them to work it out.