Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: 1073 WRWD.
[00:00:02] Speaker B: Hey, there.
[00:00:03] Speaker A: I'm Beth Christie. Nice to have you here today.
I don't often get to have guests in the room, but today it is my privilege to introduce to you two amazing ladies. Yvette o' Sullivan is here. She is a certified menopause coach. Yvette, thank you so much for being here.
[00:00:20] Speaker B: Thank you for having us, Beth.
[00:00:22] Speaker A: And we have Iris Douglas, a motivational speaker and a Reiki practitioner. And, Iris, thank you so much for being here.
[00:00:29] Speaker C: Thank you so much, Beth, for having us.
[00:00:31] Speaker A: Wait till you hear what these ladies do. You're going to absolutely love it. We are going to be talking about an event beyond hot flashes and high heels. We're going to be talking about menopause. We're talking about helping women. We're going to be talking about things that you may not know, that you need to know. So, Yvette, let me ask you this. Why menopause? Yes. Women go through it. Nobody really talks about it. So why menopause?
[00:00:52] Speaker B: Well, this menopause idea came from the journey that I went through five years ago.
And going through that journey made me want to learn more about it. And searching and going to speak to doctors, I could not find any help. Therefore, menopause is so personal for me.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: So how do you then take that and then become or inspire a fashion show or a fashion event? I mean, I love it, but what happens?
[00:01:22] Speaker B: Well, Iris and I, we both come from a background that our grandmothers were seamstress in Dominican Republic. And when Iris and I get together, we just chat away and coming up with exciting ideas how to promote menopause and also have fun with it. And the idea of the fashion show came together.
[00:01:43] Speaker A: I love that. So, Iris, we're gonna pull you in. So fashion, of course, is its image. It's not just the clothing that you put on. It's how you feel about yourself.
It is, as you said, self expression. When you're going through menopause, how does that affect a woman's identity or look? Or does it. Because I think it does, right?
[00:02:04] Speaker C: It does, Beth, because we go through our changes, physical, physical changes that sometimes we're not comfortable wearing. You know, that little short skirt or that jean that felt that looked good on us because our bodies are changing, but we have to learn to embrace those changes. So fashion, putting on a little jacket, a little sweater, a little pair of pants, or just a hat kind of. Kind of just gives you a new vibe.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: I wish you guys could see the look on her face when she's describing It. I'm telling you, we need video in here because you are absolutely right. I love that. Okay, Yvette, I'm gonna pull you back in. Beyond those who may be going through menopause right now, what are some or maybe the single most important thing that people can take away, that women can take away about menopause?
[00:02:49] Speaker B: Well, that menopause has three stages. It's not just menopause. There's the perimenopause menopause, when you stop menstruating after 12 months, and then there's postmenopause. And women think because you have gone through your menopause stage that you don't have any symptoms during post menopause. And that is the least of things, because that's when you are at risk. Cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, and even more high cholesterol. And they don't understand why the high cholesterol, where is it coming from? Because they may say, well, I eat healthy. I exercise. I do this, I do that. The thing is that we function on estrogen, and the more that the estrogen levels deplete our bodies, the more suffering we go through.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: See, just even having someone, even hearing someone say that, it gives you comfort that you're not crazy.
[00:03:50] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: You know what I'm saying, Iris? So let's pull you in. Iris is like, wait, I'm away from the mic. We're sharing a mic here. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. So, Iris, talk about. Cause I know that I'm just so folks know, I'm asking a question that she's prepared to answer. So I'm not being nosy, and I don't want to do that. But talk about your menopause journey and what brought you to where you are now.
[00:04:10] Speaker C: Well, that's why we're here. Because my menopause journey started out very confusing.
I thought I was going crazy.
My systems were all a mess.
I had lots of pain. My back was killing me. I had lots of headaches. I wasn't emotionally. I wasn't stable. I was a mom of two, single mom. I had to get it together.
And I figured it out. I said, I just went into energy work. I started doing Reiki and meditation and yoga, and I started zenning myself out. And that's how my journey, Where I am now. But my journey was rough. It was going through, like Yvette would say, like Mount Rushmore. Like, all this heat coming out, all this discomfort coming out.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: Oh, my Lord.
[00:04:54] Speaker C: Yes, it was very uncomfortable. And I said, no, I have to seek help because I was a mom of two, single mom. I was no way who was going to help me. So I had to figure it out.
[00:05:04] Speaker A: You know what I love and what I'm impressed about both of you is that because of what each of you experienced personally is brought you to where you are, which is always the case. Right? We are what we have experienced and you guys have done. What I think is really powerful is to decided that I'm not gonna just figure this out for myself. We're gonna get some tools and we're gonna help out some other people. Iris, let me ask you this.
Can you give me just. Can you give us just a couple of things that you learned some pieces of knowledge from your journey that you're like, remember this.
[00:05:34] Speaker C: Just remember what you're processing right now. Your menopause is growth. It's growth. The discomfort sometimes when you're growing there is uncomfortable. Like when you're going to school and you're going to college and you have to do all this homework.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:05:48] Speaker C: We're growing. As we're in menopause, we're growing. We just have to find that rhythm and we have to find those vibes to go along with the journey instead of being resistant or resilient. Just go with the flow. You have to go with the flow.
[00:06:02] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:06:03] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: I love that. That is brilliant. That is brilliant. Yvette. All of us in all of our journeys have had misinformation or no information.
So what are some things that are misleading or outright false?
[00:06:16] Speaker B: My latest mission is to bring awareness to the fact that November 10th, the FDA removed the black box warning off the estradiol label because for the last 23 years, women were so afraid to start HRT because they were promoting is going to cause cancer, is going to cause heart attacks. Scientists came to find out that that is the least of what can happen when you decide to use hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy is there to help you. A woman's body is made up of estrogen. And when we lose estrogen in our bodies, that's when the body starts to break down. You need to find a way to replace the estrogen. Whether you decide to do it through traditional medication, through food. There's so many options out there for women. And I want women to know they do not need to suffer alone like my mother did, like Iris mother did, and probably your mother Beth, because of the lack of information and also misleading information.
[00:07:28] Speaker A: Wow.
I'm telling you guys, I'm going to Be crying here in a second because this is just so powerful as we are wrapping things up. And I'm going to ask both of you, you guys decide who's going to answer first. If you could kind of go back before you had perimenopause or menopause, what would you say to your younger self?
[00:07:48] Speaker B: For me, it's education.
If I could have had the information that I have today before entering my perimenopause stage, I would have felt so much better. I would have felt so empowered, like I feel today.
[00:08:02] Speaker A: Iris, how about you?
[00:08:03] Speaker C: I'm gonna ditto that. It's education.
It's figuring out what it is that you need before you get there. Preventing those symptoms before you get the craziness.
[00:08:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I laugh because I understand that.
[00:08:17] Speaker C: And I agree with Yvette.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: Every woman listening understands. I'm just saying there. There are people going, yes. All right, so now that we have their attention, what can they do? They can reach out through an email. So what is that address that people can get ahold of?
[00:08:33] Speaker C: So address is thevitalwomenpodcastmail.com. let me just repeat that one more time. It's thevitalwomenpodcastmail.Com.
[00:08:44] Speaker A: Okay, thank you. So the event is. And I wanna end with that. It is beyond hot flashes and high heels. It is a night to mingle and embrace the beauty and power of being a woman. It is December 4, 6 to 9pm it is at Salt Boutique Labs, 70 East Main Street, Wappingers Falls. Yvette and Iris, first off, thank you so for sharing your journey. Thank you for all that you went through to get here. And as we wrap up, are there any closing comments?
[00:09:12] Speaker C: Ladies, you get better as you get older.
[00:09:14] Speaker A: There you go.
I like that.
[00:09:17] Speaker B: I agree. Just like fine wine and cheese. The longer it ages, the better it gets.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: There is no better way to end an interview in my life of any interview I've ever done. That's it. Yvette and Iris, thank you guys so very, very, very much. And once again, you guys, the email.
TheVitalWomenpodcast@gmail com. Get the information and let's get educated and let's help each other out.
