If someone you know or love is going through perimenopause or menopause, you may not be sure how best to support them. We asked people with PH for their advice.

“Being supportive and offering a listening ear is the best thing you can do as a partner, relative or friend. It’s important to realise that going through the menopause is a significant change, both physically and emotionally, which can make an individual feel very different about themselves.”

“Do not dismiss or belittle what they are going through. PH can be very demoralising and additional issues can really push you, so help them to seek support – especially if they don’t get it straight away.”  

“It isn’t always possible to relate to somebody else’s situation and how they feel, so we all need to make an extra effort to try to be understanding. Making it easy for somebody to be open about what they are experiencing will help immensely.  If somebody can share when they are feeling awful, this will help all round as it will also explain their behaviour too at that time.”