Episode 11 - Menopause is Natural, Suffering is NOT with Alison Bladh
By Jessica Garrison
Our guest this week, Alison Bladh, comes to us from overseas. From England, she currently lives in Sweden and is spreading awareness about a topic that isn’t often talked about: menopause. She’s an award-winning registered Nutritional Therapist, and she’s also a member of the British Association of Nutritional Therapists and the Institute of Functional Medicine. So if you have questions or concerns about these topics, Alison’s your girl.
Self-care is a new concept for Alison. She wasn’t really aware of what it was and what it meant, but it has since become popular in the world of social media. We’re always seeing posts about people getting their nails done, having a facial, doing yoga, or anything that they say keeps them calm after a chaotic day. Alison works specifically with women with menopause, and she says it’s important to protect the time you need. A lot of the time, we put ourselves at the bottom of our to-do lists. Alison has found that putting self-care acts in your schedule has helped her, as well as her clients. The same goes for prioritizing sleep and food; it’s a nonnegotiable for Alison. Sleep is crucial and nutritional, just the same as food is. There’s a lot of stuff that we put off and sacrifice to get everything done in a day, such as skipping meals or staying up past the time we should go to sleep, but we have to stop pushing ourselves past that limit. Self-care, sleep, and a balanced diet are all things that we need to be able to live a happy and healthy life, and it’s imperative that we prioritize these things in our lives. Alison also put a lot of emphasis on the topic of fun: “We don’t laugh enough!” Life is difficult enough as it is, we ought to have some fun while we’re here! Do things that bring you genuine joy, and don’t be afraid to have a good time.
Similar to many of our other guests, Alison used to say yes to everything and never had strong boundaries set. Keeping boundaries in place doesn’t happen overnight, and you just have to remember that you’re prioritizing your own health and your own happiness. Alison said it “feels very alien” to say no, but it also feels quite empowering to be able to say no and stick to your boundaries. Clearly define your boundaries and be aware of how it makes you feel. Sometimes there might be guilt in the beginning, but if it’s a boundary you truly want to set, power through to see the positive results of how you’ll feel after setting it and having it be respected.
Tons of mood swings and anxiety come with menopause, and Alison makes a point to work individually with her clients just because everyone is so different. What works for one client may not work for the other, and it’s important to explore what’s going on in their lives in addition to menopause rather than just making a blanket statement. Food is a huge conversation that she has with people because not only does it affect how we feel, but it’s everywhere. To be able to give our bodies the best care we can, we have to have a relationship with food. It nourishes us, gives us fuel, and can affect our health further down the line. Alison also says that we have to be kinder to ourselves and show more compassion within. Her advice is to connect with friends who understand, friends who heal you, and friends who make you feel less alone in your struggles. Surrounding yourself with uplifting people is beneficial to your emotional health and, in turn, can help benefit your physical health.
Although supporting women unapologetically isn't a question Alison hears about frequently, she’s constantly seeing how women apologize. We don’t need to apologize so much, but it can be a nasty habit to break. Alison supports her clients in breaking old habits and making new ones; she’s seen and experienced how freeing it is to not say sorry for things that aren’t your fault. It also means that when you apologize at an appropriate time, it can bring more meaning to the conversation rather than just another sorry to add to the books.
Alison’s journey with health and wellness started when she was a teenager. She had trouble with acne, and instead of looking towards medication, she wanted to resolve it naturally and looked to her nutritional needs. Originally, she had a career as an aesthetician, but this wasn’t fulfilling her value of helping people the way she wanted it to. Menopause can cause acne in older women, and she’s seen how nutrition and menopause are connected; she wanted to give women the attention they deserve when it comes to their struggles with menopause. As Alison reminds us, “menopause is a natural process, suffering isn’t.”
Alison learned about her layers on the journey, and she’s worked on herself over the years. As a child, she was quite shy, and that continued into her teen years, especially once her acne started to develop. She had to work on her confidence, even after her skin cleared up because there was already so much damage to her self-esteem. But Alison loves to learn, so she looked forward to learning about herself, accepting the growth, and embracing her layers.
Through F.E.E.L., Alison has seen the quality of her relationships grow and develop. She cherishes her core group of people and core group of friends—she really values the friendships in her life. She wants to have fun and enjoy life, which is really what most people want to do deep down. Life is serious and exhausting sometimes, so it’s important to allow yourself some freedom to have a good time. You can check out Alison’s website for more information about her knowledge, her blog, the services she provides, and so much more!
Ways to Engage: What do you think of the topic of menopause? Had you heard of perimenopause before this episode? Why do you think this is a topic of conversation that gets brushed under the rug? Feel free to share any thoughts, feelings, or emotions Alison talks about, and let us know in the comments.