You Don’t Have to Do Perimenopause Alone: Why Support Networks Are Everything

Let’s be honest—perimenopause can feel like a total identity crisis. One minute you're going about your life, and the next you're waking up drenched in sweat, crying over a washing powder ad, snapping at your partner for breathing too loudly, or lying awake at 3am thinking about every bad decision you’ve ever made. All while trying to juggle work, parenting, ageing parents, household admin, and whatever else life throws at you.

And here’s the kicker—most of us are doing it silently, behind closed doors, believing we just need to “get on with it.”

But here’s what I’ve learned—this is not something we’re meant to carry alone.

This Week, I Struggled

Even as someone who supports women through perimenopause every day, I still have wobbles. And this week, I had a big one.

I hit a wall emotionally and mentally. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough, like I was failing in my business, like I was somehow responsible for everyone else’s happiness and wellbeing. That weight—the emotional load we carry as women—is heavy, and when your hormones are already all over the place, it can push you to breaking point.

I had that feeling so many of my clients describe: I just want to run away.

But I didn’t. Instead, I leaned on my support network—my husband and my best friend. I cried, I vented, I let it all out. And they were there. They reminded me that I’m not a machine. That I don’t have to hold everything together all the time. That I’m allowed to need support, too.

And that moment—being seen, heard, and held—was everything.

The Emotional Weight of Perimenopause

If you’re in your 40s and starting to feel like everything is harder, you’re not imagining it. Perimenopause is a perfect storm of hormonal shifts and life pressure. You might be feeling:

• Completely wiped out no matter how much you sleep

• Moody, anxious, and like your emotions are unpredictable

• Like you’ve lost your confidence and spark

• Like the smallest thing pushes you over the edge

• Physically exhausted, achy, heavy, or just off

• Totally alone and misunderstood—even by your GP

Add to that the societal pressure to keep smiling, stay productive, and “do it all,” and it’s no wonder so many women feel like they’re cracking under the pressure.

What you need isn’t more pressure or another thing to fix. What you need is support. Community. A place to be real. A place to say “I’m not okay today” and be met with understanding instead of judgment.

You’re Not Meant to Go Through This Alone

For generations, women have been gathering in circles—around fires, kitchen tables, parks, and cafes—to share their stories. To talk about life’s messy bits. To be witnessed, supported, and reminded that they’re not alone.

Somewhere along the line, we lost a bit of that. The world got busier. Expectations got higher. Women started competing instead of connecting.

But now more than ever, we need our tribe.

When we feel connected, we feel stronger. When we share our struggles, we take the power out of shame. When we laugh, cry, and rage together, something shifts. It’s like someone saying, “Me too,” gives you permission to exhale.

What Real Support Looks Like

Support isn’t someone giving you a ten-point action plan. It’s someone saying:

• “I feel like that too.”

• “You’re not mad.”

• “You’re not failing.”

• “You don’t have to hold it all together.”

It’s being able to say, “I feel broken,” and having someone say, “You’re not. You’re just in the thick of it right now.”

Real support doesn’t try to fix you. It walks beside you until you remember your own

strength.

Why I Created Kicking Perimenopause in the Arse

After hearing the same things again and again from the women I work with—“I thought it was just me,” “I feel like I’m losing it,” “I don’t know who I am anymore”—I knew there needed to be a space where women could gather, talk honestly, and lift each other up.

That’s why I created my free Facebook group, Kicking Perimenopause in the Arse.

It’s a no-pressure, no-judgment, no-BS space for women navigating perimenopause.

Inside the group, you’ll find:

• Conversations about the real symptoms no one talks about—like passing clots, shoulder pain, or PMS on steroids

• Space to share what you’re going through, whether it’s rage, anxiety, low mood, or zero sex drive

• A community that gets how much mental load you’re carrying

• Women who are there to say, “Yes, I’ve been through that too”

• A chance to be part of something that helps you feel less alone

There’s no toxic positivity, no pressure to perform wellness, and no expectation that you have it all figured out. Just real talk, real support, and real women who want to kick perimenopause in the arse—together.

This Is Your Reminder

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, alone, or like you’re about to fall apart—this is your reminder:

You are not broken. You are not weak. You are not a failure.

You are going through one of the most transformational (and let’s be honest, chaotic) times in a woman’s life—and you deserve to be supported through it.

You don’t have to explain or justify your symptoms. You don’t need to push through silently. You get to have a wobble. You get to ask for help. You get to lean on others.

Because you were never meant to do this alone.

Join Us

If you’re nodding your head, crying a bit, or feeling a tiny flicker of hope reading this—come and join us. Whether you’re struggling with sleep, mood, relationships, confidence, or just feeling like a shadow of yourself—you’ll be met with compassion.

Join Kicking Perimenopause in the Arse on Facebook. Let’s laugh, cry, rant, and support each other through this messy, powerful, transformative season.

You deserve a place where you don’t have to wear a mask. You deserve to be surrounded by people who get it. You deserve to feel like you again. And that starts with finding your people.