Davina's latest Insta post

[SaintVal]

Hopefully I'm allowed to say this on here but I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to Davina McCall's latest Instagram post about feeling invisible in peri menopause and what to do about it. It has hit the nail on the head for me and makes me feel 'normal' about the the way I feel about myself. I feel like the old me has disappeared and I miss her! Hopefully you find it helpful too.

Have a good day all 😊🤗

Hi op yes sounds like she had a tough time of it. I def felt wiped out some days (49). On patch but early days. My friend was no help with advice as she "sailed through no probs".

I'm just watching it now and it totally resonates with me. I've started HRT but not out of the woods

I'm confused because I can't remember a time when Davina wasn't in the news. Is that what she calls being invisible? Also she has a very similar birthday to me, har.

I don't think she's talking about her professional life in all of this. You can be good at your job and still feel invisible.

What did she say? Sorry I'm not following her myself, because I'm not interested in her & am strict about who I bother to follow on Insta/SM, at least when I am when it's not a Mumsnet type SM where you can't filter out people.

I don't understand how someone can be "invisible" but have a national profile. That's a curious profile. Is it like Freddie Mercury insisting he was really a shy, reserved person?

I'm so fed up of her banging on about menopause I just scroll past.

You don't realise how you can have a presence at work but that doesn't translate to your personal life? You're very lucky then.

I do agree she's full on and maybe/ maybe not she's had actual experience of every single symptom, BUT she's using her platform to let others be heard and that's a good thing.
Until Davina, I don't actually remember anyone else vocalising their experience of being peri menopausal and now everyone is talking.

I wonder if all this peri menopause publicity will backfire shortly . Women in their thirties/ forties are already terribly dismissed by health services (if they manage to see a gp at all). Gp’s used to dismiss so many of my health concerns with a ‘what do you expect after having kids’ attitude. I’m not sure I want gynaecogical issues/ aches /pains/ tiredness / mood issues all attributed to perimenopause before other avenues have been explored properly. Luckily I have a gp who rolled her eyes when I questioned if my painful joints were down to peri, and insisted on full and thorough bloods instead. (Revealing a totally different condition). I figured she must experience the ‘Davina effect’ daily in her surgery.

I don’t know how I feel
about these celebs banging on about it.Naomi Watts in the States is the same, they are not like us! They have the money for designer hrt for a start. Then the personal cheffs, facialists, yoga teachers etc etc.

I agree EachandEveryone they can well afford it. Davina made some good points. I def lost confidence a bit in menopause.

I appreciate she is doing good work, but yes I feel the same @JaneJeffer

My impression of her is the only thing Davina cares about is Davina and promoting herself.

I think it’s a good thing peri menopause and menopause is being discussed more. We need to understand what the possible symptoms are and what we have at our disposal in terms of options. HRT is great but not everyone can/wants to take it. There are other avenues to go down which need discussion too.

I totally get what she said about feeling invisible. I felt like that too, although it wasn’t solely due to menopause. I just never seemed to regain my sense of self after having children and just didn’t recognise myself. A lot of weight gain and always putting children/family ahead of my own needs led to me feeling utterly crap and permanently exhausted. It took 10 years for me to turn the tide and feel myself again.

I would love to be more invisible at work and I don't care if my personal life makes me invisible. It stresses me out to get attention. I truly am not like Davina. ps: I use the word invisible like it is defined in dictionary, spoiler alert, not what Davina did.

FWIW, I begrudgingly followed DM on Instagram (gosh she's very smiley, isn't she?(#)) because I am still curious what she said & no one else here seems to be able to recap.

Found it, long video, about 1 day ago. About how "it's helpful" if she posts videos about menop, and Aha! This is it. She starts with how sad she felt "because I disappeared" : and then talks about "not feeling herself". So it turns out that in this case "invisible" actually means "unenthusiastic about" her life, and desire to "stop making an effort in her appearance & life" . Who knew?

I thought "invisible" would mean "Nobody pays attention to me" not "my self-esteem took a dive."

Would help if people used words in approximation of what dictionary says they are supposed to mean.

Her solution to (self-esteem dive=invisible) is "Do routine self-care things" & "be nice to yourself" & "pamper yourself" & "push out of your comfort zone to get compliments" & "dress like you think you're worth it!" even if you don't feel like it or people might disapprove of your wardrobe. Oh, and red lipstick means she's feeling down.

OP could have told us all that, since OP found it useful advice, why not share specifics? It wasn't menopause-specific at all, by the way, it's solid advice for anyone struggling with low mood (any age or sex).

(#) crikey what big teeth she has...

I’m getting a bit fed up of her too. Her message has become very repetitive - exercise, don’t become overweight, take HRT because it’s wonderful and will give you your life back - the former two being common sense and spot on, obviously, the latter not something that everyone can take. She seems to become a bit unstuck at that point and always suggests <vague wave of the hand> supplements until she can get back to the wonders of HRT.

Im very glad people are talking about it, but there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking coming from here imo.

tbh, I want to commend Davina for promoting ideas that are not HRT.
I may even have more time for DM.
How many MN threads go
"I don't want HRT what else can help my menopause symptoms?"
then posters pile in saying take HRT. And no other suggestions offered.
At least DM gave a list of other actions that can lift mood.
No bad thing.
May not be much different from what Dan & Phil were saying in 2014, but obviously it's the messenger that matters, sometimes.

Does she? I’ve only ever heard her pay lip service to HRT alternatives that do more than lift mood - she seems very much about the HRT and everything else is an add-on.

Davina is like one of those slightly irritating first time Mums - she's the only one going through the menopause!

She has to keep herself relevant and in the public eye because that's her job. I find it all quite tedious.

Look out for her stream of SM activity about turning 60, 70, 80 etc.

I don't mind being invisible! I'm not invisible to my family and friends, and none of my 50-60 year old female friends are invisible to me.

If you crave attention as a young and fascinating person then you are going to have a problem with it. The rest of us are grateful to have the privilege of ageing gracefully.

I’m getting fed up of her banging on about it too - I am 47 and perimenopausal but I can’t stand that everyone thinks they know my symptoms - it used to be a mystery to men etc and now I hate that they think they know what I “must” be goi no through!! And if I see a certain advert on the TV again talking about “vaginal dryness due to the menopause?” again I will scream!!