Could you benefit from visiting this Norfolk menopause retreat?

Yet, despite more than 50 per cent of the UK population being women, until recently the menopause was largely brushed aside as something that they just had to get on with.

That, thankfully, is beginning to change and women no longer have to suffer in silence about what is one of the biggest changes to their wellbeing in mid and later life.

The menopause is now receiving more airtime and column inches and being talked about openly, rather than whispered about in hushed tones.

After last year’s documentary Sex, Myths and the Menopause, inspired by her own experience of peri-menopause, TV presenter Davina McCall is making a follow-up about menopause in the workplace.

And in a recent episode of the Sex and the City revival And Just Like That, Charlotte, who thinks that she has breezed through the menopause with barely a symptom, suddenly and very publicly experiences a flash period.

The menopause usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55, as a women’s oestrogen levels decline. According to the NHS, the average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 51.

However, menopausal symptoms can begin months or even years before a woman’s last period – a stage known as peri-menopause.

And the symptoms can be wide ranging. Two-and-a-half years ago Norfolk personal trainer Janette Sarginson, 45, experienced an allergic reaction to her skin and ended up in hospital, which she attributes to peri-menopause.

Her experience led her to train as a menopause wellness specialist and from March 25 to 28 she is holding a menopause retreat in the Norfolk countryside, which aims to give women some time out to focus on themselves and provide them with tools to help them through what can be a very difficult time in a woman’s life.

“I started having symptoms, but I didn’t realise what it was,” says Janette. “One morning I woke up with a really severe [skin] allergic reaction and ended up going to hospital later that day because I could just feel my throat constricting and I started going into anaphylactic shock,” she says.

Janette was referred to Addenbrookes hospital, where she underwent lots of blood tests, but the cause of the allergic reaction couldn’t be found.

She had also been experiencing other symptoms and through doing her own research and piecing the clues together she concluded that she had started the peri-menopause.

“I was suffering from really bad bouts of anger, like I was erupting, which I had never had before and anxiety, which I hadn’t felt before.

“I’m a personal trainer and I was working out five or six times a week and all of a sudden my body wasn’t recovering from those workouts, I was very sore.

"Brain fog was another one – I'd have a conversation with someone and I’d actually have to make my excuses and leave because I couldn’t get my words out.”

Janette went on a course to become a menopause wellness specialist, where she learned all about the symptoms and ways to cope with them and started an Instagram account, @mind_body_menopause_ to share her journey. It certainly struck a chord.

“I thought it was crazy in this day and age that menopause was still such a taboo subject, so I started up my Instagram page, being completely honest about the way I felt, and the response was just incredible – I was shocked at how quickly it grew.”

From there, Janette started organising local meet-ups for women.

“I did some coffee meet-ups at Eaton Park in Norwich and we went for walks at Whitlingham, just so people could be around others that were feeling the same.

"And it was amazing, we were walking around Whitlingham and there are women who’ve only just met talking about their sexual health, their lack of libido...I had to take a step back and think wow, this is fantastic that they’ve actually got an outlet where they feel comfortable enough to discuss these things that up until this point they haven’t had anyone to listen to.”

Janette says that historically menopause is something that has been misunderstood and not talked about – and that can have devastating consequences.

“There are a lot of women out there who are having a horrendous time going through menopause. I’ve had a few women who have just had enough, they don’t know where to turn and it’s really debilitating, it’s just awful.”

However, there are signs that things are changing for the better.

Workplaces are becoming more aware and supportive of their staff who are going through peri-menopause and the menopause and Janette has given wellbeing seminars at a number of big organisations in Norfolk.

“I think that [the statistic is that] 25 per cent of women consider leaving their jobs because they don’t feel that they’ve got the support and that drastically needs to change.

"Also, it means that workplaces are losing valuable members of staff, whereas if they put policies in place to be able to support women, then they are going to be retaining staff that have experience and they know are trustworthy and loyal and these women are going to feel valued as well.”

Every woman experiences menopause in a different way and Janette hopes that her retreat at Fishley Hall will help them to discover ways to manage their symptoms that will fit into their lifestyle.

For Janette, alongside taking HRT she finds regular yoga, making sure that she gets out into nature, keeping a gratitude journal, dancing and cold water swimming really helpful as well as eating a nourishing diet and staying well hydrated.

“It’s set in beautiful grounds and there are lots of walks nearby around the Broads. It’s a really relaxing space to be in. I wanted these ladies to be able to come and have a weekend to escape the symptoms of menopause and the chaos that it brings to us,” she says.

There will be a range of speakers and activities during the weekend. One of the first symptoms that women may notice is a difference in their skin, which is caused by declining oestrogen levels.

So, Janette has arranged for Norwich skincare specialist Louise Thomas-Minns of Louise Thomas Skin Therapy to give a talk about nourishing products for menopausal skin. A make-up artist who has worked for Charlotte Tilbury in Jarrold will also be giving a talk.

Movement and exercise is really important during the peri-menopause and menopause, and there will be restorative yoga sessions with Louise Henderson.

As women transition into menopause they are at a higher risk of osteoporosis and loss of bone density and muscle mass, so Janette will be teaching strength-building exercises.

And a chef is coming in to create a plant-based eating plan for the participants.

“It’s crucial to nourish yourself during menopause,” says Janette.

“A lot of people ask what diet can I do and I say, let’s not even think about diet - it’s about giving yourself all of the goodness so that your body feels really nourished from the inside out.

“Once your oestrogen levels decline, it’s your brain, your heart, your gut and the bones which take the biggest hit, so to trying to get your gut biome in the best possible place is going to have positive effects on all of the other things as well.”

The menopause comes at a time in a woman’s life when there is often a lot of pressure – she could be looking after children and parents at the same time as working full-time and running a home.

So that makes it even more important that they take time out to ensure that they’re caring for themselves as well as everyone else.

“We have to really try and work out how we can incorporate these things into their days, which is not easy when you’ve got children and parents, and a full time job and a house to look after, but those things have to be your non-negotiables,” says Janette.

“At the end of the day you can’t pour from an empty cup, so unless you’re giving yourself care then you’re not going to be able to do all those things for everyone else, so I think that has to be made a priority at this time of our lives.”

To find out more about Janette’s Norfolk menopause retreat and her own menopause journey follow her on Instagram @mind_body_menopause_