What if you stopped comparing yourself to everyone else and simply allowed yourself to be? In this episode, Roberta explores a clip featuring Stephen Fry and Robin Williams, where Fry makes a striking observation: animals don’t try to be other animals — but humans try to be someone else every single day.

During perimenopause and postmenopause, when identity shifts are already happening — physically, emotionally, and socially — comparison becomes even more damaging. Hormonal changes lower resilience, increase cortisol, and intensify symptoms such as anxiety, overwhelm, fatigue, hot flushes, and disrupted sleep. Trying to be your younger self, or trying to match the filtered lives you see online, only ramps up stress.

In this episode, Roberta breaks down why comparison is so corrosive at this stage of life, how it feeds perfectionism and low self-esteem, and why this matters biologically — not just psychologically. More importantly, she explains how to step out of the comparison trap using her EESE Framework™, a practical process for exploring, evaluating, shifting, and embedding new subconscious patterns.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why comparison is heightened during perimenopause
• How cortisol, stress, and hormonal changes worsen symptoms
• Why perfectionism and “keeping up” make midlife feel harder
• How social media distorts reality and fuels low self-worth
• The danger of comparing your “outtakes” to someone else’s “showreel”
• How to shift unhelpful patterns using the EESE Framework™
• Practical tools such as journaling, reframing, visualisation, and affirmations
• Why becoming “more yourself” — not more like others — is key to wellbeing in midlife

This conversation is ideal for women who feel lost, pressured, or not “good enough” as their identity evolves in menopause. It offers both insight and practical, evidence-informed strategies to help you reconnect with who you truly are.

Support Mentioned in This Episode

If you’re ready to change long-standing patterns and let go of comparison:

• Subconscious & Mindset Mini Course — learn the EESE Framework™ step by step https://www.thriveandshinewomenswellness.co.uk/sc-minicourse
• CONTROL Sessions — 1:1 subconscious work to shift unhelpful patterns
• Menopause MOT — personalised support for your symptoms, mindset, and overall wellbeing

www.thriveandshinewomenswellness.co.uk

Free Masterclass: Is Perimenopause Causing Your Symptoms? → Click here to watch

Supporting women’s health transitions with physiotherapy, menopause mentoring, Pilates and subconscious mindset tools.

Follow, subscribe and share the Making Sense of Menopause podcast to help more women access the support they deserve.

When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? In this episode, Roberta explores why laughter isn’t just something that “feels nice” — it has measurable effects on your stress hormones, nervous system, and emotional wellbeing. And during perimenopause, when life often feels heavier and your resilience drops, laughter becomes even more powerful.

Drawing on real moments from her Pilates classes (including giggle fits, seal noises, and the one client who can’t stop laughing during relaxation), Roberta explains how humour plays a vital role in helping women reconnect, release tension, and feel lighter — even when symptoms like low mood, fatigue, anxiety, or overwhelm are at play.

You’ll also hear how hormonal changes during perimenopause affect cortisol, inflammation, sleep, brain fog, and emotional regulation — and why laughter literally counteracts many of these changes.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How laughter lowers cortisol and reduces the stress response
• Why perimenopause makes everything feel heavier — and how laughter cuts through it
• The link between humour, connection, oxytocin, and emotional safety
• How shared laughter improves mood, cognition, and tension in the body
• Practical ways to bring more fun and silliness back into midlife
• Why adults laugh far less than children, and why that needs to change
• Real examples from Pilates classes that show how movement + humour support mental wellbeing

This episode is perfect for anyone who feels overstretched, disconnected, or stuck in a cycle of stress and seriousness. A few moments of laughter won’t fix everything — but it gives your nervous system a break, tips a little water out of your stress bucket, and helps you feel more like yourself again.

Support Mentioned in This Episode

If your stress feels constant or you’re struggling to lift your mood:

• Local Pilates classes for movement, connection, and a good giggle
• Menopause MOT for personalised support
• CONTROL sessions for subconscious patterns that feed stress and overwhelm

www.thriveandshinewomenswellness.co.uk

Free Masterclass: Is Perimenopause Causing Your Symptoms? → Click here to watch

Supporting women’s health transitions with physiotherapy, menopause mentoring, Pilates and subconscious mindset tools.

Follow, subscribe and share the Making Sense of Menopause podcast to help more women access the support they deserve.

In this episode, Roberta explores how the small, unnecessary pressures we carry every day—matching socks, tidy houses, perfect routines—quietly overload our stress bucket, especially during perimenopause when hormonal changes reduce resilience.

Through a personal story involving her now-famous odd socks, Roberta illustrates how letting go of perfectionism and unnecessary decisions can create vital space for energy, health, joy, and the things that truly matter.

You’ll learn:

• Why your “stress bucket” overflows more easily during perimenopause
• How invisible loads—like comparisons, guilt, and micro-decisions—erode resilience
• Practical ways to remove unnecessary stressors from your day
• Simple changes that make room for movement, rest, and the things that support your health
• Why reducing small stresses makes it easier to manage symptoms and feel more yourself again

If your stress bucket feels permanently full, there is another way.

Support Mentioned in This Episode:

• Menopause MOT – personalised assessment and support
• CONTROL Sessions – to address subconscious patterns contributing to overwhelm

www.thriveandshinewomenswellness.co.uk

Free Masterclass: Is Perimenopause Causing Your Symptoms? → Click here to watch

Supporting women’s health transitions with physiotherapy, menopause mentoring, Pilates and subconscious mindset tools.

Follow, subscribe and share the Making Sense of Menopause podcast to help more women access the support they deserve.