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Jenny Eclair says the menopause left her unable to cope

Comedian and former Loose Women star Jenny Eclair has revealed that the menopause left her with 'an inability to cope' and 'total lack of confidence' — but is now feeling back on track thanks to her own personal 'miracle.'

Speaking on White Wine Question Time, the 61-year-old described how she particularly struggled with the mental side of her menopause symptoms — most notably crippling anxiety.

'It wasn't so much about the physical sides of the menopause, which some people suffer from terribly badly,' she explained to podcast host Kate Thornton.

'My big problem was emotional, and it hit me at about the age of 52 when other things are hitting you anyway. For me, it was anxiety and weepiness, and just an inability to cope and feeling very self-conscious, and total lack of confidence.

And that's not really like me.'

Having recently written about her experience of the menopause in new book Older and Wider: A Survivor’s Guide to the Menopause, she told Thornton that her confidence was severely knocked during this time, often referring to herself as ‘dull’ and ‘boring.' She also revealed the moment that things came to a head at the Melbourne Comedy Festival: 'I was on the floor, at the prospect of getting up on stage in Australia and doing the show that I'd done in the UK, and knew and loved - a pretty good show.' 

This was the moment, the comedian revealed, that persuaded her to start taking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which kicked in just a few days later and enabled her to cope with this challenging stage of life once more.

'I wasn't sure whether I was going to take it because a lot of people are very anti-HRT,' she explained to Thornton. 'If you listen to both sides of the argument, it is quite easy to be put off but I listened to more arguments from the pro-HRT side, and I'm very pro of it. For me personally, it's been a miracle.'

Eclair — who presents a podcast about living through the menopause and perimenopause called Older and Wiser — ponders the timing of the perimenopause, which tends to hit women during a typically challenging time in their lives anyway.

'This is what's interesting about the menopause — peri and beyond — is that it hits you at a time in life when it's the perfect storm, when everything is hitting the fan.

'Your parents are ageing, falling to pieces, dying in some cases, and your children are leaving home. We know work can be very difficult for women in their 50s. You can suddenly start being completely dropped off the list, all those lists that you used to be on for potential jobs… And so, it comes at a time when your defences are pretty low anyway.'

However, she did emphasise that, no matter how hard the prospect of menopause may seem, it isn't the end of the world.

'The good bit is it doesn't kill you!' Eclair laughed. 'I don't think there are any cases of the menopause actually killing you and we all know what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so you know, you will come through it.'

Reference: Microsoft News: Sarah Ilston  2 days ago