Carol Vorderman calls for action to help women with menopausal depression and reveals own symptoms

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She has previously opened up about suffering from depression as a result of the menopause.

And Carol Vorderman took to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday to reveal she was going to the Houses of Parliament and a rally to call for more action for other women.

Looking incredible in a tight-fitted red dress, with a silver belt to cinch her in at the waist, the 61-year-old opened up on her own experiences. 

Carol Vorderman calls for action to help women with menopausal depression and reveals own symptoms

Rally: Carol Vorderman took to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday to reveal she was going to the Houses of Parliament and a rally to call for more action for other women going through the menopause

She said: ‘It’s World Menopause Day and I’m off the Houses of Parliament and to a rally later to call for more action from government and from the NHS about women going through the menopause. 

She went on: ‘Because it doesn’t just affect women, it affects all of their families. It could be your wife, your sister, somebody you work with, and the symptoms are the same but different.  

Getting candid, Carol explained: ‘Mine were not physical but they were psychological. And to the point where I didn’t know how to get out of the blackness for quite some months. 

‘Anyway 48 hours after I was given the right hormones, I was fine. Back to being the irritatingly happy person, that I always am. And I have never had those thoughts again.’

In July, Carol recalled falling into a ‘deep depression’ as menopause hit in her early fifties, using her experience to encourage women to speak out.

Fronting the This Morning Menopause Bus, Carol made her way all the way from Liverpool to Cardiff – aiming to spread awareness and information on the ageing process.

Chatting to Doctor Philippa Kaye, Carol took the opportunity to open up about her own traumatic experience, detailing: ‘I’m nearly 62, I’ve been through all of this. I’ve been through the years where we were shamed into thinking we were crazy because we had menopausal symptoms.’

‘Well I started in my early 50’s, I didn’t have night sweats or flushes or anything. I started feeling anxious, I’ve never felt anxious in my life. I started feeling anxious about what trousers I was going to wear, whether I was going to have tea or coffee, you know, all sorts of things.’

Open: She has previously opened up about suffering from depression as a result of menopause, appearing on Lorraine in 2017 to discuss her experience (pictured)

Open: She has previously opened up about suffering from depression as a result of menopause, appearing on Lorraine in 2017 to discuss her experience (pictured)

Helping others: Fronting the This Morning Menopause Bus during Wednesday's episode, Carol made her way all the way from Liverpool to Cardiff - aiming to spread awareness and information on the ageing process

Helping others: Fronting the This Morning Menopause Bus during Wednesday’s episode, Carol made her way all the way from Liverpool to Cardiff – aiming to spread awareness and information on the ageing process

WHAT IS THE MENOPAUSE?

The menopause occurs when a woman stops having periods and can no longer fall pregnant naturally.

It is a natural part of ageing, which occurs in women between 45 and 55 years old. 

However 1 in 100 women can experience menopause before the age of 40, which is known as peri-menopause, premature menopause or premature ovarian insufficiency.

Symptoms often include hot flushes, night sweats, low mood, reduced sex drive, vaginal dryness, an increase in facial hair and difficulty sleeping.

According to NHS advice, symptoms can begin months or even years before your periods stop and last around four years after your last period. 

Premature or early menopause can occur at any age, and in many cases, there’s no clear cause. 

Source: NHS 

She continued: ‘That developed into a deep depression, I felt suicidal at times. What saved me was that I kept a note of when my period arrived through an electronic calendar and that helped.

‘I started on a bespoke HRT and within 48 hours I felt back to normal and I have never had a symptom since, it is wonderful.’

Encouraging women to come that they are not alone, Carol ended the segment by explaining: ‘We all go through it, there is nothing to be ashamed about. 

‘There is nothing to feel like you’re going crazy about, you are not going crazy, it is simply a hormone change.’

Stars such as Holly Willoughby and Lisa Snowdon have taken part in the Menopause Bus campaign – aiming to break the stigma surrounding the hormonal change.

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Carol has been open about her menopause struggles in the past, appearing on Lorraine back in 2017 to explain that during the time she ‘didn’t see the point in life’. 

‘I thought I’d do anything for this feeling to stop, but I just cant sort it’, she admitted. ‘I was doing all the things that are recommended, eating healthy, exercising but I was still that low.

‘I realised the two weeks of every month I was in the blackest of black and then times  – I wasn’t happy – but not as bad and I thought “has this got something to do with the [menstrual] cycle?”‘, she explained.

 

Dark time: 'I felt suicidal at times', explained Carol as she encouraged women to get support

Dark time: ‘I felt suicidal at times’, explained Carol as she encouraged women to get support

Talking candidly on the experience, Carol admitted the the only reason she ‘didn’t do something’ was due to her children, Cameron and Katie.

While the former Countdown host admitted to the Daily Mail back in 2016: ‘I think it’s one of those taboos really, not many people talk about it and if they do they talk about it medically rather than the mental health side of it.’

For help and support on menopause and symptoms, head to https://www.themenopausecharity.org/.

Family: Talking candidly on the experience, she admitted the the only reason she 'didn't do something' was due to her children, Cameron and Katie

Family: Talking candidly on the experience, she admitted the the only reason she ‘didn’t do something’ was due to her children, Cameron and Katie

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