Enjoy Part Ii of Ann Marie’s inspiration and journey.
Why I started Hotflash Inc Part II
I launched the first edition of Hotflash inc in June 2020 and have not looked back. More than 175 issues of the newsletter, a podcast heading to 100 episodes, robust social media, and overall, a community of more than 30,000 women.
During that time the space has only become more polarized, and it’s even harder to know what’s true anymore. Too many people with obvious conflicts of interest are trying to make money by instilling women with FUD. (To borrow a crypto term, that’s fear, uncertainty, and doubt). Too many are yelling science when they don’t know the first thing about it. We have barely begun to scratch the surface of what there is to learn and there is just no room for absolute certainty or arguing about who is right.
I’ve watched as the narrative about menopause has grown even more negative: that it’s a deficiency, possibly even a disease. It’s still steeped in ageism. Most doctors still know very little about it. And women everywhere continue to struggle.
All this entirely skips over the incredible heroine’s journey that this whole transition has taken me on, that I want other women to think about and experience too. As I see it, there just is no other way. It’s a mind-body-soul business, this peri/menopause-midlife reckoning, and we need to pay attention to all of it.
I’ve learned that the panic I felt was probably sparked by falling progesterone, characteristic of the earliest stages of perimenopause, but we also have evidence it can be exacerbated in midlife by unprocessed trauma from adverse childhood experiences (ACE). That’s just the start of what I have uncovered, and addressed in myself, over the last 10+ years – and what I now share with others.
We bring all of ourselves to this time of life. Changes need to be made by the time we hit our 40s, regardless of how perimenopause hits you. In figuring all of that out, I’ve slowly moved into an easier, more peaceful and grounded life.
One thing people tell me about Hotflash inc that makes me incredibly proud is that they appreciate the way I look at all sides in a search for the truth.
I always say this is going somewhere good, something that has been reaffirmed every time I talk to a woman who is well and truly on the other side. And now I am experiencing the start of that for myself: After an epic perimenopause, I am finally about to enter menopause.
I already feel like a completely different person. I’m finally happy with myself. And I’m thrilled that out of those years wandering in a perimenopause wilderness, I got a new life’s purpose in helping other people navigate it, too.
I’m not about to stop now.
Yes, there is enough to write about.
No, something half of all women go through is not niche.
And there’s nothing depressing about menopause.
It can be a rocky path, that’s for sure. But I promise: it’s temporary, and it’s taking you to the person you were born to be.
Ann Marie McQueen is an award-winning health and wellness journalist living and working in the Middle East. Through Hotflash inc, Ann Marie shares balanced information about the peri/menopause transition and all aspects of midlife with a community of more than 30,000 women around the world. The platform is based on sharing information based on evidence, experts, and human experience, incorporating all modalities, revealing bias or a conflict wherever possible. You can connect with Ann Marie via her Substack newsletter, website, podcast, and social media. She is also launching live monthly Office Hours for paid subscribers of her Substack community.
