The Raw Truth of Menopause: A poem every workplace should hear
Menopause is so often spoken about in lists.
Hot flushes. Night sweats. Brain fog. Mood changes.
All valid. All real. But they don’t tell the whole story.
Sometimes the truth of menopause isn’t in the facts and figures — it’s in the feelings. And sometimes, it takes something unexpected, like poetry, to bring those feelings to life.
Recently, during a menopause awareness project I delivered for a local authority in England, I had the privilege of meeting Tass Smith. Tass is one of their Menopause Champions — and she is everything you would want in someone leading this work. She is warm, open, and deeply committed to supporting not just her female colleagues, but men too.
She’s the kind of person who shows up for the difficult conversations. Who uses her own story to break down walls. And, as I learned, she’s also a poet.
How the poem found me
In one of our sessions, a video of Tass played, where she shared her story of navigating her menopause journey. She was vulnerable about how it negatively affected her self-belief and confidence, and in the video, she read a piece she had written about her experience in the early years of perimenopause.
It wasn’t clinical. It wasn’t sugar-coated.
It was raw. Emotional. Unflinchingly honest.
The room fell silent — and I felt every word in my bones. I literally got goosebumps on my arms. I resonated with everything Tass spoke out loud about, and knew I had to share it.
Tass has kindly agreed that I can share her poem here, in her own words, so that more people can feel what we felt that day.
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not (By Tass Smith)
She loves me.
By day she sits, quietly, by my side. My night cool and restful.
She loves me not.
She laughs mockingly in my face. And it burns.
The fog descends, and with it, my capacity to think.
I'm a rabbit caught in the headlights.
I stumble, blindly through the day, tears pricking my eyes.
She's packed away my self-esteem. My courage fails me.
Meltdown.
The night brings no solace. Her furnace stoked. I lie awake, haunted by the nightmare of my day's ineptitude.
I'm stuck on repeat.
Oh she tells me it's just my age; a phase to go through. That my hormones will, eventually, settle down.
Bring on that day.
Why this matters
When I first heard this, I was struck by the bravery it takes to share something so personal — and to do it in a workplace setting. The poem captures what so many women feel during menopause but often struggle to articulate:
The unpredictability.
The loss of confidence and self-esteem.
The way it can alter how you see yourself and how you move through the world.
It also reflects why menopause support in the workplace can’t just be about policy or awareness days. Real change comes when we create space for people to speak their truth, to feel heard, and to know they’re not alone.
Sometimes the only way to truly understand the truth about menopause, is to feel it through someone else’s words.
The power of one voice
Tass is not only an advocate within her own organisation but also beyond it. She’s been sharing her journey and the work she’s doing as a Menopause Champion on podcasts — and I’m delighted that she’ll hopefully be joining me as a guest on my own podcast, Women’s Health Unwrapped, in the coming months.
Her openness is already making ripples, encouraging others to start conversations, ask questions, and challenge the silence around menopause. And that’s what advocacy really is — it’s using your voice so others feel able to use theirs.
Your next step
If Tass’s words have resonated with you, I invite you to do one thing today:
Share this blog with someone who needs to understand menopause more deeply — whether they’re experiencing it, or supporting someone who is.
And if you want to create a workplace where conversations like this are possible — where employees feel safe, supported, and understood — I’d love to talk to you about how my menopause training and awareness programmes can help.
If you’d like to listen to Tass share more about her story, you can watch her video on LinkedIn:
Ready to stop the mental overload and feel more like you again?
If Tass’s words resonated with you — if you’ve been feeling the fog, the fatigue, the loss of self — this is your sign to pause.
Your Perimenopause Revival Guide will help you clear the noise and reconnect with what you need right now.
✨ Practical, gentle steps to reset your energy
✨ Space to reflect on what’s working (and what’s not)
✨ A reminder that you are still in there — and she’s not gone
💛 You don’t need to do more. You need to come back to you.
Download the free guide now and take your first step.
