Join our Menopause Support Group
Navigating menopause can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone. Our Menopause Support Group is here to offer a safe, welcoming space for anyone experiencing menopause.
The group meet monthly to chat, share practical advice, and swap stories on how we are managing the challenges and changes that menopause brings.
It was set-up by Sharon Peel from Revenues who is a member of Healthy Working Lives and a listening ear. She said: "We set up the menopause group up in 2018 to create a safe, supportive space where people could share experiences, ask questions, and feel less alone during a time that can be physically and emotionally challenging. For many members, it’s become a place of connection, understanding, and empowerment - where they feel heard and part of a community that truly gets it.”
Why join?
- connect with colleagues who understand
- share stories and tips in a confidential setting
- enjoy relaxed, informal meetups
Here's what some of the group members have to say:
“Being part of the Menopause Support Group has been so helpful to me. It’s a safe, understanding space where I can listen, share, and feel less alone in what can be a really challenging time. Just knowing others are going through similar challenges and learning from each other’s experiences and knowledge has made a big difference to how I manage things day to day.”
“I came along to the group when I first started to experience menopausal symptoms. It was so useful to hear first-hand experiences on how others were managing their symptoms and the pros and cons of different treatment options. This really helped me to prepare for my first visit to my GP.”
“I joined the menopause support group in 2023. I found the group very welcoming - I can share my daily struggles, talk about what’s helped me, and learn from others how they are managing this journey. We all going through the same challenging experiences in our daily life. What I find most supportive about the monthly sessions is the relief I feel when I talk about my current difficulties and receive reassurance from others. It reminds me that I’m not alone—and that I have the strength to get through this."
The group meets over Teams at 12.30pm on the second Wednesday of each month.
If you are interested in joining or learning more, contact hwl@eastlothian.gov.uk with any question or to request a link to the Teams meeting.
Sharon and the group would love to see you at their next meeting on Wednesday 12 November.
Change for Good skills challenge and Talking About Feelings at Work podcast
We have officially moved into autumn and you may have noticed a change in the weather and your surroundings. Change in an organisation is as inevitable as the change of seasons. But do you know what it takes to implement change successfully? Ensuring successful implementation of change is a leadership issue. People need to believe in the reasons for change and must want to work differently if they are to embrace it. The Change for Good skills challenge from Scott Bradbury enables you to assess your knowledge of change. You can find this resource on the intranet.
Being human means, we have emotions. Talking about how we feel at work is important if we want to improve workplace culture and develop teams who are emotionally resilient. Learning to understand our ‘triggers’ and how to respond to them, enables us to be more self-aware and emotionally intelligent. The seven-minute podcast from Scott Bradbury called Talking About Feelings of Work explains how to understand our emotional responses to events and people, and why we need to talk about our feelings at work. You can find this resource on the intranet.
Reminder: Organisational Development has a range of digital learning resources on a variety of workplace issues available from Scott Bradbury. You can find these on their dedicated intranet page.
Please note that not all the videos referenced in the skills challenges are available in the current Scott Bradbury subscription but users can still undertake the main skills challenge within each.
learnPro for line managers: adding items to learning plans
If you are a line manager, you can allocate a module to any team member’s learning plan in learnPro. We have video guidance on how to do this available on the intranet. Select Organisational Development from the homepage> e-Learning on learnPro> video 8 'Adding learning plan items for staff members'.
Education staff can also find this resource on EduHub here.