Our stories: The stars who’ve spoken out to try to break taboo

A RAFT of female celebrities have recently helped lift the ‘menopause taboo’ by speaking out about how it affected them. TV presenter Lorraine Kelly described how hormonal changes left her feeling as if there was ‘no joy’ in her life. She felt it start to affect her work, saying: ‘I remember thinking, “I can’t be sitting here talking to Hugh Jackman all sweaty and hot”.’ Former Countdown presenter Carol Vorderman told how debilitating depression and insomnia affected her working life. She said the first symptoms – panic and anxiety attacks – appeared at the time when she was working on TV show Loose Women. She added: ‘I’d wake in the early hours and although I have lived out of a suitcase, travelling for most of my working life, I’d be in a real state. ‘I’d be thinking, “Should I get a train, or drive myself? Or get a driver?”. I’d churn over these decisions and half a dozen times I’d be so shattered I’d ring up in the morning and say I couldn’t go to work.’ Actress Gillian Anderson described her sense of life falling apart during the hormonal transition before menopause.

She said: ‘All of a sudden, I felt like I could handle nothing. I felt completely overwhelmed. When I talked to the specialist, she said she often gets phone calls from female CEOs screaming, “I need help now! I’m losing my mind!” I felt like somebody else had taken over my brain.’

Former model and Changing Rooms presenter Carol Smillie spoke out about the physical changes she experienced. She said: ‘You change shape – you gain a little more weight but it’s just placed differently. It’s like you almost lose your waistline… and then your chest, your décolletage, sort of wrinkles, and you think “What’s that?” Comedian and actress Dawn French said: ‘I found it was a thief of my memory, so I had to write lists to remember stuff – I still do.’ Journalist Kirsty Wark, who fronted a BBC documentary, The Menopause And Me, said: ‘The most disconcerting side effects were disturbed sleep and night sweats.’ She said she ‘just coped with it, as so many others do’. After surgery to remove her ovaries to reduce the chance of getting cancer, Hollywood star Angelina Jolie announced she was going through the menopause. She said: ‘But I feel at ease with whatever will come, not because I am strong but because this is a part of life. It is nothing to be feared.’