BBC News, Yorkshire<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “I didn’t believe it could just be menopause. I thought it must be a brain tumour or dementia.”<\/b><\/p>\n Kirsty Dixon’s life changed overnight when she started experiencing intense brain fog at 49 years old.<\/p>\n Kirsty, from York, was staring at her screen at work one day, when suddenly she could not remember what she was doing.<\/p>\n “I just asked myself ‘What is my name?’, and I couldn’t even remember my own name.<\/p>\n “I felt like I was going mad, I thought it was only me.”<\/p>\n The problems continued when she tried to access support.<\/p>\n “I thought, why aren’t people listening to me?<\/p>\n “I’ve got something really serious going on but I can’t get anyone to listen.”<\/p>\n Kirsty was told by a doctor that what she had experienced was part of the menopause.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It is estimated that one in three women in the UK is going through the menopause at any given time.<\/p>\n Kirsty, learning and development adviser at the University of York, is working to raise awareness of the lesser-known symptoms and the huge impact they can have on people’s lives.<\/p>\n “Before menopause I’ve always been a very bubbly person, very social, bit mischievous,” she said.<\/p>\n “Menopause came along and just put a big thunder cloud over my head.<\/p>\n “I lost myself. The number of times my husband said ‘I want my Kirsty back’ while he was cuddling me and I was in floods of tears.”<\/p>\n Kirsty spent the next four years “fighting it” as she could not believe that those were menopause symptoms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then, during lockdown, Kirsty found herself researching menopause for her work.<\/p>\n She stumbled across an article by someone who had experienced the same symptoms as her.<\/p>\n “I got that lightbulb moment that what I was experiencing was perfectly normal, I needed to understand it and know what I could do to help myself,” she said.<\/p>\n “I went from having this constant cloud and feeling useless, to actually owning my journey.”<\/p>\n Now aged 58, Kirsty runs two support groups for women experiencing the menopause, including a nature walking group around York, and a pop-up cafe in Acomb.<\/p>\n They are non-profit and everyone is welcome, regardless of age or gender.<\/p>\n She hopes the groups will encourage more people to talk about the lesser-known symptoms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “When you’re going through it, it can feel so lonely,” she said.<\/p>\n “You feel like it’s only you, and you think you’re going mad.<\/p>\n “One of the most important things I say to people is get your support network around you, and that’s family, friends, and groups like this.”<\/p>\n Sarah Mortimer, 54, has been coming to the group since it started in 2022.<\/p>\n She experienced an uncommon symptom of self-diagnosed burning mouth syndrome during her menopause, which involves developing blisters in the mouth with a burning feeling.<\/p>\n “It can be really isolating, so to find groups like this is amazing,” she said.<\/p>\n “It makes a huge difference, knowing there’s other people going through the same rubbish that you’re going through.<\/p>\n “It’s that strength in numbers thing, and there’s strength in the power of talking about the menopause.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Kit](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/48ba\/live\/aa7ee070-5813-11f0-81c2-eddd1d437243.jpg.webp\")
Kit Taylor\/BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20250701-150711-e3d94715db-web-2.24.1-1\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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Provided<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘Lightbulb moment’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Kit](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/4ee1\/live\/ae022d10-580e-11f0-81c2-eddd1d437243.jpg.webp\")
Kit Taylor\/BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Kit](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8431\/live\/54c6cbb0-5814-11f0-81c2-eddd1d437243.jpg.webp\")