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Jo Rennie Coaching Supporting women through the identity shifts of menopause 🦋
Helping workplaces get it right
Founding the Getting It Right for Every Woman framework

I started running 3 months ago.Not because I’d always wanted to, or even that I thought I could do it. My narrative for ...
13/10/2026

I started running 3 months ago.

Not because I’d always wanted to, or even that I thought I could do it. My narrative for 42 years has been a hard “I’m not a runner!”

I started out of comparison. Yes it’s true. I’ll admit it. The one cardinal sin of self development.

Everyone around me was running, my husband, my step son, the boys mum, even my sister had started… and I’d been feeling utterly rubbish about myself.

So 3 months ago I started Couch to 5k and ran my first minute. Everyone was so desperate for me to enjoy it but I felt indifferent (I was feeling indifferent about most things in my life at that time, thank you menopause).

But I did start enjoying it, and much to my surprise I was actually OK at it. I tried a 5k parkrun within 7 weeks and did ok (my hubby and youngest were running with me as support), and 3 weeks ago I snuck out and tried a 15k without telling anyone. Managed that too.

So fast forward to last Sunday where I completed my first 10k trail race, by myself.

It was tough, the terrain was a little challenging but I did it, and even managed a little PB…

I came in 13th from the bottom and may have looked like a T-Rex running, but I don’t care. I blooming well did it…

I’m going through early menopause and it has been tough. And this is what people won’t see from these pictures.

The hormonal depression. The anxiety and chronic insomnia. The 8 hours of sleep a week (if I’m lucky), and the battle I’ve had for more days than I like to admit, where I didn’t see the point in my life anymore.

This has been my experience of menopause. No hot flushes or rage, and ‘low mood’ only scratching the surface.

So this is a big achievement for me and I’m so proud of myself. I am literally !

If you are experiencing similar symptoms, please seek help from your doctor and be persistent. Anti-depressants won’t always work in this instance because hormonal depression is a different subtype…

So for me proving I could do something I thought I couldn’t was part of my survival plan. It doesn’t have to be running. It could be anything that takes a bit of effort to start, and the mental fortitude to keep going.

I promise it works 🩷

Menopause looks and feels different for everyone, but if you’re really struggling, please don’t. There is support available to get you through the worst-est of days, and please know I am always here. You don’t ever have to go through this alone.

Sending lots of love,

Jo 🌸

Things we don’t talk about enough during the menopause transition - part 4 🩷The potential impact on our mental health du...
29/09/2026

Things we don’t talk about enough during the menopause transition - part 4 🩷

The potential impact on our mental health during the menopause transition.

Depression.
Anxiety.
Low mood and emotional dysregulation.
Insomnia.
Cognitive disruption.
Identity crash…

And when this all happens to hit at the same time?

From personal lived experience I can confirm it’s awfully terrifying.

Not all women will experience this, indeed some women go through this transition with no challenging symptoms at all.

But it can, and is the reality for more women than we realise. Because we don’t talk about it openly and factually enough.

And so I’m dedicating my work from this day on to talk about it, research it, explore methodologies and teach them to help women become more psychologically prepared for the menopause transition.

This work should absolutely start in our 20s, because perimenopause does not clock in at 45 like we’re led to believe. It can be earlier - way earlier - for some. Right at the point when career and family life are booming.

There is a way to navigate the impact but it takes grit, resilience and a strong support network around you.

I pledge to Get It Right For Every Woman through my work and research, so if you’re reading this and wishing for that very support, please please please get in touch.

You don’t have to go through this alone, I’m right here with you.

Jo 🌸

I’m a 42 year old, (almost) post menopausal, childless not by choice, step mum. Sounds like a mouthful, definitely feels...
28/09/2026

I’m a 42 year old, (almost) post menopausal, childless not by choice, step mum.

Sounds like a mouthful, definitely feels like a mouthful at times.

A big part of my early menopause journey has felt a lot like grief.

Not being able to have my own kids, but also feeling grateful for the experience of being a step parent.

Playing a ‘mum’ role without having that true maternal bond only a birth parent can have (although the bond I have with my boys is so special and uniquely ours).

Feeling the loss of identity so many experience during menopause, but having it happen at a time I thought my life would be sky rocketing.

Feeling so disconnected from friends because we no longer seem to be on similar paths.

Some days disappearing completely because I feel so sad I don’t want to burden anyone with my ‘stuff’.

I’ve found this experience to be incredibly psychologically challenging.

I’ve experienced very few physical symptoms. Mine have been mainly emotional and it has definitely affected my mental health at times. Even as a mental health specialist.

But throughout I have remained aware of my hormonal self versus who I know myself to be. And that has been my life line.

Some pretty wild stuff happens in our brain during menopause and it has to be our responsibility to keep working on rewiring it, otherwise there’s a chance things can get pretty dark and miserable.

I’m learning to understand it. I’m researching to inform myself on how to handle it better. And when I feel it appropriate, I will use all this information to teach it and support others through it. Because that is what I do and at the core of who I am.

Menopause is as unique as the woman experiencing it. It sometimes happens early. It sometimes happens without any challenge. But sometimes it happens and turns even the most grounded individual’s world completely upside down.

We collectively need to do more.

I have so much to share and say, but today my brain feels depleted and it’s only 9.20am, so I’ll leave it there 😌.

Sending lots of love to anyone going through it or supporting anyone going through similar. You never have to feel alone, I’m right here with you.

Jo 🌸

We need to talk about menopause beyond the averages.Because not every woman reaches menopause at 51.Not every menopause ...
04/09/2026

We need to talk about menopause beyond the averages.

Because not every woman reaches menopause at 51.
Not every menopause begins with hot flushes.
And not every woman will realise that the anxiety, sleeplessness, low mood, brain fog, loss of confidence or feeling that she somehow isn’t herself anymore could be connected to hormonal change.

Many women, like me, will experience menopause much earlier than expected.

Some will experience it prematurely.
Some will have menopause brought about suddenly through surgery or medical treatment.
And some will spend months, even years, trying to understand what is happening because their experience doesn’t look like the menopause story they were taught.

That’s why I believe preparation matters so much.

This transition can affect more than your cycle and your body. It can affect how you feel, how you think, your confidence, your relationships and even the sense of who you are.

And knowing that before you’re in the middle of it can be incredibly life changing. Because menopause can also be a time of reflection, reassessment and growth, particularly when we have the knowledge and support to understand what we’re experiencing.

My latest blog ‘What are the stages of menopause? Let’s get clear about this transition’ explores the definitive stages of menopause, but more importantly, what happens when our experience falls outside the expected narrative.

Because averages are of course useful, but they should never become the boundaries of whose menopause experience we choose to recognise.

You can read the post ‘What are the stages of menopause? Let’s get clear about this transition’ by clicking on my blog link in my bio.

Sending lots of love,

Jo 🌸

26/08/2026

Real talk… getting personal about the lived experience of menopause 🙄 and why psychological safety is the vital piece of the puzzle!

This is the most important work I think I’ve ever done.Creating this framework was born not just from personal experienc...
18/08/2026

This is the most important work I think I’ve ever done.

Creating this framework was born not just from personal experience, but more so from the many conversations I’ve had with women of different ages, since I began sharing my own personal journey of early menopause.

There are moves in the right direction, but they’re not enough. Policy alone does not create inclusion, and support can only be effective if women feel psychologically safe enough to use it.

I’m now at the stage where I’m looking for 3 smaller organisations/businesses to work alongside me to develop the Getting It Right For Every Woman framework.

The Founding Partner Programme is an invitation to help shape an evidence-informed approach to menopause support that is practical, psychologically safe and meaningful in real workplaces.

If you think you or your organisation would be interested and would like to get involved, you can register your interest by sending me a DM to arrange a call.

Every woman deserves to work in an environment where she feels psychologically safe enough to navigate the menopause transition without compromising her dignity, confidence, wellbeing or career.

And together we can work to achieve this.

Jo 🌸

I know I’m being quiet on here 🫢But for the first time in a long time it’s not because I’ve been struggling with menopau...
14/08/2026

I know I’m being quiet on here 🫢

But for the first time in a long time it’s not because I’ve been struggling with menopause!

Don’t get me wrong I’ve had the occasional sleepless night and meh 🫤 mood days. But on a whole it’s been better.

No, I’ve been busy working on probably the biggest most important piece of work I’ve ever done.

Going through early menopause used to feel like a curse. Something that was robbing me of everything I’d worked so hard to achieve.

But now I see it differently. It’s given me a new sense of purpose, a new direction and fuel to do something for women that is so much bigger than myself.

This is my therapy and I get up and work hard on it every single day. There are very exciting things to come and I can’t wait to share them with you very soon.

Lots of love,

Jo 🌸

Oh and I started running, because I’ve turned my menopause narrative from I can’t to I’ll try, and it’s working! Xx

I didn’t sleep last night, and this morning I feel like s**t.This isn’t my usual post, but I’ve decided to show up hones...
10/08/2026

I didn’t sleep last night, and this morning I feel like s**t.

This isn’t my usual post, but I’ve decided to show up honestly today.

I feel low, emotional and exhausted. And so disconnected from me, I hate it. This is the part of my menopause transition I find the hardest.

I don’t get hot flushes or wake drenched in night sweats. Yes, my joints ache sometimes, my skin has changed, my hair has changed. But I can deal with those things.

It’s the chronic insomnia. The nights where sleep just will not come, no matter how desperately I need it to.

It’s the anxiety of watching the hours disappear, knowing I have important things to do tomorrow, people relying on me.

Today I have zero energy. I have no s**ts to give about what I look like. And I don’t need someone to tell me to go for a walk, think positively, have a bath or remind me tomorrow will be better.

Because I KNOW this will pass. I’ve been here before. But when you’re actually IN it, it’s hard.

Sometimes the kindest thing another person can do is stop trying to make you feel better and simply allow you to feel what you’re feeling.

Because this can be incredibly lonely. You can be surrounded by people who love you and still feel completely alone inside it.

I’m not sharing this because I want pity. I’m sharing it because THIS is menopause too.

Not just hot flushes. Not just fans on desks and jokes about forgetting why you walked into a room.

For some women it is darker and a lot more difficult. And those women still have to get up in the morning and go to work.

Thank goodness I work for myself, from home, because there have absolutely been times during this transition when, had I been employed, I know I would have been signed off sick.

So today I take my hat off to every woman who feels anything like I do right now but still has to get dressed, leave the house, walk into her workplace and somehow convince the world she’s okay.

When inside she’s using everything she has just to hold herself together.

THIS is why I’m doing this research. This is why Getting It Right for Every Woman means so much to me. Because somewhere today there is a woman sitting at her desk feeling exactly like this. And nobody around her has any idea.

I’m 42. By my 43rd birthday I expect to be postmenopausal.

Early menopause.

There are layers to all of this people don’t see. Loss. Identity. Hormones. Sleep. Confidence. Grief. Change. And somewhere underneath all of that, there’s me.

I know this will pass. I know I’ll laugh again. But today I’m struggling a bit. And maybe we need to be able to say that without immediately trying to turn it into something inspirational.

Sometimes it’s just bloody hard.

And if today is one of those days for you too, I’m sending you so much love. From one woman sitting in the middle of it to another.

Jo 🦋

Why we’re talking about menopause too late…That’s the title of one of my earlier blog posts, and it’s a conversation I b...
06/08/2026

Why we’re talking about menopause too late…

That’s the title of one of my earlier blog posts, and it’s a conversation I believe we need to start having much sooner.

I have spent the past few months researching, creating and developing a framework to support private sector organisations get it right for every woman, and I’d love to invite you to join me on this journey.

By the time many women realise they’re experiencing the menopause transition, they’ve already spent months, sometimes years, questioning themselves. Their confidence.
Their emotions.
Their identity.

What if we didn’t wait until women were struggling before we started the conversation?

What if we prepared women, families, workplaces and society before they reached crisis point?

In this blog, I explore why awareness alone isn’t enough, and why talking about menopause earlier could change the experience for so many women.

I hope it resonates with you 🩷 Please like and share to spread this message and help me reach those who truly need to hear it.

To read the full post you can access all my blogs using the link in my bio.

Sending lots of love,

Jo 🌸

I see you, and you see me… but maybe right now, you’re seeing yourself completely differently.If I’m being really honest...
03/08/2026

I see you, and you see me… but maybe right now, you’re seeing yourself completely differently.

If I’m being really honest, so am I.

My patience is definitely shorter.
My energy is lower (most days I feel like I wake up empty)
My emotions feel bigger and some days very all over the place.

And the hardest part about it is for a long time I didn’t fully understand why.

This is the reality for so many women in their 30s and 40s as their bodies begin to shift through perimenopause, but may be masked by other conditions or life factors.

If this feels like what’s going on for you, I need you to know that how you’re seeing your life right now could be deeply connected to what’s happening inside your body.

Your hormones influence your mood.
Your mood influences your thoughts.
Your thoughts shape your perception of everything.

So the way you’re viewing yourself, your relationships, and your life might be a reflection of a nervous system that’s overwhelmed, a body that’s depleted, and a mind that’s trying to make sense of it all.

One day you feel like yourself, the next, you don’t have a clue who you are.
One day you can cope, the next you’re struggling to get out of bed.
One day you’re flexible and adapting… and the next you feel anxious, reactive, or completely thrown by something small.

I get it. I really do.

I entered menopause far earlier than I ever expected. Like many women, I questioned what was happening to me because I simply wasn’t prepared for menopause to happen at my age. Looking back, I realise how much difference greater awareness could have made - not just for me, but for those around me trying to support me. That’s one of the reasons doing this research matters so deeply to me.

This is part of our female experience. But it’s also part of a huge transition we are never taught how to mentally and emotionally prepare for, not just physically.

So I’m going to help.
My mission is to support women experiencing hormonal uncertainty prepare for and navigate the most mentally, emotionally and physically challenging time of their lives.

It’s time to stop feeling so ashamed of what we’re going through and start supporting each other openly, and in a way that allows us to continue living the life we want, not settling for a life that feels less than in any way.

And if I can support you, I’d be honoured to do so. Get in touch by sending me a message or visiting my website www.jorennie.com to find out more about working together.

Sending so much love,

Jo 🌸

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