This week, Kerstin shares a story that began with a body in distress and a mind trying to make sense of it. She experienced heart palpitations, shortness of breath, adrenaline‑rush reactions to food and almost fainted at work. She also had an electrical sensation in her chest that eventually led to a small cardiac procedure. When she finally saw a cardiologist, he told her, ‘Women can get this in perimenopause’, and it was the first time anything she was experiencing made sense.

Alongside the physical symptoms came something she didn’t expect: emotional numbness. She didn’t feel anything – no joy, no sadness, no spark – and the flatness left her feeling… nothing.

With no guidance from her mum, who’d had a hysterectomy in her 30s and never went through natural menopause, Kerstin had no roadmap. Her symptoms fed into health anxiety and she became convinced something was seriously wrong with her.

In this episode, Kerstin talks about the anxiety, the numbness, the impact on her marriage and the frustration of being dismissed or left without answers. She also shares the relief she found through hormone therapy and lifestyle changes, and why she now believes women deserve far better information and support.

This is an episode for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed, numb or anxious about symptoms they didn’t recognise – and for anyone who has had to find their own answers when no one else could give them.

*There are a couple of moments of lag and the odd bark from the dog, but none of it takes away from the importance of adding Kerstin’s voice to the growing chorus of women whose stories need to be heard so they can help others find their way.