Thursday 27-04-2023 - 11:12

On 26th January 2023, QMU and the SU joined forces to host a groundbreaking (meno)Pausitivity @ QMU day. QMU staff and students wore a ‘menovest’, provided by charity Over the Bloody Moon, which simulates hot flushes and helps to build understanding and empathy of what many women experience in their workplaces and personal lives. The day was a huge success and featured on STV news. 

New device allows people to experience menopause symptoms | STV News 

Everyone experiences menopause differently, however the most common symptoms are hot flushes (day and night), brain fog, memory loss and fatigue. All of these can have a significant impact on day to day life and work. The (meno)Pausitivity event gave QMU staff and students the opportunity to learn a bit more about this, ask questions, attend a workshop to learn how they can support their staff team and to actually experience a hot flush themselves. 

 

24 Hour Challenge 

Student Presidents Aasiyah and Louise also took part in a 24-hour challenge which recreates some of the symptoms of menopause and how this impacts on day to day life. They got to work the next day quite sleep-deprived, having woken up several times through the night to use the toilet and change their pyjamas to simulate the night of a menopausal person. See how they fared on our Instagram coverage.

Presidents Louise and Aasiyah before and after the 24 hour challenge

 

Many women feel that there is a stigma around talking about menopause (particularly in the workplace) and that most in the wider population don’t fully understand. The Menopause Charity has produced a list of the 33 most common symptoms of peri-menopause and menopause. This list is not exhaustive and all women will have a different experience ranging from minor symptoms which have no day to day impact, to life changing symptoms which can destroy relationship and careers. The highest level of suicide in women is in the 45-54 age group.   

Not only was it important that staff attend the event to become better colleagues and managers in supporting menopausal team members, but a lot of our students practice in healthcare settings, and we wanted to provide them with the opportunity to be better educated on the topic. Both QMU and QMUSU strive to nurture an inclusive and supportive environment, so we are delighted that the event was so successful in creating understanding and empathy for people experiencing menopause.