Using TikTok to Normalize the Menopause Conversation

Who knew that TikTok could serve as a resource for millions of women trying to figure out menopause? Certainly not Tamsen Fadal, who tentatively dipped a toe into the social media platform for the first time only to be shocked by the eye-opening response. In no time her post – 34 Symptoms of Menopause – blew up and the award-winning New York news anchor had uncovered her next assignment! As we’ll learn on this episode of the Busine$$ of the V, there is a movement afoot to make the world safe for discussions about menopause. It’s here, it’s real and its impacts on workplace productivity are real. Having herself collapsed on the job with a constellation of symptoms that took her off-guard, Tamsen received a crash course on all things hormonal while investigating the episode. She has since gone on to produce a new documentary exploring women’s physical, emotional and professional passages and the science that shapes their journey. Also at work on a book about what it means to enter midlife, Tamsen is exploring the stories of women – herself and others – navigating a transition that can be both frightening and liberating, challenging and exhilarating. Enjoy this heartening conversation about the many ways in which menopause (and its workplace impacts) have emerged from the shadows, and not a moment too soon!

 

Want to hear about Tamsen’s 34 symptoms of menopause – and more? Click

here to visit her TikTok page.

 

Would you like to hear previous episode of the Busine$$ of the V? Click here!

 

TOPICS COVERED:

 

• From Broadcasting News to Broadcasting Menopausal Symptoms: How Tamsen embarked on her current work building a community of women dealing with menopause in the workplace and beyond.
• A cluster of symptoms literally knocked Tamsen off her game at work, prompting her to launch an inquiry into the source.
• She sought help from doctors including a gynecologist, neurologist, endocrinologist … before tests finally yielded the verdict: Tamsen was in menopause.
• Women commonly experience frightening symptoms that very often don’t call to mind menopause right off the bat.
• Leveraging TikTok: Tamsen blew up by simply offering straightforward information (i.e. 34 symptoms of menopause) and promoting conversation.
• Tamsen is providing a service by sharing information and research with women who otherwise might, like she was, be clueless when menopausal symptoms strike.
• The Disconnect is Real: Because symptoms can be vague and intermittent over a long period of time, it’s easy for women to overlook menopause as a potential cause.
• As the result of a 2002 study (now acknowledged to have been flawed) a huge number of women abandoned hormone replacement therapy due to perceived risks. Menopause was momentarily in the news, but otherwise still far from the front pages over the ensuing decades.
• HOT FLASH: A 2022 U.S. survey revealed that 17% of women reported leaving or considering leaving their jobs as the result of menopausal symptoms.
• Tamsen highlights her research into a variety of previously untapped topics related to menopause and media imaging, the workplace, mental and emotional impacts.
• About the perspective and purpose of Tamsen’s documentary, whose tone mixes realism with optimism based on interviews with a broad range of women and experts.
• Some 6,000 women a day enter menopause and are in search of solutions to a variety of attendant symptoms.
• Cracking a Mystery: Why is it that some women glide through menopause while a huge pool of others suffer a litany of miseries. Ways to stave of negative symptoms: Reduce alcohol, caffeine and stress.
• Workplace Challenges: While Tamsen has felt supported at her news studio, office environments generally have a long way to go in inviting women to be candid about symptoms and strategies for managing them on the job.
• Menopausal women represent a huge and valuable business asset, which is why forward-thinking corporations are looking to provide accommodations and benefits to support them.
• Tamsen provides an update on her book about women and midlife, menopause and what lies ahead based on personal anecdotes, research and solutions.
• Forthcoming Documentary: Tamsen anticipates her film will be released within the coming year with support from various sponsors in support of the message.

 

 

QUOTES:

 

“We could be doing this show 12 hours a day every day. There’s so much to talk about and so many people making contributions.” (Rachel)

 

“Menopause in the workplace has been the ultimate taboo and it really does affect people’s productivity and also it’s an economic burden that needs to be discussed.” (Dr. Dweck)

 

“I started talking on TikTok and all of a sudden one of the videos went over a million and another went to almost two million and I went, ‘Uh oh. I think there’s a conversation that needs to be happening here.’ ” (Tamsen)

 

“The first time you start to have symptoms you really have no idea what’s going on and you really get scared. Am I having a heart attack? Am I having a stroke? What’s going on here?” (Dr. Dweck)

 

“Menopause doesn’t happen from one night to the next. It’s a transition that can take eight, nine, 10 years. Symptoms kind of wax and wane.” (Dr. Dweck)

 

“It’s time to reframe menopause not as a negative but as a known entity. Lots of good things come out of the menopause state and I prefer to focus on those ... For a lot of women it’s a liberating time.” (Dr. Dweck)

 

“Most of the things that happen in women’s lives that are physiological or emotional are everything else, too. They’re social, they’re behavioral, they’re contextual.” (Rachel)

 

“A lot of women have felt very shameful about their symptoms and uncomfortable to talk about it … I feel very lucky to be able to do that.” (Tamsen)

 

“When money is involved, things change.” (Rachel)

 

 

GUEST BIO:

Tamsen Fadal is the primetime anchor of the PIX11 News at 4p, 5p, 6pm and 10pm. She is a 13-time Emmy award recipient and author of three self-help books. Tamsen is Executive Producer and host of The Broadway Show that airs nationally. As an advocate for women who are in the next chapter of life, Tamsen has published three self-help books including, The New Single: Finding, Fixing and Falling Back In Love With Yourself. It's a guide to help women emerge from a big life change with confidence, grace and a recipe for self-care. Tamsen has appeared on The Talk, Lifetime, A&E, The CBS Early Show and the Today show in support of this mission.

 

 

FURTHER RESOURCES:

Website: www.tamsenfadal.com

Tamsen @LinkedIn

Tamsen @TikTok

 

 

LINKS FOR BUSINE$$ OF THE V:

Website: www.businessofthev.com

Dr. Alyssa Dweck: https://drdweck.com

Author Rachel Braun Scherl: www.sparksolutionsforgrowth.com/about-rachel-braun-scherl/