11 January 2024 , 19:14
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Fitness guru Joe Wicks has revealed that his mum was forced to quit her job as her menopause symptoms became too much to deal with.
The 38 year old healthy lifestyle TV personality, spoke about his mum's health battle for the first time during an Instagram Q&A chat with author and wellness coach, Kate Rowe-Ham.
Joe told Kate, who is the author of Owning Your Menopause: Fitter, Calmer, Stronger in 30 Days, that his mum Raquela Mosquera, "lost her rag", while attempting to juggle the demands of her job as a social worker, with the menopause.
In a candid chat, he said: "My mum was working as a social worker and my mum’s so loving, so compassionate, so understanding and so patient. And through those months, she said, 'I just couldn’t handle it, I couldn’t deal with it, I was losing my rag', and she walked away from the job."
Joe Wicks explains mother was forced to quit job as menopause symptoms were debilitatingHe added: "It was too much for her and it’s a shame that, maybe if she’d had the right advice or help through that, she might have stuck with it." The married father of three, who has appeared on This Morning, believes that the menopause is not just a physical change - it can also affect woman's mental health.
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During the live chat on social media, Kate managed to educate Joe's followers earlier this week, as he recalled his own personal experience as he saw his mother's journey. Kate, 47, started the perimenopause in her early forties and started holistic solutions as an alternative to help battle the debilitating symptoms, as she soon realised that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was not what she hoped it would be.
The author changed how she exercised by swapping HITT workouts for weight training to keep her cortisol levels low. She also altered what she ate and drank, which allowed her to feel more energised. She said: "I’m a determined little fish in a big pond and knowing that my small voice is helping so many people is the biggest dream come true. I don’t want any women to suffer what I went through and I want people to know that when these life-changing symptoms of menopause hit like a juggernaut, there’s hope and solutions."
She added: " It’s also really important that we make the conversation around menopause less of a taboo." This comes after it was claimed by analysts that Britain's economy could be losing out on billions of money each year, due to a lack of support for women who experience the menopause. Research suggests one in ten women who worked during the menopause left a job due to their symptoms.
The Labour party's spokesman for women and equalities, Anneliese Dodds echoed the analysis provided. She said the country "can't really afford" not to unlock the economic potential of all women. And Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has launched a campaign to get over-50s back to work, claiming it as "a time when you can make an enormous contribution."