If you are in the horrors with menstrual cycle issues or you want to learn how to harness your hormones, then you are in the right place.

Welcome to the Period Power podcast. I’m your host Maisie Hill menstrual health expert, acupuncturist, certified life coach and author of Period Power. I’m on a mission to help you get your cycle working for you so that you can use it to get what you want out of life. Are you ready? Let’s go.

Hello folks. I am very excited today. I have a real treat for you, and for me, and for my guest because today I have one of my clients from The Flow Collective joining us. Claire is here and I basically invited her on because she recently put a post up in our community that really intrigued me. And I will just explain what happened because every week, every Friday we have a have a weekly win thread where members of the community get to post about the wins that they’ve had, the transformation with their cycle, the things that have shifted in their lives.

And it’s always the highlight of my week reading through those wins. And it’s very inspiring for everyone in the community to see the transformation that everyone’s getting. And occasionally, and Claire, this has been you on a number of occasions I think, members have wins and things that they want to share, and they just can’t wait for Friday to come around to be able to share what’s been going on for them.

And so Claire recently posted a list of 21 things that at the top of the post she said, “Since joining The Flow Collective here’s what’s happened.” And she listed 21 things that she’s done, results that she’s had, things that have shifted for her. And she said at the end, “That’s just the top 21, there are so many more and I feel close to my doing big things goal.” And I read through this and what I loved, and you don’t know this, Claire, but I had actually done the same in the coaching community that I’m in, that I’m a part of.

I had posted all the results that I had created in the first six months of this year. And you posted this post up at the same time and I was like, which wins, we’re in the same place in terms of taking stock and reflecting on all our progress. And you know what? Let’s just introduce you and then we can start. I’ve already rolled into the conversation so let’s start. Welcome, Claire, thank you so much for coming on. I think this is going to be a really inspiring conversation for everyone to hear.

So why don’t you go ahead and just introduce yourself and maybe share when you signed up for The Flow Collective, what made you sign up and a little bit about your health journey, whatever you feel comfortable sharing, what was going on at that point in time.

Claire: Hello and thanks for having me. So I basically joined The Flow Collective in February. So up until that point I was going on this really long arduous, difficult journey, recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome, got diagnosed in April 2016. But my symptoms started in 2015 so that’s five, six years. And I think I got to that point, and I just thought is this going to be it forever. I just knew, I got to that five year mark, and it was a milestone for me.

And I knew that I had to, even though I was already supporting myself in lots of different ways through the nutritionist and functional medicine. And I’d been to see a lot of consultants, and physios, and a whole pile of things. I just kind of reached again, a rock bottom and put my hand up and I said, “Listen, I need help. I can’t do this on my own.” And I was looking for a health coach at that time.

And I’d met someone previously who was a health coach, and I didn’t really know much about it. She just kind of told me that was her job. But I really liked her, and I really connected with her. And she had recovered herself from endometriosis. So I knew that she had got the results. And I just really kind of cliqued with her. So anyway at the end of last year I contacted her to find out if she was still teaching and working with clients, and she was.

But one-on-one the price was just prohibited to me. And I was open with her, and I just said, “I can’t afford this. I would love to. This is what I need. I need somebody from the outside that’s not in my family, that’s not a doctor, it’s somebody else that just is making me take stock and look back.” So anyway, and then around February time I got an email about The Flow Collective doors opening which I just joined the webinar and I thought, yeah, this is what I need. I’m already tracking my cycle.

But I was getting to a point where I knew I had days where they were difficult, and I just really had plateaued, and I was really stagnant with all my recovery. And I was eating as healthily as I could. I was exercising to the best that I could. And I just was really stagnant. That’s why I put my hand up and said, “Need some help.” And being part of The Flow Collective, I think what’s good about it is that for me it was a lot of money. But it gave me a lot more access for the cost.

Maisie: Yeah. Okay, so you joined in February. And I think if you don’t mind sharing a little more about your chronic fatigue journey in terms of who you used to be and then kind of the place that you ended up.

Claire: Yeah. So probably I wouldn’t have had this conversation a year ago. And I was very – I kept my chronic fatigue very close to my chest. I didn’t want people to know about. I hid it, I masked it really well. And then probably sadly because of a result of the pandemic and long COVID being a conversation which people are having in the media. I found that time really difficult because I felt like all of a sudden, everything that happened to me, and my chronic fatigue started from a virus.

It’s being accepted because there is still this stigma around chronic fatigue and then they are like it’s this yuppie flu, it doesn’t exist, you’re just being lazy. And that’s not true. And any time I said to someone that I had chronic fatigue and I would always caveat it with, “I got it when I was training for a marathon, my second marathon.” And always caveat with the second just to say that it just happened to me. It could happen to anybody, the same with long COVID. That was kind of where I was at in terms of that mindset.

And I’d been around the houses with different doctors and GPs. But I think the one thing that I kept coming against was I knew there was a connection with my hormones. And every time I raised it was kind of, “That’s to be expected, of course your body’s going through more. You’re going to have much more difficult symptoms.” But the only solution was go on the pill and at that time I just didn’t want to.

Maisie: Yeah. It’s so fascinating isn’t it how there is this general acceptance that yes, hormones influence other conditions, other health issues. But that’s it. That’s how it’s generally left is just this acknowledgement by mainstream medicine of yes, your hormones do influence things but really there’s not much we can do to help you unless you want to go on the pill, which for some people is going to be something that they want to do. And it could be hugely positive for them.

But there are increasingly I would say, people who are like, “Well, actually I don’t want that option, that’s not in line with my personal plans or it just doesn’t sit right with me as a strategy that I want to employ.” So what was your experience of that then?

Claire: I think when I started having these symptoms back in 2015 at that time was using a coil. So I didn’t have any cycle. And in hindsight I wish I’d had a period to be able to make a link between my symptoms and my cycle. But nobody asked me, no doctor said, they were weighing me, they were measuring my height, checking my blood pressure. I had so many different scans, but nobody said, “What’s your period like?” Because I didn’t have one.

So I think that kind of makes my blood boil a little bit because I know there’s this whole thing around your period being a fifth vital sign. And it says so much and it wasn’t asked. And I know it’s more of a systemic problem, but I think it’s something that needs to be raised. And probably, I turned 29 and I had just got married, I was about to get married, and I was like, well, if I do want to have a child, I don’t want to go through a long process of coming off contraception.

So I thought, let’s kind of get ahead of the game. Even though at that time there was no way I would have been able to look after a child. So I went off the contraception and then as my cycle started to come back I really noticed the connection between my hormones and my symptoms. And then when I presented that information to a GP, she was also a functional medicine doctor. She kind of diagnosed this pain that I was having, which had kind of just been left as unresolved, undiagnosed pain as a type of migraine because there’s a connection with my hormones.

And when I heard that it was, yeah, relief but also difficult because again the narrative was, “You’re going to have to manage this type of migraine and it’s always going to happen. There’s always going to be a connection to your cycle.” And I just was thinking, do I just have to wait until I don’t have any more periods? And that was where I was at.

Maisie: I think that’s really commonly presented as, “Well, you can go on the pill or hormonal contraception, we can stop your cycle, or you could try getting pregnant.” That’s often presented, perhaps not in your case but when we’re talking about other conditions like endometriosis and things or even painful periods just on their own without any particular condition behind them. There’s this whole narrative there as well of, well, pregnancy and birth, that will sort everything out. So not particularly an effective strategy I would say.

And one that probably a lot of people would never want to do anyway. And it’s the same with, well, just wait until you go through menopause, just survive the next 20, 30, 40 years, get through those because eventually it’ll stop. And so I completely get your point. And I think many people listening will as well of the relief that can come with being told a diagnosis of some kind. But then also the many layers of frustration and things that can also come with it.

Claire: Yeah. And I think the frustration was also I had been just left with this undiagnosed pain. And I think a part of me was always there has to be a reason for it and nobody could explain it. So probably credit to also my husband because he was like, “We have to find an answer.” Even though I didn’t want to go to doctors or do any more consultations. He is like, “There has to be a reason.” So he definitely advocated for me when I wasn’t able to. But now I don’t really need him to advocate for me. I can advocate for myself.

Maisie: So tell us about that because that sounded like reading your particular post and other posts that you’ve made that as an outsider reading your progress and kind of watching what’s been going on for you. That seems like a really significant shift.

Claire: I think, well, partly physically I feel able to function a bit more, not that there’s anything wrong with not being able to function. But I feel my head is clearer so I can think things through a lot better. And I’m also, yeah, I’d say I was proud of myself for not just – I went to an NHS clinic, and they just turned around and said, “This is the pain that you have. You have to accept it. The only thing we can help you here is how to live with it.” Even though I was like, “I can’t live with this in a real low point with my mental health.” And at that point I didn’t give up.

And I was able to turn around and with help of network around me, just keep looking for things. And I read Period Power and I was like, “Yeah, this is happening to me. This is me.” And kind of continued to question, find things out. And I think look at the ugly parts of me which sometimes I got really frustrated because you do coaching, or you have counselling, or you do any type of self-coaching. And you just see all these horrible parts of yourself and your personality. And you have to lay them all out and look at them and that’s hard work.

And I was prepared to do that, and now and I think I’m giving myself credit for that because it’s not easy. And it would be easy to just say, “Okay, well, this is it, I’m just going to crawl up in a ball and that’s it.” And at times I did do that, and I think it just was the right time for me to kind of keep asking questions and getting that support. But I think the other important thing is I put so much pressure on myself, and that it was all coming from me, and I had to be the person that navigated it all. And it was down to me to do the physio regimes. It was down to me to do the supplements, the diet.

And if I slipped off it I just was hating on myself. I just had so much hate. I remember going into a bar and asking for fizzy water and freaking out when they put a slice of lemon in it because that was going to put sugar in the water. And I was trying to do low sugar. So I think my mindset has changed and I think I’ve learnt that from The Flow Collective, if that makes sense, yeah.

Maisie: Yeah, because I’m just thinking now about the point in time which you joined because when you joined that was when we did self-love as our theme for February. And I think what you’ve just pointed out, I really want everyone listening to hear because we can be doing all the things that look great on paper. You can be doing the nutrition. You can be sugar free, alcohol free, doing your physio routine, all of these things which society would describe as healthy. And they can look great, sound fantastic but this is why we focus so much on where are we doing these things from.

And is it from a place of pressure, and restriction, and shame, and even punishment sometimes, or are they coming from a place of love? Because the experience of doing those things is going to be very different depending on which approach you’re coming from. And as you well know from being in our community it will always impact the result that you get, not just the process to getting there. So I love that you’ve brought that in because it’s very different when we’re doing things in a way that is with compassion towards ourselves and with love towards ourselves.

So how was that for you as the month to be joining and just getting stuck in with that? Because I think it was an interesting theme for many people because I think it sounded really cute and lovely. And actually I think it was probably the most challenging month for a lot of the members.

Claire: Yeah, definitely. And it’s funny because this month I’ve kind of revisited some of the prompts that were from the self-worth theme. And it really showed the good bits and again, that’s what I was kind of talking about. It’s difficult to see the ugly bits. And one thing for me was I only liked myself when I was productive, or I was able to do something, or I was ‘functioning’. And that is just such a warped view of the world. But that’s kind of the narrative that we’re kind of told in the media and around us. And I didn’t like myself when I wasn’t able to get out of bed or I had symptoms.

And I mean that’s horrendous. If it was somebody else in that situation I would be bringing them the fluffy pillows and the socks, that’s what you did. But instead I was like, why are you not getting up, dragging myself out of bed, making myself walk even though I wasn’t well enough. And so it’s quite a big one.

Maisie: Yeah. And I can as your coach, and I know you’re just saying it for the purposes of our conversation, but I can’t help but notice even talking about it now, it’s the ugly parts of you. And so feel free if you want to do some coaching on that and bring it back into the community. But I know it’s just language that we’re using for this conversation. But just in case any of that is still there because I think what this highlights to me is how often these things are ongoing and we work on them at a certain level.

And we kind of get it in a good place and then it shows up in another area or there’s another opportunity to take the work a bit deeper. But what are some other things that have been helpful or significant for you, maybe some favourite takeaways of things that have been useful for you?

Claire: I think one of the other good months for me was doing big things. And I remember watching the slides and it was around, your big goal was around solving the symptoms from endometriosis. And that was the main goal and that was the main focus. But then loads came as a result for that. And whereas I think for me I knew I had these health problems, but I was trying to fix everything else. I was trying to work out how to be self-employed and work around my symptoms. And I was trying to like how can I go on holiday and not have loads of symptoms?

But actually what I really needed to address and put all my energy and all my focus of the big goal is by the end of 2021, I will have created good health and vitalised energy. And that was the focus. So it just meant – I have got it pinned up on my wardrobe and I went to grab it so I could just refer to it. And everything, that has to be the focus in terms of where are my funds going to, is going to this even going to knock my health? And if it is then that’s a no, I can’t go to that.

And being okay with that and not people pleasing and not feeling guilt about not going to so and so’s event. And just being fine with that and really clear in my mind. And I think that’s been the main thing.

Maisie: Yeah. That was another big month. And I think also another challenging month and there was a reason that we did the self-love before that and the inner critic work before we got onto working on big goals and using the cycle to facilitate that. But for everyone listening, the way I had described it in the webinar that I did was that when you just focus on one result at a time often you get that result such as improving endometriosis or getting more energy and improving your health as Claire has just described hers.

But when you focus on that one you also get these other by-products as a result of focusing on that result. So you get the result but then you also get improvements in your relationship, or improvement in your work situation, or whatever it is. And so your goal, Claire, of creating good health and revitalised energy, where are you at with that now because we’re kind of – well, it’s towards the end of August, so is that six months or something since you joined? Something like that. So where are you at now with things?

Because I know in your posts, well, I think I love what you put as number one. I’m going to read it out for everyone. So when you said, “Since joining The Flow Collective, here’s what’s happened.” Your number one was, “I put myself and my health as a priority.” That’s so good. Literally if that’s all the post was I would have been jumping for joy because so many people don’t do that.

Claire: Yeah. And I think for me it came from the shame of having this long term illness which affects mainly women. And it makes other people uncomfortable so I would just try and hide it. And now I’m like, yeah, I’m like, “This is what’s happened to me. I’m not ashamed of it.” I might have additional health needs, I have to meet them. And if you’re not okay with that then see you later.

Maisie: Yeah. I just love how clear that is. And I think that really speaks to all the work that you’ve done that’s around boundaries and on people pleasing and all of these things, because these are the things that get in the way of good health. Yeah, okay. So why don’t you share a little bit about maybe something that you’ve implemented or a moment that you’ve had that has had a positive impact on your cycle or your health, or an aspect of your life?

Claire: I think so in terms of my cycle I started seeing an acupuncturist again. And again I’d seen different acupuncturists throughout the whole journey and had positive experiences and negative experiences. And finally found somebody locally that really understood me. And we have a good relationship and it’s definitely helped in terms of my cycle because before it was very non-existent. And now it’s three days which isn’t great yet but it’s definitely getting better.

Maisie: But it’s lengthened as well, hasn’t it, I think, the length of your cycle? Yeah.

Claire: Yeah. And also that comes back to doing – in terms of things hadn’t worked in the past. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t going to work again. So I think my mindset was well, let’s just try it again, let’s just try it again. And putting my health as a priority. So just picking myself up and okay, well, let’s try the next thing or let’s try that again, or let’s just be led by what my gut says rather than other people around me. And I think there’s a lot of advice online and I actively don’t look at that. And I think in the past I have.

And I think being part of The Flow Collective it’s more of a you led by your intuition. And there’s solid hard advice which you can take on but it’s not you should do this and if you do this you’ll be well. It’s what’s going to work for you, and you have to work that out yourself. And I think that’s much softer but more long term approach.

Maisie: Yeah. And that was very intentional for me because I could be prescriptive and be like, “This is what you need to do.” And we do have those clear steps there for people to follow and to use because some people find that level of direction helpful. But what’s more important to me as your coach is that you have my guidance, and you have ideas coming from me. And I teach you concepts and give you tools and things.

But what’s most important to me is that you are all developing your own resourcefulness and ability to discern what is best for your health and what is best for your life. Which is why when you have a community of hundreds of people you can’t be prescriptive anyway because you’ve got all these different people. So everything that I’m teaching and sharing with you all, and what we coach on has to be through the lens of how does this benefit everyone no matter what your situation is?

Whether you have no periods and you’re recovering from hypothalamic amenorrhea, or you have very frequent periods, or you’re pregnant, or you’re on hormonal contraception. Because we have all of those people and all of those experiences in our community, so it always has to be through the lens of how does this benefit everyone and how does this help you all to develop trust in yourself as you navigate your health. What are your thoughts on that?

Claire: Yeah. I think seeing other people in the community and if they’re maybe going to do something, if they’re not functioning for whatever reason, maybe it’s PMDD or something else. And just seeing people talk about that openly rather than it being behind closed doors. And for me it made me feel like I’m not the only person that deals with this. And it doesn’t make that person or me any less of a person just because we have these tricky days. And there are things that you can do to make them easier.

And I think another strategy was the bad day protocol. And rather than just if you have a bad day just catastrophise, spiral, doom. I have set things which I know I can do. And I’ve got a box with loads of stuff in which I know that will remind me, here’s a hot water bottle. Here’s some tea. Here’s a blanket. Just get them down and there’s a book that you really want to read. And all of a sudden the bad day doesn’t seem so bad, so it’s just things like that.

Maisie: Yeah. I love that. I remember the bad day protocol, when I came up with that I was just like, oh, I just knew. It was one of those things that just my brain latched onto. I was like, “I know this is going to be a good one.” And then when I got to teach it, seeing the impact that it had and everyone being like, “Oh my goodness.” Because I think there can be this huge focus on how do we improve things and how do we make everything better?

And it’s really important I think to have tools that actually allow us all to meet where we’re at and not try and jump out of the things that are challenging. And to have tools that you can use that when you are having a hard day that you have a protocol and a set of things to do that aren’t about making everything more perfect again. Which I think the protocol in itself can actually do but that’s not the point of it. It’s really fascinating watching everyone use it.

So what about something that’s maybe been a bit challenging or hard for you to implement either a strategy that I’ve suggested or a moment that’s happened in the coaching, something that’s been challenging for you but ultimately worth it?

Claire: I think the whole thing has been a challenge. I’ll put that out there. It’s not been easy.

Maisie: I love that you’ve brought that up, yeah.

Claire: And I don’t know, I get annoyed at other people. If I know they’ve got, these are destructive patterns or these behaviours which are not helping them. I’m like, “Well, why are you not looking there?” I’m the one over here turning up at the calls, doing the self-coaching, doing the journaling. Why is the work all on me and you’re just going around being destructive. And I know that’s all me. But it makes you look at the tricky parts of you and the only way you’re going to get any change or results is by doing that.

And I think you have to be prepared to do the work but in a kind way and not hate yourself basically when you do it.

Maisie: Yes. I completely agree. And it is work. And I love that you’ve brought that up. It does require something of you. This isn’t like you join The Flow Collective and just by signing up things suddenly get better. Although people do experience shifts. It was really interesting after the last enrolment period that we did and how many people said that they’d never done something like this for themselves and that just actually the act of signing up and investing in themselves, investing in their health was hugely significant for them.

So I don’t want to discount that kind of experience. But we’ve also had people sign up who are surprised that they actually need to do something in order to get results which I just find endlessly fascinating. But yeah, it can be challenging but so worth it, right?

Claire: Yeah, definitely. And I think, my first point on that post was that I put my health as a priority. So I put the calls in my diary, and I cleared it and made sure that I could make it. And if somebody had invited me somewhere else, I’m like, “No, I can’t.” I didn’t have to explain the reason why, because if I wasn’t doing a coaching program and somebody turned around and said, “I can’t join you because I’ve got coaching.” I would just probably roll my eyes and just because I think, “Well, what’s that?”

And until you know what it is, and you see the value of it then yeah, I think everyone should do coaching. And I’m one of those people now, I just like spotting destructive patterns in other people. And I think well if you just did this, but anyways.

Maisie: I think that’s the challenge. I remember there was a stage where that’s where I was at as well when you just realise how amazing it is. And you get so many transformations yourself when you just quite naturally want that for everyone else. And then you start to spot things in other people. And it can be sometimes really frustrating to see that in other people.

But then that’s our work is well, why are we so focused, especially when you’ve been socialised a woman to focus on helping other people to solve their problems rather than thinking why can’t this just be an experience for myself? And why do I have to then take what’s been great for me and kind of try and help other people or even sometimes push it on people? And I’m speaking from my experience of this happening, not necessarily yours. But this is so much of the work, isn’t it, of just this is for you, this is about your health, your life?

And I think so much of what we do is just about deprogramming our own internalised patriarchy and the way that we’ve been socialised, which is why I loved – and you kind of just touched on it there. You also mention in your post that you stopped explaining yourself.

Claire: Yeah. And no was a no, “Sorry I can’t do that or I’m not around that day”, full stop. And then not, “Because I’ve got another thing in three days, I want to make sure I’ve got energy for that. That’s more important to me but I don’t want to tell you that.” I used to do all that. And I’d have all these thoughts and then tell other people and they don’t care, just say you can be there or not.

Maisie: Yeah. And then I think a few points down you said, “I allow people to be wrong about me as well.” Which is kind of the follow on because sometimes people will have thoughts and it’s okay if they’re wrong, they’re just their thoughts. Yeah. But I should also say I love your commitment to yourself and how you show up in the community, and how you show up on their calls. But I don’t know what the percentage is actually. But a lot of people don’t attend the calls live and it’s great when you can.

But it’s still prioritising the calls or even for people listening to this podcast and that’s how you access the stuff that I do, like prioritising the podcast. Because I have set times that I listen to certain podcasts, and I really listen to them, and I make notes. And I treat the podcast as if it’s something that I’ve paid for. And in any kind of program or something that I’ve signed up for, I always treat it as if I’ve paid 10 times the amount that I’ve actually paid because that’s the way that we get results.

And I think that really speaks to how you have approached being a member of The Flow Collective.

Claire: Yeah. I think for me it is – I’m not working, it was a big financial investment, and I was really scared. And I felt like, I was like, this is really a lot of money for me, and I have to treat it like I’m working in terms of turning up at the calls, doing the sheets. Yeah, I guess it was the fear of actually that. But now I would just think yeah, it was totally the right thing to do. And I’m grateful that I was able to access coaching in a group format, so it wasn’t as expensive as one-to-one is. And that just wasn’t an option for me.

And I don’t know, I guess I don’t know where I would be if I hadn’t had it really so well see, yeah.

Maisie: Yeah. What was it, I’m curious, that allowed you to sign up? What was the shift in your mindset when it came to the cost?

Claire: It was, brutally it was the pandemic and as a household, we were lucky, one partner was working, and they didn’t have to commute so it was money saved there. So that’s where the money went. And luckily my partner was onboard, and I think after I watched the first call about the harnessing your hormones. He was like, “Okay, that sounds good.” But he is onboard, he’s read Period Power, he gets it.

Maisie: I love it. I love the partners who have read Period Power. Okay, is there anything else you want to mention, Claire, either from your list of 21 things or anything else about your health journey or where you’re at now, what you want in the future?

Claire: I guess I feel quite passionate about if a woman or someone that identifies as being female presents to a GP or any type of doctor with a pain, that needs to be listened to. And I was 25, I was living in London, I was a young woman and I had just met Rob who I’d go on to marry. And I didn’t drag him to doctors appointments with me to advocate because that wasn’t part of the plan. And I didn’t advocate enough for myself. And I think you just have to keep going back and questioning what is this, don’t just fob me off.

And it’s not necessarily the health practitioner’s fault, it’s just the system that they’re part of. And I guess if you’ve got some type of undiagnosed or unresolved issues, just keep asking. And keep turning up and know that there’s value in you turning up. And I know because of the pandemic, people think GPs are so busy. But over the weekend I was chatting to a family friend who was in a similar situation to me. And I was like, “You have to just keep going to the appointments and keep asking. You have a right to not live with these symptoms or find a way to make them more bearable.”

So yeah, I think that would be the most important thing. And also ask for help and don’t be afraid of that and put your hand up and in whatever form that is.

Maisie: Yeah. So good, I love that. Okay, Claire, do you want to talk about your big goal on the podcast or do you want to keep it for yourself right now? It’s entirely up to you.

Claire: Yeah. So I guess my big goal for this year was to get my health back and to get my energy. And one of the action lines on that was support myself financially in a way that supports my health. And I’ve tried loads of different jobs and part-time jobs and things. And I feel that I can talk about my experience now and I’d like to write it down. And that’s kind of the plan. And a lot of people live with long term health problems.

And people don’t know what to say. And the worst thing is when people say, “I hope you feel better soon.” And it just made me want to scream inside and punch someone. Because even though it was well intended, it doesn’t help. And people don’t know how to deal with someone that’s not terminally ill or not okay. And it’s this kind of weird limbo period and we live in this world where wellness is fetishized and if you’re not then you just feel like you don’t have a seat at the table. But I feel I want to write that down.

And at first I was like I want to do it to help other people but actually I just want to write it and then just see what happens.

Maisie: Yeah. And everyone listening, when Claire says write it down, what you really mean is write a book.

Claire: Yeah, [crosstalk].

Maisie: Just to be clear, I’m sure we have book agents listening who would be interested in hearing more about this and I’m very happy to just talk about Claire because I for one, I’ve already told you, I would be pre ordering that book straightaway because I think it’s really needed. And I think you have such a unique perspective to offer on all of it. And whether we’re talking about chronic fatigue or other long term chronic conditions, we’re talking about massive numbers here.

I don’t have the stats to hand but there’s a huge number of people affected by chronic ongoing health conditions. And as you mentioned, a lot of these disproportionately affect women. So we need those books. We need you to write.

Claire: I’m working on it.

Maisie: I love it. Well, we will be doing something again that returns us to goals and taking steps forward with things. So we’ll be returning to that. Thank you so much for coming on. For those of you listening, if you like the sound what Claire’s been talking about today and you want to join The Flow Collective, at whatever point in time you’re listening to this episode, the best thing to do is to use the link in the show notes or go to my website maisiehill.com, go to The Flow Collective section and stick your name on the wait list.

At the moment we open enrolment a few times a year. And that’s the way that you will get notified that the doors are open for you to join. So I hope that you will join us because we have a lot of fun in there, don’t we? A lot of serious stuff but it’s also a lot of fun and I’m really proud of our community. And thank you for being such an amazing member, Claire.

Claire: Thank you. And thank you for all the gifts, lovely gifts.

Maisie: Yes, I have to say my gift choices used to be awful, but Beck, my previous assistant who’s away on maternity leave at the moment, but I really learnt about gifts through her. She has the best gift choices of anyone. So hopefully she will be hearing this and she’ll hear about the impact that she’s had on me, but yeah, we love the gifts.
Claire: Alright, thank you.

Maisie: Thanks, Claire.

Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of the Period Power podcast. If you enjoyed learning how to make your cycle work for you, head over to maisiehill.com for more.