TV star Shelly Horton has revealed that she nearly gave up on her grueling career three years ago after she started feeling depressed and sick.
The bubbly media personality had to appear on set with a big smile and laugh with her peers, despite being overwhelmed with a sense of utter despair.
Living in Queensland’s Gold Coast, the 48-year-old has never had a mental health problem before and is starting to question his reality.
TV star Shelly Horton has revealed that she nearly gave up on her grueling career three years ago after she started feeling depressed and sick.
The star now knows she suffers from perimenopause symptoms, but she had never heard of the term.
To educate people about it and break the stigma, his best friend, Dr. He worked with Ginni Mansberg.
Until I discovered that waves of sadness, hot flashes, and worries are all part of perimenopause.
“I had no idea what it was. I hadn’t even heard of the term perimenopause,” he told FEMAIL.
“One of the things that drove me to seek help was the lack of fun I felt about work,” he added.
Explaining his bulletproof work ethic has always been part of his identity and kept his head full.
“I run my own company, ShellShocked Media, and I work at Channel Nine, and both make me incredibly happy,” he said.
“But with perimenopause, I had a hard time getting out of bed. Depression was something I had never experienced before.
“I went to work pretending to be happy and at the prom so no one would know how I really felt,” she said.
“Then I would get in the car and cry until I got home. I would humiliate myself by saying, ‘Well, going there was a waste of time. You made a fool of yourself in front of the nation by looking like a fool. You can quit even before they fire you, you are useless”.
She is not alone, and she has since discovered that one in ten women who have entered perimenopause have given up on their careers.
“I now know that one in three women suffer from anxiety and depression during perimenopause and menopause. It is actually the riskiest time in a woman’s life. She is taller than younger girls and higher than postpartum depression,” she said.
Shelly said she took six months of HRT and antidepressants before finally feeling gassy again.
During perimenopause—a few years before a woman’s menstruation stops forever—there are many hormonal changes that are responsible for the brutal symptoms.
The stigma associated with the transition phase makes things worse.
Shelly described perimenopause as the middle-aged glass ceiling women must go through to continue setting goals beyond their “childhood years.”
Shelly’s husband, Darren Robinson, convinced her to see a doctor, and she was given antidepressants and hormone replacement therapy.
“It took at least six months to ask for help and then it probably took another three months to find the right medication for me. All this time I cried almost every day and anyone who knows me is not my natural state.”
His 54-year-old best friend, Dr. He collaborated with Ginni Mansberg and “Don’t Sweat It” was born.
“Now I’m taking the meds and I feel like I’m bubbling again. It’s not a straight road. I still have some falls but I’m really learning to be a lot kinder to myself”.
After negotiating the perimenopause minefield on her own, Shelly realized she wanted to help other women do the same and educate the wider community on how to make life easier for a woman going through life change.
His 54-year-old best friend, Dr. He studied with Ginni Mansberg and ‘Don’t Sweat’ I was born.
Women now hold seminars to help business leaders help their workforces through perimenopause.
Their website also has loads of free tips to break the stigma and explain perimenopause in an easily digestible way.
“I needed a course like this. So I hope Sweat This will help workplaces and women around the world be more menopausal friendly,” Shelly said.
Source: Daily Mail
