When she first started experiencing perimenopause symptoms, Charlotte Body was just 47.
"I thought I was too young, and I was in total denial," she tells HELLO! "I became insular and anxious and I didn't want to go out. I'm a people person so I didn't feel like myself at all.
"I started growing hair I didn't even know it was possible too, I had ear sweats and I lost my libido," Charlotte recalls, before adding: "I've come out the other side now, and I'm a different woman."
Now 50, Charlotte says she doesn't care what people think anymore, and this indifference to the opinions of others feels like a superpower. "I've changed, but it was really tough when I was in the thick of it.
"Brain fog was so difficult. I used to panic so much, I'd go into a meeting and be so embarrassed that I would forget what I was saying or who people were. But now, I go into the room and regardless of who is there, I'll tell them, 'I'm having a really menopausal day today,' so if I do lose my train of thought, it doesn't matter."
Own your menopause
"By being upfront about what I'm going through, I'm owning my menopause.
"It's okay to not feel okay during this period, but we mustn't be in denial," Charlotte implores.
"Trying to hide your symptoms and how you're feeling is what makes anxiety kick in. But I promise, if you own your menopause, you will come out the other side, and you will learn to love your life again.
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While she's feeling good about where she is now, Charlottle notes that she's not the same woman she was before perimenopause.
"Things that worked for me in my forties don't work now I'm in my fifties," she reasons. Charlotte has changed her approach to exercise, for example.
"I used to go to spin classes, but I just can't anymore. I do weight training instead. It's about adjusting to a new lifestyle."
Relationship changes
Charlotte notes that menopause is hard for your partner as well as for you.
"Menopause can ruin your marriage," she says plainly. "There are a lot of partners who just don't understand and take it personally, when it really isn't.
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"I totally lost my sex drive, the thought of my husband near me would make me cringe, but I'm on HRT now, I'm out the other side and I'm feeling sexy again, you just have to find what works for you."
Advice for women
In the throes of perimenopause, Charlotte launched her event, Pause Live, to educate women on menopause, and to connect them with experts and other like-minded women who can help them through their new era.
Arming women with the knowledge they need is empowering and Charlotte wants others to feel the same way.
"We're so lucky to be women, and we should value menopause, embrace it and enjoy it!" she enthuses. "Lean into it – when I get hot flushes I don't feel embarrassed, I just embrace it – and that makes all the unpleasant symptoms so much easier to deal with."