Nicola Sturgeon has stated that she is taking hormone replacement therapy to counteract the effects of menopause, which include being enraged.
The First Minister of Scotland said in one of her most frank interviews that she had been on HRT for four months after experiencing higher levels of ‘anxiety, weakness, and vulnerability.’
‘The big thing with the menopause is that it’s so shrouded in mystery and stigma,’ the SNP leader, 51, told TV broadcaster Kirsty Wark.
‘It’s a stage of life, and yet we feel it is a weakness, demonstrating that we are not as capable as we were. I’m starting to feel better. I don’t feel as rage-fuelled and I’m sleeping better.
‘One of the reasons I’ve decided to talk about it… is that if people like me don’t we will never burst this stigma.’
During an appearance on ITV’s Loose Women in April, she revealed she was in the ‘foothills’ of menopause, but was concerned about discussing such a ‘intensely personal’ experience.
She admitted yesterday that she had ‘terrifying moments’ in the Holyrood debating chamber, ‘when the cameras are on you and I’ll be mid-sentence and I’ll find myself thinking, “Do I know the word to say here or am I going to forget it?”
She also stated that it had caused a ‘horrendous’ lack of sleep and that it was difficult to discern whether she was suffering menopause or stress symptoms.
‘To distinguish between the two is really difficult,’ she said, adding that she could understand women’s ‘real reticence’ to talk about it for fear of being discriminated against in the workplace.