about

I am Vanessa Junginger (pronounced ‘yoong-ing-er’). It’s 2022 and I am 52 years old. Perimenopause really got going for me when I was about 44. I have been period-free for over a year and have had most, if not all of the menopause symptoms you can think of!

I have three grown up children and a cocker spaniel called Charlie Brown. I decided to become a Hypnotherapist in 2019 when I was invited to attend a Gala Dinner at a Hypnotherapy Convention in London. Listening to the keynote speaker, I decided there and then that I wanted to become a Hypnotherapist.

Many of us perhaps believe that the menopause is something we will face in our late fifties, not realising that we start experiencing mild, often sporadic symptoms in our late thirties and early forties. For some women, these symptoms may start even earlier.

Over the last few years, menopause and perimenopause have been brought into our awareness through mainstream media, social media, and open conversations we’ve been having with other women. There’s so much information out there and readily available to us today. We now have a better understanding of why we have been feeling the way we have. For the most part, it’s the menopause!

Brain fog

When I was about 44, I had incredible brain fog, became really clumsy and suddenly needed to nap in the afternoons. The only time I could ever remember needing afternoon naps was when I was pregnant with my babies. So, what on earth was going on with me? I couldn’t work it out. 

One night, I woke up soaking wet with sweat. My night clothes and my bed clothes felt like they had just come out of the washing machine. I was uncomfortable and I was shivering with cold. I had to change my nightwear and my bed linen before I could go back to bed again. I suddenly realised what was going on. I had started the menopause. I hadn’t yet connected the brain fog, clumsiness and tiredness with the menopause. 

During a visit to my local Holland and Barratt to ask what supplements would be helpful for severe hot flushes, a lovely assistant recommended Sage drops to sip in water. She also recommended I take Vitamin B12 Complex to reduce tiredness and fatigue. How did she know? She knew because she was going through it too. My tiredness was a ‘thing’. It was part of the early onset of menopause. I remember crying in the shop because I wasn’t going mad, or getting ill, or anything else that my anxious mind thought might be wrong with me (…diseases, disorders and derangement!). I was going through a perfectly normal part of ageing. I was in perimenopause. It had a name. It was a thing and I felt temporarily relieved because it suddenly all made sense.

Fast forward eight years, my children are grown, my life and career have  changed, and I survived the birthday I had been dreading the most – 50!

Whilst studying for my clinical Hypnotherapy qualification, I realised that hypnosis is wonderful for treating many of the symptoms I was experiencing in menopause. I decided then that I was in an excellent position to treat women who are going through the same thing as me, at whatever stage of their menopausal journey. I decided I wanted my practice to specialise in treating menopause symptoms.

And it’s not just the menopause. We are dealing with several other major changes in our lives as well:

· Children leaving home and empty nest syndrome

· Relationship breakdowns

· Divorce

· Loss of significant family members

· Dating and finding new love

· Sex with a new partner

· Coming to terms with aging

· Coming to terms with the changes in our bodies

· Change of career

· Feeling invisible

We’re not slowing down as we get older either. We are doing more and we’re doing it with significantly different energy levels than we had in our twenties, thirties and forties, on less sleep and with disrupted hormones. As women, we are actually bloody incredible!

I am so delighted that you are here, reading these words now. I have been through the same as you and I would love to you to put your trust in me to help you through this incredible change. Your body is doing everything it is designed to do, in its own incredible way.

My therapy is available as online sessions, face-to-face sessions, and coming soon, you will be able to purchase my downloadable Pure Menopause Hypnotherapy Recordings to listen to whenever you need them.

Menopause is simply a transition to the next wonderful phase in your life. Please know that the fog does clear, the sun does come out again and the symptoms do diminish.  

With my warmest regards,

Vanessa

Vanessa is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Master Practitioner of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Time Line Therapy®, Hypnosis and Business/Life Coaching. She is also a Master Practitioner of NCLS® New Code Linguistic Strategies®, EFT, TFT and a Reiki Master.  Vanessa loves everything Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy and enjoys nothing more than creating treatment plans for the vast array of issues that clients arrive with.