ALISON DADDO: NAVIGATING THE CHANGES OF LIFE

There's all sorts of things on the market that can help but it’s also something you need to talk to about with your partner. And other ways of being intimate need to be explored.

Tory: I have noticed in the last year I have put on five kilos and it won't go anywhere although I'm sure I burn a lot of calories with my husband! I've been blaming it on COVID, but I can’t blame that anymore.

Ali: Again, it's the hormones shifting. And if our adrenals are also shot, we're too often too exhausted to exercise. The worst thing you actually can do is attempt to push yourself to exercise really hard when your adrenals are weakened. You need to build up really slowly, such as a little walk here and there.

The more the adrenals get shot, the more the hormones fluctuate. That's where the belly fat begins, and around the bum.

The best thing I can say is go to your doctor and get a full blood work done. I only did it six months ago - I should have done it way earlier. Now I can see where my estrogen and testosterone levels are, and what vitamin and mineral supplements I need, to find balance again.

Tory: Now, you're a woman in business and you're in a meeting and all of a sudden redness creeps up your neck or face. I've been on Zoom calls where I can see it happening to other women. Where does that come from?

Ali: It's the hot flush. Again, it's the hormones attempting to find balance. It's like this internal combustion – you can be just sitting there doing nothing and it just whirls up from inside. I would sweat buckets and buckets and I thought there was nothing I could do. But there are a lot of amazing herbal remedies on the market - I personally go that route and see a naturopath. A lot of people find great relief through HRT prescribed by a doctor.

Tory: What would you say are the biggest challenges for women recognising the triggers that say: “Slow down”? Ali: I think it’s taking stock of how you're feeling physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. If you're noticing that your patience is really short, you’re not sleeping well, are beginning to crave certain foods. Craving salt and sugar is a good sign your body is not in balance. Often, women fall on to alcohol to get them through but it’s one of the worst things you can do for adrenal fatigue. Getting to bed earlier helps, as well as meditation to calm mind and body. Put your phone down and rest at some point in the middle of the day if you can. I love a “nanna nap”! Sleep is the cornerstone when it comes to perimenopause. I’m 51 now and actually in menopause. It's much better - perimenopause was the hard part.

Tory: How long did that go on for?

Ali: Probably about two years. I was so busy doing other things that I kept on ignoring the symptoms, thinking it would just be fine, it'll get normal again. Then it would be normal and have a period once a month. I’d go "Oh, now I'm back on track”. Slowly but surely it would go crazy again.

Tory: So tell us about the book.

Ali: I've called it Miserable Magical Menopause because there's miserable and there's magical. There are a lot of interviews and I talk about my experience from when I first discovered I was in perimenopause. Similar to you, I was in chronic adrenal fatigue. Mine really hit from when I moved our family from America to Australia and I left behind my closest friends, home and career. I was absolutely, utterly exhausted. And so of course my symptoms went sky high. I wanted to tell women to look after themselves, to have a balanced life, and then you can care for others. I didn't do that. My life was all about caring for others and I really paid the price for it. That's been a huge shift for me.

Tory: Last question. Most powerful step you ever took in your life?

Ali: There's been a few, but I think the first one that really set my entire life on a different course was going to a therapist. I spent years with this therapist and she completely changed my life in such a powerful way and that's why I'm a huge proponent of therapy.

Alison Brahe burst on the Australian modelling scene as a 16-year-old in the mid-1980s, a regular covergirl on the popular women’s magazines of the day and a favourite with big-name advertisers.

TV came calling, such as the daily afternoon children’s show Guess What and she was a popular guest host of the iconic Here’s Humphrey.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1992 Cameron, Alison’s life took a new path. She initially worked in TV, on commercials and in shows, but this was not her passion. Teaching/taking care of children and, indeed, having her own children were her heart’s desire.

She began studying with the Bodyfulmind Institute, founded by LA 80s health expert Doreen Rivera (the driving force behind Jane Fonda’s Workout).

There she trained and taught Bodyfulmind exercise classes and headed up the Pregnancy Program which readied couples for birth, labor support and post-partum support. While doing this she studied massage therapy and in 1999 received her degree.

From 2009, Alison’s passion for teaching moved into another phase - school teacher. For three years she worked close to south central Los Angeles at Windsor Hills Elementary School (LAUSD) teaching third graders expression of emotions and anti-violence through nature-based arts.

In 2013, she achieved her teaching degree from UCLA in Early Childhood, and began full-time teaching at Under the Oaks, Malibu, with the pre-school class. She continued her own studies and training in Rudolph Steiner Education at Highland Hall Waldorf School.

Alison has always been active in charity work, sponsoring children of World Vision for three decades. From 2007-12 she was involved with Gulu Walkand, The Invisible Children, a charity that works with rehabilitating child soldiers in Uganda.

She continues to look for and support worthwhile charitable organisations.

Though her life in front of cameras ended, she’s continued to work on her screen writing, having written and produced the US web series Polly G. Today she’s working on several feature film scripts.

www.powerfulsteps.com www.novafm.com.au/podcast/powerful-storieswith-tory-archbold/

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