In this episode I talk with Michaela Hyde from Marriage Foundation. It's more of a personal chat and debrief of 2022 really in which we cover empty nest syndrome, long term relationships, living with chronic pain, Michaela's menopause journey and my return to education. We also talk about HRT and also other techniques for resilience that help us survive the ups and downs of life.

As promised, here are the menopause-specific episodes:

• 104 To HRT or Not with Sharon Hartmann (this is an edited-down version of 91, Menopause HRT and your GP)
• 103 - Diane Danzebrink talks about her surgical menopause and how it resulted in her reaching breaking point and then becoming an activist for menopause awareness.
• 92 - Food, mood and hormones - how we can use what we eat to help navigate hormone change
• 91 - the full episode with Sharon Hartmann on making an informed decision re HRT and how to approach your GP
• 79 - Beyond The Bleed is with the menopause Psychologist Dr Becky Quicke about navigating anxiety and mental health through peri-menopause
• 78 - Knowing and Navigating the Smptoms of Menopause with the wonderful Diane Danzebrink

Sex therapist Emma Waring joins me for part 2, following on from episode 107, ‘Is Your Sex Life Dutiful or Beautiful?’ to discuss the more intimate side of pleasure and our sexual relationships. We discuss orgasms, how the clitoris works, how vibrators can improve our sex lives and she reveals the all-important location of the not-so-elusive G-Spot. (Did you know that 96% of women need clitoral stimulation to orgasm? Hollywood might have us think otherwise).

Emma shows various vibrators during this episode which we describe for audio-only purposes, however we did also film the conversation which you can see on www.womenwhatwhistle.com

We also cover sex in menopause and how vaginal atrophy can cause bacterial vaginosis and recurrent thrush - lubrication can be answered prayer for that.

Emma’s website is emmawaring.com and she mentioned various resources including Pillow Talk which is currently discounted on Amazon.

The other two episodes Emma has done with us are: 107 ‘Is Your Sex Life Dutiful or Beautiful?’, and also episode 94, ‘What Is Good Sex?’

Enjoy

In this episode we talk about equality in sex and relationships. We delve into the roots of cultural and religious writings that have informed a male superiority over the centuries, where women's shame around sex, nakedness and physical desire comes from, how we can recognise if our sexual script is skewed/damaged, and what to do about it. 

NB trigger warning at 15 minutes where Emma describes the action of rape, it is no more than one minute long.

Once again, Emma is fantastic and gives us lots to think about. If you've not heard the first episode she did, Episode 94 'What is Good Sex?' is well worth a listen as well, it is currently one of our most downloaded podcasts.

To get in touch with Emma Waring, here's her website

Emma's book is Seasons of Sex and Intimacy

She also mentioned Becoming Cliterate by Dr Laurie Mintz and Fairplay by Eve Rodsky