Bitesize Moment: "I Haven't Felt Right in Three Years." — Dr Sarah Callaghan on how perimenopause sneaks up

About this episode

Dr Sarah Callaghan discusses the subtle onset of perimenopause symptoms and the common misconceptions surrounding them.

In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, GP and menopause specialist Dr Sarah Callaghan explains why perimenopause so rarely arrives with a bang — and why so many women spend years "muddling through" before they realise what's actually going on. She tells Laura about the slow, sneaky creep of symptoms, the patterns she sees most often in clinic, and the women who mistake their perimenopause for postnatal anxiety, burnout, grief, or "just life". It's a powerful reframe: if something feels off, you deserve more than "just cope". 🔑 Key Points Why perimenopause symptoms rarely arrive all at once — and why that matters The fluctuating, "good week / bad week" pattern that makes women doubt themselves Common mislabels: postnatal anxiety, stress, grief, COVID, burnout The "I just don't feel like myself" phrase she hears in clinic over and over Why you don't need to be in crisis to ask for help — even a 20–30% drop in functioning is worth investigating 🎧 Listen to the full episode here. Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube  here . Don’t forget to follow  The Laura Dowling Experience  podcast on…

People in this episode

Host: Laura Dowling

Guest: Dr Sarah Callaghan

Topics covered

• perimenopause
• women's health
• mental health
• symptoms
• anxiety
• burnout

Keywords

• perimenopause
• symptoms
• women
• mental health
• anxiety
• burnout
• GP
• health

More episodes of The Laura Dowling Experience

• Dr Fadi | Why Are So Many Women Living with Incontinence? #173 · June 11, 2026 · 50 min
• Bitesize Moment: "She Wasn't Lazy. She Was Drowning." — Dr Sarah Carty on ADHD in girls · June 9, 2026 · 7 min
• Dr Caoimhe Hartley | What Menopause Care Should Really Look Like #172 · June 4, 2026 · 58 min
• Bitesize Moment: "We Cured Your Cancer. You Should Be Grateful." — Dr Deirdre Lundy on HRT after breast cancer · June 2, 2026 · 8 min
• Pamela Deasy | Trusting Her Gut: A Pancreatic Cancer Survivor Story #171 · May 28, 2026 · 53 min
• Bitesize Moment: "The Second Christmas Nearly Broke Me." — Dr Mary Ryan on grief · May 26, 2026 · 6 min