Hello, I'm Dr Louise Newsome. I'm a GP and menopause specialist, and I'm also the founder of the Newsome Health Menopause and wellbeing centre here in Stratford-Pon-Avon.

I'm also the founder of the free Balance app.

Each week on my podcast, join me and my special guests where we discuss all things perimenopause

and menopause. We talk about the latest research, bust myths on menopause symptoms and treatments,

and often share moving and always inspirational personal stories.

This podcast is brought to you by the Newsome Health Group,

which has clinics across the UK dedicated to providing individualised perimenopause and menopause care for all women.

So today on the podcast, I'm going to talk about an area of hormones that is really, really important.

And the more I do work in menopause, perimenopause,

but also women with PMS, premenstrual syndrome, PMDD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder,

I worry actually about so many people not understanding the role of hormones in the brain. So I'm

really delighted today to have with me, Dr. Rachel

Jones, who's a psychiatrist I've recently connected with. And many psychiatrists are fantastic in

mental health, but they don't always know so much about hormones. So to find a psychiatrist

that not only understands, but also prescribes hormones. It's quite

unique. So I'm really, really honored to have Rachel with me today. So thanks for coming, Rachel.

Thank you so much for inviting me. So I know when we spoke a while ago when I first met you,

we were both being quite open about we've learned so much over the years. And actually,

if I'd had this conversation with you maybe 20 years ago, I think it would be a very different

conversation. It would be from me, definitely, but would it be from you as well? Absolutely.

And actually, even if I'd have this conversation with you, probably five years ago, it would

have been a different conversation as well, because all of my knowledge and interest of learning has occurred since then since I was working in general

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