So much of women's lives and so many of our experiences are hushed up, not spoken about and hidden. The Hidden World of Women is focused on bringing awareness to the experiences of women. There is no shame, no secrecy. Just women talking openly about their and our experiences. We want to let women know that you aren't alone, we want to bring awareness and shine hope for women.
Episodes
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
November is PRIDE month in Australia. Pride month provides an opportunity to celebrate the impact that LGBTQIA+ community has had on the world. For many in the Pride community it is a chance to celebrate how far we have come as a society (while still recognising that we have a long way to go!)
In this episode I spoke with Emma Atkinson about her experience living in a heterosexual marriage with two children and then, after divorce, exploring her sexual identity and questioning who she is attracted to. We touched on ‘coming out’ to her mum and children, what it was like to not only navigate dating after years of marriage (when the internet wasn’t even invented the last time she was dating, let alone internet dating!) but dating in a same sex relationship for the first time, we talk about labels, acceptance and the celebration that Pride can be as well as so many other topics in between.
In the episode Emma spoke about a TV show but couldn’t remember the name, it was It’s a Sin.
I am always grateful that people agree to be guests and they are so open with sharing their experiences. This interview is Emma’s public ‘coming out’ so I am beyond grateful that she trusted me enough to participate in the podcast episode. Thank you!
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/
Monday Nov 14, 2022
Monday Nov 14, 2022
Every year, twice a year in fact, we put out a service evaluation asking people what they would like to see us cover. Every time people say ‘menopause’ but when we offer information sessions people just don’t come. Whether that is because of the stigma that still surrounds talking about menopause or it is because women in perimenopause years are ‘busy’, maybe they are stressed or maybe they just forget (turns out they are both symptoms of perimenopause, who knew?) but, in an effort to give information on a topic that has been requested this episode is about menopause and perimenopause.
In this episode I chat with Lisa Saunders from Own Your Health Collective about all things menopause and healthy aging in general.
If you want to find out more Lisa and her business partner Natalie have information on their website www.ownyourhealth.com.au as well as a podcast specifically focused on perimenopause called Peri Menopause Power (available on all good streaming sites but here is a link to make it easier https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/peri-menopause-power/id1588187655).
In the episode Lisa spoke about stress and the benefit of mindfulness to your health in menopause and in healthy aging. If you want to find out more about mindfulness we have a course on our sister organisation The Hidden World of You https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/courses/introduction-to-mindfulness/
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/
Monday Oct 17, 2022
Monday Oct 17, 2022
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. In this episode I spoke with Richelle, an absolutely glorious woman who is a devoted mother, loving wife and dedicated tribal belly dancer and tribal dance teacher, she also happens to be a breast cancer survivor.
In the episode Richelle speaks about her experience with diagnosis, the importance of early detection (the power is in your hands), how other people’s reactions impacted her, what not to say (note to self; do NOT say ‘you’ll be fine’), and ways to support self.
Richelle spoke about how breast cancer made her re-evaluate her life and her priorities and how important it can be to positively reframe and see the silver lining in situations.
I could have gone on talking to Richelle for hours and I would have loved to explore more about how she re-evaluated her priorities and shifted focus and careers but sadly we ran out of time so I hope Richelle will join me again to dig into that further!
In the episode we spoke about the importance of getting to know your own breasts, checking them regularly and knowing what is normal. You can check out this link for information on how to perform a breast self exam https://www.breastcancer.org/screening-testing/breast-self-exam-bse and Richelle also spoke about Breast Cancer Care WA who have a range of different information on breast cancer, self exams, what next etc https://www.breastcancer.org.au/
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Monday Sep 19, 2022
This is our 50th episode (and between the last episode and this we celebrated our second birthday!).
50 episodes seems like a milestone so I posted on socials to ask listeners what we should do to celebrate and it was suggested we talk to someone about turning 50. In the episode I spoke with Pip Brennan, author, independent lived experience advocate, and passionate women's health advocate about her experiences of turning 50. We talked about the fears that many people have around milestone birthdays, the reality of turning 50, the 7 year cycle, societies perceptions of aging women, embracing the grey, claiming your power and oh so many more things.
In the episode Pip recommended The Light Makers Manifesto and The Artist's Way as great starting points for journaling and finding stillness and all things Brene Brown.
Thanks so much Pip for interrupting your holiday to join me. I appreciate your time, energy and story.
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monday Sep 05, 2022
It’s Women’s Health Week! A few months ago I was approached by Megan from Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing about co-hosting a podcast for Women’s Health Week focusing on women in sport. The idea being that we would shift away from some of the more standard topics that are covered for Women’s Health Week. We had a couple of chats about it. We hoped to talk about the benefits of sport, physical, emotional, mental, look at how sport can be a connection point. Sport facilitates belonging and community.
Megan invited Kate Fielding to be our guest. Kate has played Basketball at local, state and national levels and now she plays AFL (Australian Football League) at a local level. Kate was a part of a local women’s AFL team that brought home 3 premiership trophies. We thought Kate could speak about her experiences in sport and the exciting changes to women’s sports that Kate has seen from the limited number of sports available to girls when she was growing up to the options for girls now.
I hadn’t expected to here about the systemic barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion that Kate experienced in her previous football club. No change facilities for the women’s teams, no toilet paper in the women’s toilets, having a ‘women’s rep’ on the board, a board member comparing their appearance to performers at a local strip club, and not even hanging their premiership flags or photos!
It is 2022, I was not expecting to hear these stories.
Despite all of this Kate still loves sport and her passion is infectious.
Thank you Kate for sharing so openly and thank you Megan for co-hosting (especially the parts where you asked the sports questions that were WAY out of my scope of knowledge!)
I really enjoyed this episode and, as a result of the conversation I just had a conversation with the chair person of our board about DEI and ways we can do better.
If you want to find out more about what Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing are up to you can find them here https://cwsw.org.au/
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Speaking with many women, it seems that incontinence, light bladder leakage etc is something that they feel like they need to just live with after having a baby or as they age. So many times I have heard ‘I can’t jump on a trampoline’ ‘don’t make me laugh, tears of laughter will run down my legs’.
Whether it is the advertising for incontinence pads in the mother to be or new mother bags or the television advertising for incontinence products as women age it seems that women accept this as ‘normal’ and just the way it is now.
As we are a week out from Women’s Health Week I wanted to take this opportunity to address this issue that impacts so many women. In this episode I spoke with Women’s Health Phsyio Stephanie from Lion Rocker Pysio https://lionrocker.com.au/ about incontinence, continence, what a women’s health psysio consult might look like and how women’s health physio can make a real difference to a woman’s continence.
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/
Tuesday Aug 09, 2022
Tuesday Aug 09, 2022
When we are planning to start a family we get a picture in our head around what it’s going to look like. It very rarely looks like the romanticised picture we create. Sometimes, the reality is as vastly different to that picture.
In this episode Bri shares how her family doesn’t look how she anticipated. Bri and her husband have two children. When they took him to the hospital with wheezing from a virus their suspicions were confirmed. Ari had a genetic condition. After a plethora of testing it was confirmed that he has a very rare form of Muscular Dystrophy and to their knowledge he is the only living person with that form of MD.
Not to be left out, their eldest son was later diagnosed with type one diabetes. They hit the genetic lottery.
Bri shares how the diagnosis impacts their family, struggles with NDIS, juggling therapy and hospital appointments, as well as the absolute joy that their two boys bring to their lives.
It is really easy to get jaded, tired, cranky when life hands you lemon after lemon but Bri is light and relaxed (at the end of a long day at work!). When I asked what her secret is she said she gave up wine and she gives gratitude at the end of each day. Being grateful for the positives she has in her life every day helps refocus her perspective.
In the episode Bri spoke about some resources:
Muscular Dystrophy Support Australia https://www.facebook.com/groups/240404516426752
Muscular Dystrophy WA https://www.mdwa.org.au/
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/
Monday Jul 25, 2022
Monday Jul 25, 2022
While some parts of the world celebrate Pride month in June, here in Australia we celebrate Pride in November but Pride is for more than just one month a year. The more we can learn about people’s experiences the more empathy and understanding we can show.
The 2016 Census counted 1,260 sex and/or gender diverse people in Australia, 26% of those identified as transgender. This count is not considered to be an accurate count, due to limitations around the special procedures and willingness or opportunity to report as sex and/or gender diverse. People who have been treated with disrespect, abuse and discrimination because of their sex or gender may be unwilling to reveal their sex in an official document.
In this episode of The Hidden World of Women, I spoke with Melissa who is a transwomen from Melbourne Australia. I will admit, I had some broad understandings of some of the issues that trans people would face in Australia but it was interesting to discuss issues with Melissa that wouldn’t have occurred to me. It’s not as simple as just saying ‘my outside doesn’t match who I am on the inside, so I’m going to live as a woman now’. I thought there would be difficulties with having to come out to friends relatives and colleagues but I didn’t consider the surgeries that were possible or the level of interest that strangers would show. 30-40 hate prank phone calls in a night from a stranger? What? Why? Who does that?
Thank you Melissa for your time and sharing so openly. If listeners want to get in contact with Melissa you can find here here:
W: www.melissagriffiths.com.au ;
Facebook (The Real Melissa Griffiths -@melissachloegriffiths): https://m.facebook.com/melissachloegriffiths/ ;
Melissa Griffiths Transgender Supermodel Advice Page. https://m.facebook.com/mgtgsupermodeladvice/
Instagram (#/@melissacgriffiths): https://www.instagram.com/melissacgriffiths ; Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissagriffithsgga/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/melissaracing
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuZOwq_qiJi7N3pZNlbI6kw
Supports available include:
WAAC www.waac.com.au
Freedom centre for people under 26 who are GLBTQIA Support for LGBTIQA+ young people | WAAC
PFlag for parents of GLBTQIA+ www.pflagwa.org.au
Trans folk of WA Trans Women - TransFolk of WA
Switchboard (Victoria) Switchboard Victoria
Globe (Victoria) GLOBE | Connecting & Nurturing LGBTIQ+ Communities (globevictoria.com.au)
If you are looking for support
Crisis care: 1800 199 008
Lifeline: 131114
Kids Help Line: 1800 551 800
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/
Monday Jul 11, 2022
Monday Jul 11, 2022
Why are we hearing about more women being diagnosed with ADHD as adults? Why were they not picked up and diagnosed in childhood? What does ADHD look like in women?
ADHD looks very different in girls and women to the stereotype of the naughty boys who are disruptive and destructive, always in trouble and doing the wrong thing. It can look like fidgeting, hyper focus, or an inability to concentrate, overachieving or zoning out. It can look like 200 different hobbies (often the supplies are just gathering dust). It can look like DOOM piles (did not organise, only moved), it might look like anxiety or depression, it might be sensory seeking or sensory overload or it might be….oh look a butterfly!
There are three categories of ADHD; hyperactive-impulsive, inattentive and combined so it really can look very different in different people.
In this episode I spoke with Angela, a qualified and successful health professional, who talked about her process of being diagnosed with inattentive ADHD. Angela spoke about how ADHD impacts her executive functioning which is the skills required to facilitate the behaviours required to plan and achieve goals. Angela also spoke about her history with anxiety and depression in the past and questions whether they were actually symptoms of the self-criticism and downward spiral of negative and degrading commentary that constantly ran through her mind that came from the undiagnosed ADHD. Angela also speaks about some of the strategies that she uses to support her functioning and how her life has changed for the better in the six months since diagnosis.
In the episode Angela spoke about some resources:
How to ADHD on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/c/howtoadhd
ADHD WA: https://www.adhdwa.org/
ADHD Australia: https://www.adhdaustralia.org.au/
Angela has also put together a list of resources that will be published on the Women’s Health and Wellbeing Service https://whws.org.au/ blog in the next week.
Thank you Angela for sharing your story so openly and sharing about your experiences so far on your journey to diagnosis and how far you have come.
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/
Monday Jun 27, 2022
Monday Jun 27, 2022
So many women in Australia experience Family and domestic violence. The statistics in Australia show one in six women (and one in 16 men) experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or previous partner since the age of 15, one in four women (one in six men) have experienced emotional abuse by a current or previous partner since the age of 15 and one in five women (and one in twenty men) have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
Despite how common FDV is in Australia there is still shame and stigma and fear of judgement so we don’t talk about it and if we do then people don’t know what to say or where to look. This is the second part of our episode focusing on family and domestic violence and sexual violence.
Names have been changed to protect identities. Issues discussed in this episode are of a sensitive nature and may provoke emotional responses, support phone numbers have been included at the end of the show notes.
In the first part of this episode I spoke with Cassie about her experiences with FDV, sexual violence and we left Cassie’s story with her leaving that relationship. In this episode we talk about the court system, the support of a refuge, relationships after leaving an FDV relationship. Cassie doesn’t hold back and shares so many of her experiences and learnings.
I want to again say a big thank you to Cassie for sharing so openly in this no holds barred conversation.
You don’t know who needs to hear this and know they aren’t alone. Please share this episode so that they can know there is support available!
If you are looking for support for family and domestic violence or sexual violence here are some supports:
Women’s Domestic Violence Helpline: 1800 007 339
Men’s Domestic Violence Helpline: 1800 000 599
Sexua assault resource centre: 1800 199 888
1800 respect: 1800 77 732
Crisis care: 1800 199 008
Lifeline: 131114
Kids Help Line: 1800 551 800
Financial counselling Australia: 1800 007 007
The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested.
And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au
Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices
We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ
WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws
Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/