00:00Are you menopausal but ready to mingle? I'm Kate Taylor and I'm the dating coach
00:04for Our Time, a genuinely lovely online dating service for the over 50s and I
00:09have some good news and some exclusive dating tips to share. Our Time recently
00:14ran a campaign called Menopower which was all about discovering the effects
00:18that menopause had on women's experience of dating and relationships. We surveyed
00:24women from all over the UK and found some good news. 18% of women had more
00:28confidence during this life stage and nearly one in five women now feel able
00:33to focus on what they want for the first time. 23% of women feel more carefree and
00:39a quarter feel more comfortable in themselves since going through the
00:43menopause. If you're menopausal and ready to date I have five tips for you. Number
00:50one, keep a dating diary. The brilliant thing about online dating is you can meet
00:55a lot of people which means you have a lot of information to keep track of if
01:01things like brain fog and memory loss are getting to you. A dating diary is great
01:06for keeping track of your dates and the kind of thing that each person is
01:09interested in but it will also give you a bird's eye view of the relationship. We
01:15can get slightly irrational and emotional, I certainly have, during this stage of our
01:19lives and the dating diary will help you see a calm and logical pattern of a
01:24relationship over time. So you can work out if maybe you're just being a bit more
01:28insecure than you normally are. Number two, exercise. That is the only thing that is
01:36going to keep the menopausal rage under control. The reason we get so angry out of
01:42the blue during menopause is our cortisol level, our stress hormone, can go berserk.
01:47The best way to get cortisol under control is exercise. So go dancing on your dates or hit
01:53the gym before a date or just enjoy lots of sex. Number three, try online dating. If
02:01you're struggling to get out there and meet people with everything else you've got going
02:05on, online dating is a really good way to fit romance into your week. Number four, but
02:11if you're someone who'd rather meet someone face to face, dating sites like Our Time also
02:16holds singles events like wine tasting and cookery lessons so you can get to meet people in person.
02:22When I've gone along to Our Time dating events, I've noticed that the crowd that goes along to
02:27things like this are a lovely, extroverted, outgoing crowd. So if that's the sort of person
02:31you're looking to meet, a singles night is definitely the theme for you. And lastly, don't
02:38try and hide your symptoms. Just be honest about everything you're going through. If you're
02:44on a date and you get a bit of a menopausal hot flush going, don't try and hide it and
02:48pretend
02:49everything's fine. Just say, feeling a bit menopausal, quite warm in here. Do you mind
02:54if we just go and sit outside? The more open you are about what you're going through, the
02:58more your partners will understand. And if you've ever thought about doing online dating,
03:03sign up. Just try it. Just give it a go. Who knows? It could be your time now.
03:08Now.
03:08Now,
03:08now.
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