Talking Menopause in a Hospital Corridor...

Last Tuesday we packed up the laptops and spent the day at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin. Alongside the Health Improvement Team, Walk Moray, the Community Pharmacy crew and our own Midlife Mingle, we talked about menopause and mental health.

At first it felt like any other awareness day: tables, posters, a steady flow of people. But once the conversations started, the energy changed. Questions led to stories; stories led to nods of recognition. It reminded me how powerful it can be to talk about menopause openly and without the polite filter.

Why these moments matter

Women’s health still gets treated as a series of symptoms to manage rather than a stage of life to understand. In rural areas especially, the practical support and emotional space to talk can be hard to find. That’s why events like this count. They turn information into connection.

A few lighter moments helped too. Kids left with mini stickers, and thanks to our friends at Stickers4, the Children’s Ward gained a some foxes and stags for its walls. Small things, but they lift a place.

Joining the dots

For us, this isn’t a one-off. It’s part of a wider effort to join the dots between mental health, menopause and everyday wellbeing. Through Midlife Mingle, we run open sessions where women can talk, learn and compare notes without judgement. Every time, the message is the same: it helps just to talk.

What funds it

Every card Brilliantly Brave sells helps fund this kind of real-world wellbeing work, from Midlife Mingles to Mental Health First Aid training across Scotland. It’s a small, circular model: creativity funding care, one card at a time.

That means the person who bought a birthday card in Inverness helped make someone train as a mental health first aider. The person who picked up a “Thinking of You” card in Cornwall contributed to coaching in Elgin.

Every smile, every chat, every sticker on a wall, they’re all tiny returns on that shared investment in community wellbeing.

The takeaway

Talking about menopause in a public corridor shouldn’t feel unusual.
When it does happen, though, it changes the tone of the day and, sometimes, the week.

Thanks to everyone who stopped for a chat or picked up a card. You helped make the subject visible, and that’s the first step towards real care.

About Brilliantly Brave

Brilliantly Brave is a purpose-driven greeting card publisher based in Moray, Scotland. Founded in 2024, the business creates beautifully designed cards that celebrate diversity, promote mental wellbeing, and directly fund community mental health initiatives. By channelling 100% of profits into local support services, we're pioneering a new model of social enterprise that proves commercial success and social impact can go hand in hand.