Lost Words, Oven Chips, and Menopause Mischief

Ever had one of those moments where your brain quietly packs a suitcase, leaves the building, and forgets to tell you it’s going on holiday?

Well, here’s mine.The photo? A saucepan. Filled with oven chips. Not a quirky new recipe, just menopausal brain fog at its finest.

Somewhere between the freezer and the oven, my mind simply... rebooted. The baking tray sat there, barely out of frame, giving me the kind of silent side-eye only inanimate objects specialise in.

And it’s not just the chips. I’ve found myself forgetting names of people I adore, pausing mid-sentence as if waiting for autocorrect to kick in, or explaining "you know... the thing... the wooden cupboard… where clothes sleep?" because the word wardrobe has apparently left the chat.

Menopausal brain fog: it’s funny, frustrating, and occasionally terrifying, like misplacing your phone while you’re actually talking on it. It has a knack for making even the most competent among us feel like we’re running on yesterday’s software.

Dr Louise Newson, physician, women’s hormone specialist, and member of the UK Government’s Menopause Taskforce, puts it perfectly: "There is no silver bullet for treating brain fog but, like with other menopause symptoms, you can help to manage it by looking at your lifestyle and making any necessary adjustments."

So maybe it’s about being softer with ourselves. Slowing down. Taking the pressure off. And remembering that forgetting a name or baking chips in a saucepan doesn’t mean we’re losing the plot, just navigating a new chapter.

👉 Read more on Dr Newson’s website: How to Beat Menopausal Brain Fog

Photo credit goes to my husband, who insisted this was blog-worthy, proving that even in midlife, we can all find a moment worth framing (even if it involves a saucepan).