Dr Helen Wall is an NHS GP and public health leader, with over 25 years of experience in medicine. She runs an NHS menopause clinic and has years of experience advocating for women. For our weekly series Life Lessons, she shares her own daily habits that are informed by her research and experience in the field.
Being a GP has taught me to be comfortable with risk
As a GP, I’ve become much better at dealing with risk in everyday life. I was a shy child, no good with uncertainty. But when your job is to constantly assimilate lots of information, work out what is inconsequential and what might cause serious harm, it becomes a part of who you are. Having to make rapid decisions about people’s lives based on short snippets of information makes you more confident in dealing with the wider uncertainties of life. I’m much less inclined to focus too long on specific decisions and I’ve become skilled at weighing up the potential consequences, giving me more confidence in everyday life.
I do every health screening possible
One of the key things I always follow through on is screenings. Cervical screening, breast screening, prostate screening: if I’m offered a preventative test, I always do it. I’ve seen so many people over the years who’ve had the trauma of cancer – my mum had breast cancer – so I have an annual mammogram because of genetic risk.
It’s the same for vaccinations, too. All my children are vaccinated with every childhood immunisation and I’ve had all immunisations I’ve been eligible for through the NHS.
I’m not saying I’m the first in line – for example, I recently had my cervical smear screening a couple of months overdue. I’m a human, I’ve got three children, I work full time, I can totally understand that life gets in the way, but just don’t leave it.
Being outdoors (and with my rabbit) is how I manage my stress
The one thing I can honestly say I practice what I preach is when it comes to getting out for a walk every day. Even if it’s just for that fresh air and to give you that bit of headspace, rather than for exercise. I’ve learned over the years that I can get a lot of back pain and leg pain from long days sitting at a desk. It feels like a pressure cooker, really, and a 20-minute walk around the block really does help. It is very much linked to good sleep, too.
I enjoy being outside in nature. In summer, you’ll find me outside gardening, because that’s my release. I have a rabbit in a huge coop outside and quite often I’ll just go and sit with them. The kids regularly find me in that rabbit pen, having a moment.
Strength training has been transformative
The gym and weight training also helps me with stress. Part of that is what I’ve learned through being a menopause specialist is the benefit of building muscle and bone health as we approach older age. It’s been three years since I added strength training back into my routine. I went to the gym most days when I was 18-19 – until I became a doctor. I was doing long shifts – seven days back to back, a lot of night shifts – and had children soon after that. It was during perimenopause that I decided I needed to get a grip on things, and try and mitigate the bone and muscle changes.
I don’t judge patients for falling for supplements – I did, too
I think this is a huge area of apprehension for patients, particularly for women in their forties who are perimenopausal and vulnerable to being sucked into marketing. It’s a bit of a bugbear of mine, but I’ll hold my hands up: I got sucked into it too. I bought a range of supplements when I first realised I was probably becoming perimenopausal.
My sleep was suffering a bit at that time, my brain was feeling foggy, and I was constantly tired and achy. I wasn’t feeling myself, like most women as they hit perimenopause, and I was struggling to get my own GP to prescribe HRT for me. They felt I wasn’t at the age where I could be asking for HRT, so I was a bit desperate to feel better.
I started taking supplements advertised as “hormone balancing”, but I didn’t really feel any better. After a while, I actually looked at what the evidence was for some of the herbs and discovered there wasn’t much. In fact, some of the herbs in the supplements weaken estrogen activity. As a doctor, you might think I should have done that first, but I wasn’t buying these as a doctor; I was buying these as a perimenopausal, 40-odd, tired working mum of three trying to survive. In the end, I came off those supplements and saw a menopause specialist, went on HRT, and felt miles better.
I never berate a patient for turning to supplements, but I don’t recommend them because we don’t have the medical evidence to back up their claims. There’s a huge difference between products, in terms of purity, too.
Red meat isn’t worth the risk
Nutritionwise, I try to keep it colourful. One thing I definitely don’t do is overeat red meat because of the linked risks of bowel cancer and heart disease. I have a lot of chicken and fish, and try to have at least some fruit and veg every day. But I also eat a lot of chocolate!
When you’re constantly seeing people that are not in the best of health, as a GP, it does seed in your subconscious that you need to try and eat the best you can, and make the best decisions possible.
If I didn’t pay for a gym membership, I’d never exercise
I’m not saying everybody needs a gym membership to be healthy, but I know if I’m a member of a gym I will go. When I stopped going to the gym, there were numerous times I bought weights for home and just left them in the garage. I’d use them for two days and never pick them up again. Having that gym membership means I enjoy going more, taking that time for myself. I fail miserably each time without that structure.
I meditate every day
I’ve used a couple of apps for half an hour of mindfulness in the evening – it makes a massive difference to me. It shapes how you feel about the day you’ve had and the day you’re about to have. I’ve seen so many people over the years who’ve tried it and found it helpful. It was actually recommended to me by a GP colleague a few years ago who’d been off with a period of stress.
There are a lot of free audio meditations out there. I like the Headspace app, personally. It doesn’t have to be a set programme, it’s just giving yourself that time. It helps you get into a different mindset.
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