EPISODE LINK
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EPISODE SUMMARY:
From an award-winning journalist to a best-selling author and motivational speaker, Joan Lunden is a woman whose incredible and extensive career path has made her one of America’s most recognized and trusted personalities. In today’s episode, we sat down with Joan to discuss the stigmas surrounding menopausal symptoms, stress urinary incontinence, symptoms midlife women are scared to talk about, and more.
First, we spoke to Joan about recent conversations she’s had surrounding how women’s’ bodies change in midlife. She told us that through writing her most recent book, Why Did I Come into This Room, she realized how so many women go through similar issues as they age. For example, Joan included a chapter in her book discussing leaky bladders. After the book was published, numerous women approached her thanking her for discussing a topic they themselves were often too embarrassed to bring up to others or even their doctors. Joan attributed the embarrassment and stigmas surrounding discussing certain midlife and menopausal symptoms to how we experience them. When a midlife woman’s body starts changing, she often feels alone in her experience, like she’s the only person in the world going through it. By starting conversations surrounding midlife experiences, women will start to feel less isolated and more confident in sharing their issues. Joan herself has found empowerment in sharing her own experiences and interacting with her followers who have faced similar struggles on social media. Another aspect of midlife Joan mentioned that isn’t discussed enough is what happens to our brains as we age. She brought up a cognitive test that entails giving a person ten words to memorize, distracting them with other things, and then asking them what the ten words were at the end of the test. Women are inherently good multitaskers, for they live off to-do lists and routine, so they often do well at this test. Men fail the test more often. The problem with this is that because men are failing more, they’re given a diagnosis and help earlier. Women who are used to multitasking pass the test but may still be experiencing cognitive issues and won’t receive a diagnosis and help until later.
When discussing leaky bladders in midlife, Joan brought up stress urinary incontinence. Stress urinary incontinence occurs when the muscle that runs from the front of the pubic bone to the rectum begins to weaken. As a result, pressure of any kind, such as coughing, laughing, or sneezing, causes bladder leakage. Stress urinary incontinence can be caused by a myriad of things, from aging to pregnancy to having allergies or asthma that causes excessive amounts of coughing. Stress urinary incontinence happens to most women, and when looking for solutions, Joan stumbled upon Innovo. Innovo is a company that created a pelvic floor trainer designed to help improve bladder leakage. Innovo’s pelvic floor trainer looks like a pair of spandex shorts, but it has technology woven into the fabric that, when worn for 30-minute intervals five days a week, will give you 180 perfect kegels. Innovo uses hip sizes to measure the perfect fit and can be purchased through their website, myinnovo.com.
Finally, we talked to Joan about the midlife issues people are hesitant to discuss. She talked about how things such as leaky bladders are finally starting to be brought up, issues concerning vaginal health are still not discussed enough. Many women don’t learn about or are unaware of what happens to their vagina as they age, and they’re completely taken off guard when they begin experiencing vaginal dryness, their bladder dropping, or loss of vaginal elasticity. By bringing up these issues more, especially with gynecologists, women can receive the information and resources they need to help improve their symptoms. For example, Joan mentioned how vibrators can help improve vaginal walls by creating stimulation of the blood vessels in the vagina.
Joan Lunden
An award-winning journalist, best-selling author, television host, and motivational speaker, Joan Lunden has been a trusted voice in American homes for more than 40 years. For nearly two decades, Lunden greeted viewers each morning on Good Morning America making her the longest running female host ever on early morning television.
Lunden continues to be one of America’s most recognized and trusted personalities which has made her a sought-after speaker for events across the country. As an ardent health & senior advocate, Lunden has testified before the Food and Drug Administration advocating for mandatory mammogram reporting and the Congressional House Ways and Means Committee advocating for the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Lunden is the host of the PBS television series Second Opinion with Joan Lunden and the Washington Post podcast series Caring for Tomorrow that focuses on the future of healthcare. Lunden is also the ambassador to the Poynter Institute’s MediaWise for Seniors program which educates individuals over 50 on media literacy – separating fact from fiction online.
As part of the sandwich generation, Lunden’s demographic is far-reaching. She is a mother of 7 including two sets of teenage twins. Like many boomers in America, she has juggled being a working mom while caring for an aging parent and brings this experience to her role as an active advocate for seniors.
One of the most visible women in America, Lunden has graced the covers of more than 60 magazines and book covers. Lunden’s newest book, Why Did I Come into This Room: A Candid Conversation About Aging, quickly became a New York Times Bestseller.
In June of 2014, Lunden was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. An eternal optimist, she turned her diagnosis into an opportunity to become an advocate and help others. She chronicled her experience in her memoir Had I Known. Lunden continues to interact with Americans daily on her website, joanlunden.com, as well as her social media platforms. Lunden has served as a national spokesperson for various organizations such as the American Heart Association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, American Lung Association, American Red Cross, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Colon Cancer Alliance.
Joan Lunden’s books include Why Did I Come into This Room: A Candid Conversation About Aging, Had I known, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregiving, Growing Up Healthy: Protecting Your Child from Diseases Now Through Adulthood, Wake-Up Calls, A Bend in the Road is Not the End of the Road, Joan Lunden’s Healthy Living, Joan Lunden’s Healthy Cooking, Mother’s Minutes, Your Newborn Baby, and Good Morning, I’m Joan Lunden.
In this episode, we discuss…
- [0:01] Introduction
- [3:27] Start of Interview
- [9:27] The Stigmas Surrounding Menopausal Symptoms
- [15:22] Stress Urinary Incontinence
- [31:13] Symptoms Women are Scared to Talk About
- [35:43] Closing Thoughts
- [37:13] Outro
Useful Resources:
Joan’s Website I [https://joanlunden.com/]
Joan’s LinkedIn I [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanlunden/]
Joan’s Facebook I [
]
Joan’s Instagram I [https://www.instagram.com/joanlunden/]
Joan’s Twitter I [https://twitter.com/JoanLunden]
Joan’s YouTube Channel I [
]
Joan’s Pinterest I [https://www.pinterest.com/joanlunden/]
Innovo Pelvic Floor Trainer
Joan’s Books
Why Did I Come into This Room? I [https://www.amazon.com/Why-Come-into-This-Room/dp/1948677296]
Had I Known I [https://www.amazon.com/Had-I-Known-Memoir-Survival-ebook/dp/B00RLVDG3Y?ref_=ast_author_dp]
Chicken Soup for the Soul I [https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Soup-Soul-Caregivers-Sacrifice-ebook/dp/B006D8UD4G?ref_=ast_author_dp]
A Bend in the Road is Not the End of the Road I [https://www.amazon.com/Joan-Lundens-Bend-Road-Not/dp/0688160832?ref_=ast_author_dp]
Wake-Up Calls I [https://www.amazon.com/Wake-Up-Calls-Making-Regardless/dp/007136126X?ref_=ast_author_dp]
Joan Lunden’s Healthy Cooking I [https://www.amazon.com/Joan-Lundens-Healthy-Cooking-Lunden/dp/0316535885?ref_=ast_author_dp]
Joan Lunden’s Healthy Living I [https://www.amazon.com/Joan-Lundens-Healthy-Living-Inspirational/dp/0609802054?ref_=ast_author_dp]
Good Morning, I’m Joan Lunden I [https://www.amazon.com/Good-Morning-Im-Joan-Lunden/dp/0399131264?ref_=ast_author_dp]
Growing Up Healthy I [https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Up-Healthy-Protecting-Adulthood/dp/0743486145?ref_=ast_author_dp]
USE CODE “HOTFLASHES200” OR CLICK THE LINK HERE TO GET $200 OFF YOUR INNOVO KIT ORDER AT myinnovo.com !
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