Kylie: [00:00:00] Welcome back to episode of the Hormone Hub Podcast, where we talk all things perimenopause, menopause, and have the conversations no one else is having. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode. 

Hello. Hello everyone. And welcome to the Hormone Hub podcast. I’m your host, Kylie Pinwill. And today it’s going to be a great conversation on lots of levels. So we have Christine Innis as our guest today. And Christine’s a visionary entrepreneur, storyteller, and the CEO and founder of the Corporate Escapists, which I encourage you all to check out.

I saw the first edition that I’ve seen you know, came across my desk after I’d met up with Christine and yeah, highly recommend everyone looking that up. We’ll put all the details in the show notes as well, but diving into that. So the Corporate Escapist is a renowned media company that harnesses the power of storytelling to help entrepreneurs attract their [00:01:00] clients.

Now with a deep understanding of the profound impact stories have on human connection and also consumer behavior, Christine’s revolutionised the way entrepreneurs communicate and so their products and services And today we are actually talking stories, but we are talking real life stories and we’re going to talk. So Christine and I connected, I think, initially through, entrepreneurs and we connected on that level, but then we had a deeper conversation about hormones as you do. We got on to, Christine’s experience with endometriosis and her own journey through perimenopause and menopause. So we are going to dive into that today because it is quite the story. So welcome, Christine. It’s amazing to have you here and yeah, welcome to the Hormone Hub.

Christine: Thank you, beautiful. I’m so excited to be here. 

Kylie: Yeah. So give us a bit about your background because yeah, it’s very interesting. [00:02:00] 

Christine: Yeah. Like where to start. So I was a young mom, so I was 19 when I had my son. So it was like two weeks before my 20th birthday. So it was like the best birthday present ever.

But I literally six months beforehand got told I could never have children. The likelihood was like and I remember the doctor calling me up going, Oh, you need to come in and bring your husband in you know, something’s come up in the test results and I’m thinking, Oh my goodness, like something’s wrong.

And then she sat down going, Oh, look, I’m really sorry. We’ve made a mistake, but you’re pregnant. I’m like, okay, no worries. Like, wait, let’s deal with that. Prior to that, like the word endometriosis actually never even came across because I had had so many tests, seen so many specialists because I had painful periods, you know, like intercourse, like all that sort of stuff, which was like really difficult.

But back then, like I’m talking, this is the nineties, so it actually wasn’t even talked about or even suggested that’s what you had. [00:03:00] So my journey started from like I, a complete unknown to now understanding like what I have my endometriosis has developed to it’s adhered to the bowel. And you know, like now going through the process whether or not I have a hysterectomy like with it.

So the journey’s been really long with it. But it has, I guess in a way. made me realize that as women, like we need to listen to our bodies so much more. And like, when we know something’s not right, we know something’s not right. So it’s been like that process has been. Quite a journey for me. And then obviously you incorporate, you know, career, you incorporate being an entrepreneur, you incorporate now being a grandma, like all that sort of stuff into it.

Like it is been a crazy whirlwind ride. 

Kylie: Yeah. Yeah. I bet. And that’s the thing, like back in the nineties, like there was no talk of endometriosis, and I sort of [00:04:00] speak to a lot of women and they look back at their early experiences. So as a teenager, when their period started and because their mom had had the same, and because their aunties had had the same, and because their sister had had the same, it was kind of, just never questioned whether this was, okay, whether this was normal.

It was just these groups of women just sort of like put up with this pain every month. You know, when you think of it now and like, even now, like it can still take women years to get diagnosed as well. So, so what did it, what did it look like for you in sort of your, like your teenage years?

Christine: Yeah, I started my cycle really late. So I was like, you know, late 15. Yeah. So it was different and nobody in my family had any issues with their cycle. So when I started saying, Oh, it’s so painful. Like I would some days like need to be in bed or you would need to change like every hour or so.

[00:05:00] Like none of that was common for my family.. Yeah. So it was almost like going, Oh, you know, stop worrying about it. Like we all have it, you know it wasn’t, yeah, because talking about your cycle actually was not common back then. (Kylie) Not at all. Either. No, it was really an interesting time. And it took me until my late 20s for the doctor to actually let me know that you have endometriosis.

And then I was also diagnosed with PCOS as well. 

Kylie: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that’s it. We weren’t talking about our periods with our friends either. So you couldn’t even sort of benchmark yourself against what all your girlfriends were experiencing either. Which is such a shame. And I love the fact that, my daughter and her friends, like they’re having the conversations now and it’s normalised so much more.

So how did that impact you at work? Because it’s hard when you’ve got something going on in the background that [00:06:00] you can’t talk about. 

Christine: Yeah. Look, there was days where I couldn’t even go to work. You know, I didn’t realise the other effects.

So it’s not just like a heavy cycle. It is, you know, the fatigue, which I still suffer from. It’s the tiredness, it’s the moods, like there’s so much more to it. That, you know, I wasn’t aware of, so I was wondering, why am I so tired all the time, you know, my iron levels were fine. Like, you know, the doctors were like, Oh, we’re adjusting your head.

Like, you know, get over it. You’ll be fine. Yeah. So, you know, there were days that, you know, I would, you know, need to be in bed because I was in crippling pain with it as well. And you know, I was, you know, even early on, I’d always climb that corporate ladder. So I was working in management, you know, pretty much right from the get go.

So, you know, not this working from home was ever [00:07:00] mentioned back then. So if you had a day off, you then needed to really put in the hours afterwards to sort of make up for your day off. 

Kylie: Yes, yes. So there’s that continual sort of catch up and and also to like not wanting to look incompetent or not wanting to look, you know, that. Despite the fact that, you know, you’ve got a debilitating chronic condition going on in the background. So yeah. All right. And then, so where is it now? So now that you’re on your sort of perimenopause journey, how’s it sort of impacting like month to month, day to day now? 

Christine: Look, I made the decision to go down the route of having the depo injection just to stop it all because it was so painful.

And I, I was already at that stage where I didn’t want to have any more children. Like I’d already made that decision. My son’s all grown up. As I said, I’ve got grandkids, so like I was done and dusted. So I was. 

Kylie: I say that blew me away when Christine [00:08:00] said grandkids, cause I, you know, like looking at her on zoom, she looks about 30 years old.

I’m like, what? You’ve got grandchildren. 

Christine: Yeah. Amazing. Thank you. But yeah, so like that was a decision that I made and I made it because, you know, it was just affecting so many different things of my life. But in saying that I still have. Like the fatigue, I still have, you know, the, the imbalance, I guess, like with your moods can go up and down as well.

And you can have, you still have a flare up regardless of whether or not you’re still having a cycle and. It’s really interesting that we’re having it now because I’m having a flare up like this week because I am like extremely tired, you know, need to sleep, all that sort of stuff. 

Kylie: And that’s the thing, like you can still, our bodies still are cyclical, like regardless.

So even post menopause, we’re still cyclical. So, we have that, you know we think, [00:09:00] break it down. We’ve got that blood sugar. cycle. So we eat, our insulin’s released, everything comes down again. We’ve got our 24 hour circadian rhythm. So, we wake up, we go to sleep, ideally, in that cycle.

And we still have our, full weekly cycle regardless, we’re not robots. And I think, this is something, I think we need to be having more conversations about is we, we don’t have an even hormonal platform. We’ve got cortisol, we’ve got insulin, we’ve got melatonin, we’ve got, you know, all of these things, as well as our estrogen and progesterone that are regulating these cycles within our bodies.

So yeah, so a hundred percent, there’s, there’s still a cycle. 

Christine: Yeah. Yeah. And I feel it. I really, you know, the, the low energy is probably the biggest thing for me. And with having the PCOS, I, I will still sometimes get assist and you can feel it when it bursts. Like I know I’ve really learned to listen to my body and to know [00:10:00] when it’s not.

at the optimum that it could be as well. 

Kylie: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And you know, well done. And I think sometimes we’re forced into having that awareness of our body. And I think the more you’re impacted, you know, for the best part of your life, really, the more you’re impacted by your hormones and your cycle, the more you tend to be in tune with it.

Whereas, you know, it’s, I think it’s such a shame that we’re not taught. And again, I hope that’s something that’s changing, that we’re taught how to tune into those cycles. So also too, we can give ourselves a bit of slack and be sort of kind to ourselves and go, you know what? There’s a period where it’s okay to sit on the couch and watch Netflix and not read through.

And then throughout our cycle, we are going to be more productive, more creative, more energised to do interviews and, connect and create and build our businesses. And then there’s days where it’s just a solid no. [00:11:00] And I think listening in and tuning into that will do us all a lot of favours.

Christine: Certainly does. And I think the biggest thing is like, you just need to be kind to yourself. And that took me a long time because it was, you know, You’re going for this career, like you’re building that, like you’re, you’re a young mom, you’ve got to do it all and yet you’ve got all these other things happening, which I didn’t know about to really understand.

So you just kept pushing through it. And I don’t know whether or not the pushing through. you know, helped it or hindered the process later down the track. 

Kylie: Yeah, absolutely. And that’s it. We were taught to soldier on and push through. But yeah, at the end of the day, it doesn’t do us any favours by any means.

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Kylie: Okay. Now, so what’s sort of next in your, your journey? What’s the next step for you in terms of your hormones and? 

Christine: Oh, perimenopause, what a journey that is.

Oh, it’s really interesting. I was saying to you that like, I could feel all these different things not [00:13:00] happening. I’m waking up multiple times during the night. You know, I would wake up in a pool of sweat. I’d literally like my dog sleeps next to me and I have to push her away. Cause I’m just like, Oh, I just.

You know, so thank goodness I don’t have a partner at the moment. Cause I’d be like, get away from me, like move away. And it is like, I know the thinning of the hair, like there’s all these things that are happening. And then I went to the doctor and I said, look, this is what’s happening. And they did the blood test and she goes, Oh, only one of your hormones is slightly changed.

So I don’t think you’re going through it. And it’s really interesting. Like the doctor’s saying, Oh, I don’t think you’re going through it. However. My body, my natural instinct is telling me you are going through it and yeah, there’s changes happening and not to ignore it as well. So that’s the next fun thing to start to do.

Kylie: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, and that’s the thing, like it’s every woman will have a different experience. But I [00:14:00] think, the things that definitely show up are the fatigue, yeah, night sweats, sort of itchy skin for some women and, the brain fog as well. Which can be debilitating, like particularly, you know in the workplace.

And particularly if you are in a corporate job or are running your own business, you’ve got a team, you’ve got clients, you’ve also then got deal with, running a family at home and all the things that life throws at us as well. So yeah, fun time. So watch this space.

Christine: Exactly, exactly. So yeah, it’s, it’s like, it, it must, I must admit, like, Learning more about my body has really made me be more aware, like to just go, well, just because the doctor say one thing, you know, your body, so you really need to either push back on it or to just you know, look at alternatives or sometimes it may not be the right doctor to actually see as well, because then that might not be their specialty for them to understand. And that’s really what I learned with endometriosis. It took me quite a few [00:15:00] specialists to find a really great specialist and for him to go, okay, well, we’re going to go in, we’re going to remove the endometriosis. And I had that done multiple times, but then he even said to me, he goes, look, I can go in and remove it, but now you’re getting the scar tissue.

You’re, you know, it’s adhering to your bowel. So. It’s actually going to do more damage for me to go in. So, having a doctor who actually says that to you, that’s really what you need to find, opposed to someone just going, Oh, we’ll just go in and do that. You’ll be right. 

Kylie: Yeah. And that’s it. And that’s, you know, like you sort of hear the term, you know, surgeons like surgery.

So, you know, but it’s also finding someone who will look at you objectively and sort of say, actually, it’s not going to be in your favor. Yes. Definitely. So what sort of things do you do to help you sort of navigate some of the changes with perimenopause? 

Christine: Coffee. [00:16:00] That’s it. 

Kylie: Amen, sister. 

Christine: It really, the biggest thing for me is that if I need to have a nap during the day, I will have a nap. And, I now just say I need my nanny naps. Like I just need to have like 20 minutes just to sort of sit down and recharge because yet, like you were saying, like the brain fog, like I, You know, I will get the certain period peaks during the day where I’m like really on point and I know that is my optimum time to work.

But if I need to, you know, in the afternoons have some downtime or, you know, just get fresh air. That I find is probably the, the, the most things that I’m sort of listening to like going, I can’t keep pushing through anymore. My body just does not allow it to do. And even if you push through and you think, Oh, I’m just going to make myself super tired.

You’re going to have a good night’s sleep. You don’t actually have a. Sleep as well. [00:17:00] So it’s literally like calming the brain down as well. That’s probably one of the biggest things for me. And yeah, just really listening, like to the times where my body is at the peak and knowing that I’m going to be able to work like Sunday, I took the whole day off and I, I very rarely do that, but I just knew that I needed to rest. I just needed to, you know, lay down, rest, take it nice and gentle throughout the day. Because if I didn’t, there’s like a snowball effect that would have happened during the week as well. 

Kylie: Yeah. Yeah. A hundred percent. 100%. Look, this has been great.

And yeah, I would, because I love it so much. Can you like, we’re going totally off tangent here. So give us a little sort of insight into the Corporate Escapists. 

Christine: The Corporate Escapist all started so I had my not so gracious exit back in 2015. So I, like I said, I was climbing that corporate ladder and I was diagnosed with two life changing illnesses within that year.[00:18:00] 

So I was diagnosed with adult asthma and also a heart condition within 10 days of each other. I then realised I was in a toxic marriage and left that marriage and also had to file for bankruptcy all within that year. So it’s. Now I see it as the absolute best thing that happened to me, but going through it at the time I had what I call my pity party for the next couple of years, which is the poor me, why me, everything’s happening to me.

But learning about the fact that the key thing was the identity. I was so attached to my job title because I had worked since I was, I mean, I was 14 doing part time at school. I graduated grade 12 at 16. I literally went straight into corporate. And then, you know, I had very high, you know, demand jobs and in management.

So after 20, yeah, well, you know, well, he was all grown up when this all happened. Thank goodness. He was like 17 when it happened. So that was a blessing in disguise. [00:19:00] So, you know, I didn’t have to, I literally could literally just focus on myself. Yeah. With, you know, healing, but it’s, it made me realise that I didn’t know who I was without my job title.

And during those few years, I really, it was because if somebody asked me a question, I’d been living interstate for about 10 years, I come back, same family. And the question was, well, what are you doing now? I could not answer it because. I didn’t have a job and it was the first time I, like I had three months off when I had my son and went back to work full time.

So I’d never not worked and not to have had a job. It’s made me realise I didn’t know who I was and I was blessed to have time to be able to work out who I was, what I wanted to be. All the things that I wanted to do and then went on a huge personal development journey and then people started to notice [00:20:00] and I started in networking groups and this girl just asked me, can I interview you?

And I said, yes. And first time I’ve ever been interviewed and sweat was pouring off me everywhere because I was so nervous. And that actually birthed the corporate escapers because I had people reach out to me, say, You inspire me to share my story. And then we started talking about the power of owning your story and learning to use your story and you don’t need to share it with the world like I do.

But it’s more the fact that when you own your story, you take away the shame and guilt that you’ve been living with with anything that’s been happening with and the shame and guilt. actually allows your body to heal. So I was able to heal my heart condition. The doctors now say, Oh, you never had it in the first place, but you know, you know how that you’ve been able to heal it.

And there’s so many different things that have happened and I learned the [00:21:00] power of stories and been able to turn that into a global company and get to work with people all around the world to show them how not only to own their story personally through coaching, but also business owners in why you need to be sharing your why for you to attract your ideal clients.

Kylie: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that’s, that’s so important because at some point we’ve all had you know, what we deem to be a failure, but it’s not really a failure, but with that comes the shame and the guilt of, you know, we hang on to that failure, but it’s when you take a step back and you go, actually, I’ve done some pretty amazing things as well.

So and I think, it comes back, I guess, from childhood conditioning of that, we’re not good enough. We’re not enough. We’re not, smart enough, pretty enough, fast enough, thin enough, whatever it is. You know, and it’s just that, that perpetual sort of story that we tell ourselves. And, you know, whereas, I listened to your story and I just go, Oh my God, that’s amazing.

[00:22:00] And I think when we hear each other’s stories, and I think that’s what you do so beautifully through the corporate escapist is, you know, hearing other women’s stories. And it’s like, Oh my God, yeah. She went through that and she’s amazing, you know, she went through that. She’s amazing. And yeah, I just, yeah, love.

I went totally down the rabbit hole.

Christine: Thank you. 

Kylie: And I highly recommend it to yeah. Anyone who’s looking for a bit of inspiration and is a bit over what’s on TV right now, go, go and read this. It’s a really, really good and I think it sort of normalizes what we all live through, because it’s, it’s all, telling the story of our lived experiences.

So yeah, no, amazing. Thank you, Christine. 

Christine: so much. This has been such a beautiful conversation and I just, you know, I know the power of stories, but also, you know, just normalizing. You know, these conversations as well because like, as women, we need to start to come together [00:23:00] again and start talking about it.

Kylie: Yeah, absolutely. And you know, I’m holding great hopes for the next generation because I think they have, I think we’re better at it now. But they certainly are getting a better start than we ever did for sure. Absolutely. All right. Well, it has been wonderful having you on the Hormone Hub. Thank you so much.

And yeah, we’ll put Christine’s details and the details of the Corporate Escapists in the show notes. All right, everyone. Thanks for listening. Thank you, Christine, for being a fabulous guest. Thank you. And we’ll see you in the next episode. 

 Thank you for taking the time to listen today. You can head on over to the show notes at kyliepinwill.com/podcast where you’ll find all the links. Now, before we go, it would mean the world to me if you’d head on over to your favorite podcast channel, subscribe and leave a review. Don’t forget to share it with your friends.

Then stay tuned for next week’s episode and I can’t wait to see you [00:24:00] then.