← Rena Malik, MD Podcast
Rena Malik, MD Podcast
Is Your Libido Slowly Fading During Menopause? ft. Tamsen Fadal
00:33:48
In this episode, Dr. Rena Malik is joined by Tamsen Fadal to explore the nuances of menopause and its effects on women's personal and professional lives. They discuss the importance of support systems in the workplace, communication in relationships, and navigating changes in intimacy. Tamsen offers insights from her personal experiences, providing listeners with practical advice on supporting women during this transformative period.
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- [00:00]
Tamsin Fadal
We've done a couple of things. We've made menopause seem like it's this old woman issue and it's not. You know, if you're in your late 30s, you can start looking for some of these symptoms to possibly happen. It's pretty basic. It's hormone fluctuation, it's a roller coaster, it's chaos of your hormones. Maybe sex looks a little bit different during this time. Like it's okay after 22 years that you know, you're exploring with something different.
- [00:25]
Dr. Rena Malik
Welcome back to The Rena Malik, M.D. podcast, your source for evidence based information about your sexual health and more. I'm Dr. Rena Malik, your raw and pelvic surgeon. Today our guest is Tamsin Fadal. She is an Emmy award winning journalist, a documentary filmmaker of the documentary the M Factor and author of the new book how to Menopause. Today we had a wonderful conversation about what it is actually like to go through menopause as a working woman and how you can support women in the workplace and in relationships during this transition. We also talked about red flags in relationships and how to avoid staying staying in relationships that no longer serve you. Now, before I let you guys listen to this amazing conversation, I have one small ask. A lot of you listen to this podcast or watch this podcast on YouTube, but only a small percentage of you actually subscribe or follow the podcast. Now if you are liking what you are hearing, please make sure to do me this solid favor and subscribe or follow the podcast so you can get new episodes each and every week. We hope you enjoy.
- [01:29]
Tamsin Fadal
Thanks so much for having me.
- [01:31]
Dr. Rena Malik
Hamsen has been really open about her personal experience with menopause and how she noticed her first symptoms really impacting her when she was at work.
- [01:38]
Tamsin Fadal
It was November of 2019 actually, which it seems so long ago now, but I used to anchor the evening news. So I would do the news earlier in the day and then I'd do the news from 10 to 11 o'. Clock. And I had been looking back, I'd been having some issues. When I'd look at a word, I'd recognize a word, but I couldn't get the word out of my mouth. And I thought, well, it's stress, it's I'm tired, I didn't read my scripts enough. I had a bunch of different of those just excuses that particular night. I'd had that at the beginning of the newscast and then right around 10:30, halfway through the newscast, I was in a commercial break and I felt this tremendous heat, like, you know, from the core of my body up through my head and just kind of sweat break out everywhere. I really thought I was going to pass out. And my heart was kind of racing, where you could hear your heart heartbeat in your ear almost. And I said kind of jokingly, in a studio full of men, if I fall over, somebody catch me. And the sports guy turned and looked and said, hey, are you okay? You don't look okay, so why don't we get you off the set? And he really graciously led me off the set and I. And brought me to the women's bathroom. And he didn't know what to do with me. He was like, do I come in? Are you okay? I don't know what to do. And I went in. He left the door open. I just, like, really just dropped down to the floor. Just try to calm my body down because I didn't know if I was going to be sick or pass out. And I got up about 20 minutes later and I was fine and went home. First time, I didn't finish a newscast, which was weird for me. I knew. I decided, like, the following week and weeks after that, like, go see what's going on. I went to the gp, I did a physical. I went. You know, I went to. I told my. My therapist about it. She said, maybe we'll give you some Lexapro. And then finally I ended up with the ob gyn and I got my blood test back. And in my patient portal, I got a message in my portal that said, in menopause, any questions? And that's how I found out I was in menopause. I had no idea anything about perimenopause at the time. And that kind of really. That started me on a journey that I didn't know would ever lead me here.
- [03:29]
Dr. Rena Malik
Samson is clearly an accomplished and successful journalist with years of experience. And all of a sudden, she had this dramatic change that she couldn't make sen. And this is not a unique experience. All women go through changes during perimenopause, and while not everyone is bothered by their symptoms, many do and just attribute it to aging and suffer in silence. I then asked her how people, spouses, friends, employers can better support women through this transition.
- [03:54]
Tamsin Fadal
We say a billion women are going to be in menopause this year or are in menopause this year. And so many continue to come into this transition in life. And I just think that support, support in so many areas is important not just within our own home life, because you've got a sister or a wife or A mother or a friend or somebody going through it. So that's kind of in your personal relationships, but also in the workplace. I find that there's a reason really to support employees. So many women are at the height of their career. A lot of women are going to be in this transition for a long time. It doesn't start at 50 years old. And I think awareness of this overall across the board is going to be the most important thing we can do. And then we have to tackle it in some ways. Of these different areas in the doctor's office, when it comes to workplaces, when it comes to home life, when it comes to partners, there's a lot of different places. And I think that support comes in the. In a couple different ways. One, in education and two, and just not making fun of this transition because I think that's what we've seen for a long time. We've seen mockery and we've seen shame in this transition, and there should be none of it. It should just be something we. We go through. The support is there, we get to the other side, and we know it's going to be great. We do. We. We have evidence of seeing women just really thriving post menopause. I'm encouraged by the fact that we'll get there. As we continue to talk about it.
- [05:15]
Dr. Rena Malik
Clearly from a financial perspective, it makes sense to support employees through this transition. We know it's inevitable. And while it might affect performance for some period of time, if we don't support women in the long run, we risk losing valuable employees who have dedicated years to their career and have skills that are not easily replaceable.
- [05:35]
Tamsin Fadal
I think the most important thing is when we look at the cost of inaction, because I know that, you know, we've heard over time, business leaders kind of scoff at the idea of another set of benefits, especially when it's a. It's something we're. We're just really understanding and learning about. But there really is a cost of inaction with all this, and I think that that's important to note because these are workers that you don't want to replace. These are valuable workers. And I think that menopausal workplace support centered around women's health has got to. Got to be important. There's got to be the advocacy for it. And there's a couple of ways to do this. And some. Some don't really cost very much.
- [06:09]
Dr. Rena Malik
Some.
- [06:09]
Tamsin Fadal
Some don't have to be so costly. You know, I understand that there. It's a tight labor market. I understand that Given the makeup of the workforce that, you know, some people are like, what are we supposed to do? One listen to them. I think that that's very easy to do as an organizational leader. Organizations want to retain talent and enhance performance and motivation across all these different age groups. So I think listening to employees, whether it's via surveys, whether it's, you know, a you do that, discussing menopause symptoms with supervisor, making sure that there's somebody that they can do that with, that doesn't really cost. The cost is educating. And I think that that is low hanging fruit in terms of, you know, what we can do, figuring out if you are an employee going to an employer, how you think that any of these symptoms could affect your ability and then if there's anything that could be done to make it a little bit easier in the workplace. I was in Davos earlier this year and we talked to a large company that has factories all around the world. They changed their uniforms and it made a huge difference for women. They, they, they installed fans in different areas. It was very little cost to them, very huge benefit to the women. So, you know, I know we have all different kind of workplaces that we're talking about, but that's not a lot when it comes to be able to retain that talent. I'd also love to see, and I think this is going to take some time, but to build some kind of benefits and have some kind of benefits in place for these women. So they have places to. There are a number of organizations and companies that help deliver menopause support in the workplace through apps, one on one counseling, different kind of services. But that is one part of the puzzle to help with. And I'm encouraged that we're seeing more and more of those companies come forward to making it easier for organizations. And then I think when you talk about awareness within the organization, you want women to know that they can take advantage of these benefits so they know that they actually exist.
- [08:00]
Dr. Rena Malik
In Tamsen's book, she talks about the impact of perimenopause on her relationship.
- [08:05]
Samantha Christine
Hey guys, I'm Samantha Christine, host of the Empower podcast right here on the Pursuit Network. If you're into wellness that fits into real life with honest convos, workout tips that actually make sense, nutrition hacks that support your lifestyle, and a lot of encouragement to become your strongest self, you'll feel right at home on my show. Whether you're a busy mom in a season of rebuilding or just trying to stay consistent with the all or nothing mindset, the Empower podcast is for you. New episodes drop every Wednesday wherever you listen to podcasts. So come hang out. I'd love to have you.
- [08:34]
Dr. Rena Malik
At times, she felt like she was living with her roommate rather than her husband. And many women who are in partnered relationships actually notice that their sexual desire starts to decline. And this obviously is devastating to their partner and can be really challenging to bring up without inadvertently being perceived as being insensitive. So I asked Tamsyn what tips she had about communicating about these changes in intimacy and sex during this time.
- [09:00]
Tamsin Fadal
No woman wants to hear, like, is it your hormones again? Like, what's going on? Are you hormonal? No, no woman wants to hear that. But, you know, I think that there are a lot of ways to have these kind of conversations. I'm hopeful the more that we get this information out, the easier it's going to be for women and for men and for partners to have this kind of conversation. Because this is this normal transition we go through. We've made it so abnormal to talk about, which is, I think, you know, we've. We've done it such a disservice. So I know that we're going to get there, into this next place. But when it comes to having those conversations, being to be a little bit open about it and say, if. If you know, you're a partner, you're noticing your partner going through this, like, hey, some of these might be symptoms of, you know, this transition that's really a normal transition that can start in your 40s. We've done a couple of things. We've made menopause seem like it's this old woman issue, and it's not, you know, if you're in your late 30s, you can start looking for some of these symptoms to possibly happen. It's pretty basic. It's hormone fluctuation. It's a roller coaster, it's chaos of your hormones. So that doesn't mean that you're aged and you're old and you're forgotten and you're invisible. And unfortunately, we've attributed a lot to that, which is why I think we get offended by, you know, is it your hormones? So that's one is to be able to have that conversation a little openly. And I don't. I don't know many women now, and certainly not the ones that I've talked to, that would be anything but grateful for their partners to. To be able to have this conversation with them in a way that makes them feel supported and helped. And I've noticed that more than anything else, having a partner that understands what they're going through. So they don't feel like they have to hide, and they don't feel like they're insulting their partner. If they don't want to have sex or don't feel like having sex or don't want to be touched or cuddly, there's a reason for it. There's actually a scientific, real reason of things that are going on in our body. So I think being aware of that and then also understanding as the person going through menopause, some of the solutions available. I mean, that it's not something wrong with you in particular, and there are a lot of actual solutions that your partner can be a part of.
- [10:59]
Dr. Rena Malik
Habson herself started a new relationship around the time of perimenopause, and she shares her experience.
- [11:05]
Tamsin Fadal
I was actually with my then boyfriend, now husband, Ira, when I was in the airport, and I got that message in my patient portal that said, in menopause, any questions? And I was like, oh, my gosh, menopause. And I remember thinking to myself, like, what is this? What does this mean to. To us? And so, you know, it was a. It was a time I was. It changed some things. You know, it really did change some things from. Even from one year to the next. Like I told when we met, I totally, you know, was so sexual. And like, you know, we were meeting up at all these different places. It was so fun. And then, I don't know, a few years later, I'm like, don't come near me. So I was 50 when I got remarried and I was on my honeymoon, and I'm like, oh, I'm not really feeling like having sex, but it was really about open communication. And honestly, I don't know in my 30s that I could ever have the conversations I had in my 30s, late 40s, 50s with a partner. I think I would have felt a lot of shame wrapped around it. I think I would have felt like it made me less than. I didn't understand how much intimacy is actually built on communication. I mean, intimacy is not just what happens in the bedroom in the throes of sex. It's not just about that sex act. It's about the communication that has to take place. And quite frankly, I think it makes that intimacy so much stronger. And I have had so many men come up to me and say, how can I support my partner or my wife that makes me so excited, like, come up and proactively want to do that. So I know there are men out there that want to help. I know There are men out there that are encouraged by hearing this information, so they feel like they're not operating in the dark.
- [12:36]
Dr. Rena Malik
During the menopausal transition, not only does your libido sometimes take a nosedive, but there's also changes to the vulvar tissues themselves. Something called genitourinary syndrome of menopause is a condition that affects up to 80% of women, women, and occurs even after menopause is finished. And this can include symptoms like vaginal dryness, loss of lubrication, thinning of the vaginal epithelium or tissues. And this is all because of lack of estrogen, which can oftentimes lead to pain with sex for a lot of women, and some of these women actually avoid sex because of pain. And they might even be embarrassed to bring it up to their partners of many, many years that all of a sudden something's hurting that didn't used to hurt before. And as someone on the other side of that, if you're the male partner, it can be great to ask your partner, hey, is anything hu. Is something bothering you? Do you want to try something different, like maybe adding lubrication, or do you want to see a doctor? I can come with you.
- [13:28]
Tamsin Fadal
If a man doesn't know what is happening and they don't know that their partner's in pain or why they're actually in pain, you know, education is important for all of us as women. I didn't know I was in pain. I didn't understand that. So how would my husband understand that? You know, and then also understanding that there are very cost effective ways to deal with this very, you know, safe topical estrogen products that you can apply to your vulva, that come in different forms that can make it very, very, you know, easy and that are safe, and that there are options out there for women depending on what they want to do. It just. There are solutions. And I think that that's. That's why I say we have so many different areas to tackle, right? We have to let the women know. We have to let partners know. We recently did a documentary, and we had a lot of partners start to show up at the screening. So originally it was all women. Like, it was. The whole room was just women. And. And then there'd be, like, one guy that got dragged to the documentary screening. And now we're seeing, like, there was a group of men that held a screening. So I do feel encouraged by the fact that they just need to know what's going on, and they just need to understand that it's not them. Look, in some cases it might be, it might just not be the right relationship at the right time anymore. But I did do a section in the book called is it your husband or your hormones? Because I really do think that we, you know, we have a lot of question during this time and we doubt what's going on with ourselves and we feel a lot of shame. So I just, I can't say enough about communication, I can't say enough about exploring options and then also being aware that maybe sex looks a little bit different during this time. Like it's okay after 22 years that you know you're exploring with something different and it's okay to relearn something that you know you might want differently when it comes to pleasure.
- [15:08]
Dr. Rena Malik
Unfortunately, many times women going through menopause just don't feel sexy or desirable like they used to. And a lot of it is because of stigma, right? People who have hot flashes, that's something old women go through. And so when you start feeling like you're older and maybe you're gaining more weight in your midsection and you don't look like you used to, this can lead to a lot of insecurity around body image and ultimately lead to avoidance of sex. The one thing I recommend partners to do is make sure that your partner feels desired. And sometimes in the long term relationship it can be easy to just forget that these are things that you should probably remind each other of because hey, you've been together for 10, 20 years and you love your partner and they obviously should know that sometimes a little verbal reminder can go a long way. Something as simple as you look so beautiful today or I love this about you can just make someone feel really special. Hampson also brought up some really interesting statistics in the book. She mentioned that a third of divorces happen over the age of 55 and that 8 out of 10 women feel like their menopausal symptoms put a strain on their relationships. Unfortunately, the reality is that these hormonal changes that occur can sometimes lead to dramatic personality shifts that can sometimes make home situations untenable.
- [16:23]
Tamsin Fadal
I think we don't have the studies as up to date right now in the US but I know the UK did a number of different studies spearheading one asking women about the effect of menopause on their relationships. AARP did one, but it was about 20 years ago. But but did find that women in that age of 40s, 50s to 60s, 2/3 initiated by women during that time. And look, we don't know, maybe those, those marriages had to end for other reasons. But it could also be that women did not know exactly what was going on with them. When we look at this, we look at hormonal changes having effects on our mood, having effects on mental clarity that we talked about early on, on emotions and our overall well being. So it is a rocky transition. And especially if you don't know what's happening. You know, if you, if you really go into this not knowing what's happening and it's why we hear that phrase over and over again. You know, I, I didn't, I don't feel like myself. I don't, I don't recognize myself. I don't know who I am anymore. All these women are not just saying that in unison, like that is exactly what is happening. We don't feel like ourselves anymore. And so it really does stand to reason that that is going to have an impact on so many different areas of our lives.
- [17:27]
Dr. Rena Malik
I asked Tamsin what are some tips that she has for male partners, fathers, brothers, things that men in women's lives can do to help support them?
- [17:35]
Tamsin Fadal
You know, I think first of all is, is listening, understanding and educating. I put together a guide of the Men's Guide to Menopause, just because when I put the book out, I had put so much into the book, I was like, but you know what? We still need something for men. And so I did put that together on my website just because I wanted men to have a little bit of help in there, you know. But this book is, you know, was necessary to get to really address what's going on with women. But I, I think first and foremost, just be educated about what's going on. I just break down the basic, what's menopause, what's perimenopause, what are the symptoms? What are the most prevalent symptoms we're talking about and how to address it in a way where it's not like, oh, is it, is it your hormones? You know, I mean, there's, there's certain ways to bring things up and address things that I think are the right way and that can be conversation openers versus closers. And I think that that's important. I also think it's, it's important to just have that awareness. And I, you know, in the workplace, whether it's female employees, whether it's somebody that's working for you, whether it's a co worker, just be aware of those symptoms because remember, and you know this better than anybody is some of those symptoms can, can be indications of something more serious. And so I, I just always think it's so important, like if you just care about somebody, you do that. If you saw somebody just not looking right or, or acting, you know, different, I think just being aware of those things, it's just, is good practice.
- [18:57]
Dr. Rena Malik
Unfortunately, the timing of a menopause transition is at the worst time. It's usually a time of heightened stress. Usually your children are getting older, they need your attention in different ways. Maybe your parents are aging and typically if you're in a long term relationship, you've been together for some period of time and things are not usually as novel and exciting as they used to be, and work tends to be ramping up. So likely in a career you're going to be getting bigger projects or take on larger tasks which require more attention and ultimately lead to more stress. So I often say if there's anything you can do, the best thing to do is try to reduce your partner's stress. That might be hiring support that might be taking some of the things off her plate or really just helping her get organized in her life and deciding what things really matter and what she can let go.
- [19:43]
Tamsin Fadal
It doesn't have to be complicated. It can be very, very simple. It's just, I think once I, what I've learned out of all of this is the definition of community for me has shifted. Community is not just like my three best friends, you know, it's people that can help support me in some of these areas to just alleviate that heaviness. Right. And I think that what you're talking about is exactly it. All of that, that community, having that community for women can make all the difference in the world. So we're not saying to women, you know, go meditate and release your stress. Well, that's not going to work if you have to come back and do seven loads of laundry, take kids somewhere, deal with elderly parents like, you know. So I just think that understanding that part and seeing where you can pitch in is. It makes a bigger difference than I think it ever has.
- [20:28]
Dr. Rena Malik
We pointed out that oftentimes male partners feel like protectors and they want to protect their partners. And a great way to look at this is looking at is a part of your protecting duty. You're not only protecting them from the outside world, but you're also protecting them from what's going on inside them. We then went on to discuss Tamsen's history as a matchmaker and what she's seeing people do wrong when they're trying to make a connection with the opposite sex.
- [20:52]
Tamsin Fadal
I had A part of a business with my, my former husband and it was a matchmaking business and a dating business and was based out of New York City. Anyway, it was really before a time when you had all of the apps and everything going on. So it was much more hands on and much more in person. But, you know, I, I think that one of the biggest things that I, I looked at after we had that business, it was years ago now. But I think the one thing I saw was this immense pressure that we have with timelines. I think that that was a big part of it. It's, I'm hopeful that we've let up on ourselves a little bit as women, but I don't necessarily know that we have. But timelines were huge and it was just like, I don't, I don't need to find the perfect person. I need to find a person because this is where I am in my life. So those were a lot of the big mistakes because I think that, you know, look, I'm aware biologically of different timelines that take place, but I just think that sometimes we, we set ourselves up for so much stress in that that was a huge mistake. I saw women make very, very often just because they felt this pressure from society. I hope that's calmed down just a little bit. I would say some of the other areas that I would hope have, have changed just a little bit is, you know, how, how we define our, ourselves as women. And you know, what's important when we're looking at a relationship. What I was looking at when I was 25 and 30 is certainly not what I'm looking at today. And my husband today is certainly not what I would have picked in my 30s. You know, I, I was just looking for fun and having a good time. And now I realize that, you know, that kind of protector thing is really what I wanted for myself personally. So those are some of the areas I think that I have seen over time. I mean, there's many that go, that go on and on. I would say not fighting to stay in a relationship that's not serving you. If you feel like you're doing all the work and you think you're going to change somebody, that is never, ever, ever going to happen. I would say if you're changing yourself in some way to make sure that you fit somebody else's standards, that that is going to be an exhausting part of life. That's never going to be something that you're going to want. And I would also caution women when it comes to life I don't think you have to choose. I don't think you have to pick somebody over a career or pick somebody over this or that. I think if you get into that pleasing thing that I do see a lot of us in, oftentimes that doesn't really end well in the end.
- [23:05]
Dr. Rena Malik
I also asked her in particular what mistakes she saw on the male side of the equation.
- [23:10]
Tamsin Fadal
Men are very interesting. Like I in New York City there are a hundred thousand more single women than men. So men really had the kind of like pick and led the way in a lot of those different areas. I think for men, I think that understanding women, we're so different than men in so many different ways. So I think really understanding where a woman's coming from is super important. I look at the patience my husband has now with me and I think like, could he have had that when he was 30 years old? I'm not, I'm not really sure if he could or couldn't. I think understanding what women are going through for men is really essential. I think that a lot of men, you know, are moving through in career is, is front and center with a lot of what's going on in their lives and they look up all of a sudden they're like, oh, wait a minute, there's more things I want to pay attention to. I think it's okay to have that balance. And I don't know that we allow men that, that grace to be able to do that, but they should. I have a 13 year old nephew now, so I'm always like, okay, what do I need to teach him? So he goes into this, you know, dating and love and relationship world the right way and doesn't feel, you know, some kind of stress because, you know, men have the same stresses like that. They're not immune to this. They're not immune to like questioning how the other partner feels or feeling stress, a relationship or wondering if they're doing things right. Sometimes, you know, they might not vocalize it the way we do, but I think that they're not immune to those stresses.
- [24:24]
Dr. Rena Malik
I pointed out that men have their own difficulties and unfortunately, unlike women, they tend not to talk about it and they don't build the community as well as women do. And then I shared my biggest takeaway from my relationship and seeing other successful relationships is that mutual respect is probably the core of every successful relationship. When that respect deteriorates early on, it might seem like these small, little insignificant jabs, but that, that's the person's way of telling you that they don't respect you. And in that case, the relationship is never going to last a hundred percent.
- [24:54]
Tamsin Fadal
I mean, I think, you know, we get into place now. It's oftentimes very difficult to be present with all the things that we have going on in the world. And I think that we've got to pay attention to those. The, the respect part of it is a very big deal of being present, of respecting boundaries and being aware of it. Assuming that the other not communicating properly. I think that that's a big mistake. And I think that sometimes we get afraid to do that because we don't think somebody else could handle it. But I think we can handle it. I think what we can't handle is unknown. I think unknown is, is just not where, you know you want to be for either sex.
- [25:24]
Dr. Rena Malik
I then asked Tamsen what's next for her. She just wrote this wonderful book, she's published this great documentary, what's Next?
- [25:31]
Tamsin Fadal
I actually am working on my, on a podcast which is going to be revealed this coming week. So I'm excited about that. You know, I think that with all of this I've realized my through line has been than being a journalist. You know, I didn't realize when I walked away from news how much I would still be doing journalism and all of this. And I just, I really do love talking to people. I love sharing information. I like sharing people's stories and then elevating people who have expertise. And I think that that's what I'm excited about. I really. It's important to me though, to keep pushing forward on all these fronts and making sure we're making change in the right places. Making sure that the documentary and the book and the party are not all individual things, that they all move forward this message so we can make changes when it comes to medical school, so we can make changes when it comes to research and healthcare, so we can make changes in workplaces. Those are the three big areas for me that I think are super important and that I'm going to continue to work, to work toward until we see that change happen.
- [26:25]
Dr. Rena Malik
We then end with our final four questions. What is something, you know, now in life that you wish you knew earlier? Oh, gosh.
- [26:32]
Tamsin Fadal
That things are going to work out the way they're supposed to. Like I used to fret to make everything perfect and now I realize that I don't have to do that. And I'm still learning that lesson every single day. But I wish I had known that when I was younger I would have saved a lot of time.
- [26:44]
Dr. Rena Malik
What's a non negotiable something you have to do every single day?
- [26:48]
Tamsin Fadal
Every single day I have to get outside. I don't care what city I'm in and I don't care how cold or rainy or awful it is. I have to get outside. I never had that before. I used to work in a news studio with no, no windows. So I just, I never had that before. And in the last year and a half, maybe two years now, it has been, it is essential. Like I can, can feel, I can feel my body pulling me outside. I think that's a non negotiable for me for sure. And then also taking like a little bit of time each day to connect with my dad or my brother or my sister in law, like some, you know, a loved one. I, I need that connection now. I think I wasn't present all the time, you know. And so I think in some ways I, I want to make sure that I am.
- [27:26]
Dr. Rena Malik
What is a life hack or health hack you would share?
- [27:29]
Tamsin Fadal
I think my health hack, I, I don't know. I don't, I don't. I do a few of the different hacks like guess more for sleep is that I try to like make sure that that's all good, like bed at the same time every night. Every night. Every night. And so I think I've kind of like fixed my, you know, everyone calls it like a sleep hygiene. I think I fixed that and made that a little bit more clear for myself. And so I've kind of hacked my way into not sleeping because that was such a problem for a long time that I'm feeling really good about where I am.
- [27:56]
Dr. Rena Malik
And if you couldn't be a journalist, author, entrepreneur, podcaster, what would you do?
- [28:02]
Tamsin Fadal
I think I would probably want to be on Broadway because every time I go to a Broadway show I like burst into tears at the end because of the energy of human performance. I just always think that that's like the coolest thing. It's my passion in life is to like go to shows, live shows, theater, Broadway, sing. I just love it all. So that's what I would do though I don't, I don't know that my voice will ever hold up for that. So I think I gotta stick where I am.
- [28:26]
Dr. Rena Malik
Thank you guys so much for joining me. If you guys like this content, make sure to follow me at renamelicmd on all media, social, social media platforms. And as always, we're going to take care of yourself because you are worth it. If you enjoyed this clip from the Rena Malik, MD podcast. Make sure to check out the full video right here. If you enjoyed that clip with guest Thompson Fadel, make sure to check out the full episode on the Rena Malik, MD podcast.
- [28:48]
Samantha Christine
Hey guys, I'm Samantha Christine, host of the Empower Podcast right here on the Pursuit Network. If you're into wellness that fits into real life with honest convos, workout tips that actually make sense sense, nutrition hacks that support your lifestyle, and a lot of encouragement to become your strongest self, you'll feel right at home on my show. Whether you're a busy mom in a season of rebuilding or just trying to stay consistent with the all or nothing mindset, the Empower Podcast is for you. New episodes drop every Wednesday wherever you listen to podcasts, so come hang out. I'd love to have you.