Latest news with #UniversityOfYork
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Menopause made me forget my name'
"I didn't believe it could just be menopause. I thought it must be a brain tumour or dementia." Kirsty Dixon's life changed overnight when she started experiencing intense brain fog at 49 years old. Kirsty, from York, was staring at her screen at work one day, when suddenly she could not remember what she was doing. "I just asked myself 'What is my name?', and I couldn't even remember my own name. "I felt like I was going mad, I thought it was only me." The problems continued when she tried to access support. "I thought, why aren't people listening to me? "I've got something really serious going on but I can't get anyone to listen." Kirsty was told by a doctor that what she had experienced was part of the menopause. It is estimated that one in three women in the UK is going through the menopause at any given time. Kirsty, learning and development adviser at the University of York, is working to raise awareness of the lesser-known symptoms and the huge impact they can have on people's lives. "Before menopause I've always been a very bubbly person, very social, bit mischievous," she said. "Menopause came along and just put a big thunder cloud over my head. "I lost myself. The number of times my husband said 'I want my Kirsty back' while he was cuddling me and I was in floods of tears." Kirsty spent the next four years "fighting it" as she could not believe that those were menopause symptoms. Then, during lockdown, Kirsty found herself researching menopause for her work. She stumbled across an article by someone who had experienced the same symptoms as her. "I got that lightbulb moment that what I was experiencing was perfectly normal, I needed to understand it and know what I could do to help myself," she said. "I went from having this constant cloud and feeling useless, to actually owning my journey." Now aged 58, Kirsty runs two support groups for women experiencing the menopause, including a nature walking group around York, and a pop-up cafe in Acomb. They are non-profit and everyone is welcome, regardless of age or gender. She hopes the groups will encourage more people to talk about the lesser-known symptoms. "When you're going through it, it can feel so lonely," she said. "You feel like it's only you, and you think you're going mad. "One of the most important things I say to people is get your support network around you, and that's family, friends, and groups like this." Sarah Mortimer, 54, has been coming to the group since it started in 2022. She experienced an uncommon symptom of self-diagnosed burning mouth syndrome during her menopause, which involves developing blisters in the mouth with a burning feeling. "It can be really isolating, so to find groups like this is amazing," she said. "It makes a huge difference, knowing there's other people going through the same rubbish that you're going through. "It's that strength in numbers thing, and there's strength in the power of talking about the menopause." The group is based in York, but people travel from as far as Leeds, Sheffield and Beverley to attend. Kirsty says that it highlights an ongoing issue around the need for more support for people going through the menopause. "No one else was running a menopause cafe in York, so it was obviously something that was missing." She is calling for more groups like this so that people do not have to travel so far to get the support they need. "What I will say now, is as a post-menopausal woman, I am the most confident, the strongest, most creative person. "If someone said to me you can have your life again, without your menopause experience, actually, I'd say no, because it's what's made me the person I am today. "If I can get through that, I can get through anything." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here. 'Fire service is helping me through the menopause' 'I mistook cancer signs for the menopause' What's the point of the menopause? NHS menopause advice
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
How menopause made York woman forget her name
"I didn't believe it could just be menopause. I thought it must be a brain tumour or dementia."Kirsty Dixon's life changed overnight when she started experiencing intense brain fog at 49 years from York, was staring at her screen at work one day, when suddenly she could not remember what she was doing."I just asked myself 'What is my name?', and I couldn't even remember my own name."I felt like I was going mad, I thought it was only me."The problems continued when she tried to access support."I thought, why aren't people listening to me?"I've got something really serious going on but I can't get anyone to listen."Kirsty was told by a doctor that what she had experienced was part of the menopause. It is estimated that one in three women in the UK is going through the menopause at any given learning and development adviser at the University of York, is working to raise awareness of the lesser-known symptoms and the huge impact they can have on people's lives."Before menopause I've always been a very bubbly person, very social, bit mischievous," she said."Menopause came along and just put a big thunder cloud over my head."I lost myself. The number of times my husband said 'I want my Kirsty back' while he was cuddling me and I was in floods of tears."Kirsty spent the next four years "fighting it" as she could not believe that those were menopause symptoms. 'Lightbulb moment' Then, during lockdown, Kirsty found herself researching menopause for her stumbled across an article by someone who had experienced the same symptoms as her."I got that lightbulb moment that what I was experiencing was perfectly normal, I needed to understand it and know what I could do to help myself," she said."I went from having this constant cloud and feeling useless, to actually owning my journey."Now aged 58, Kirsty runs two support groups for women experiencing the menopause, including a nature walking group around York, and a pop-up cafe in are non-profit and everyone is welcome, regardless of age or hopes the groups will encourage more people to talk about the lesser-known symptoms. "When you're going through it, it can feel so lonely," she said."You feel like it's only you, and you think you're going mad."One of the most important things I say to people is get your support network around you, and that's family, friends, and groups like this."Sarah Mortimer, 54, has been coming to the group since it started in experienced an uncommon symptom of self-diagnosed burning mouth syndrome during her menopause, which involves developing blisters in the mouth with a burning feeling."It can be really isolating, so to find groups like this is amazing," she said."It makes a huge difference, knowing there's other people going through the same rubbish that you're going through."It's that strength in numbers thing, and there's strength in the power of talking about the menopause." The group is based in York, but people travel from as far as Leeds, Sheffield and Beverley to says that it highlights an ongoing issue around the need for more support for people going through the menopause."No one else was running a menopause cafe in York, so it was obviously something that was missing."She is calling for more groups like this so that people do not have to travel so far to get the support they need."What I will say now, is as a post-menopausal woman, I am the most confident, the strongest, most creative person."If someone said to me you can have your life again, without your menopause experience, actually, I'd say no, because it's what's made me the person I am today."If I can get through that, I can get through anything." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Greg James: Radio 1 Breakfast host gets honorary degree from York
Radio 1 DJ Greg James is to receive an honorary degree from the University of York - where he once led a memorial service for a beloved campus tall mallard Long Boi became an online sensation due to his height, and was regularly mentioned on the presenter's weekday breakfast it was Greg who, last autumn, made a pilgrimage to the university to unveil a statue erected in Longboi's vice chancellor Charlie Jeffery says the presenter was chosen for his "remarkable contribution to society" and for championing mental health. Greg's relationship with York university and Longboi stretches back to 2022, when he first suggested co-presenting a show with the towering collaboration finally came to pass in March 2023, when Long Boi's quack was broadcast to millions of listeners over the just a few months later the campus mascot was reported missing and feared dead - sparking a campaign to erect the statue in his memory that Greg later he announced news of the honorary degree to listeners, he joked: "I'm getting a duck-torate. I'm going to be a duck-tor".Greg said he was "deeply honoured and flattered" to be chosen for the accolade alongside Handmaid's Tale author Margaret Atwood and historian Greg Jenner. Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Greg says it was a "huge surprise" to receive a letter from the university inviting him to accept the honorary degree of doctor of the university."It took me a while to compose myself and write a formal reply that wasn't just 'yes, thank you," he says."I did it very calmly."York's vice chancellor said the university wanted to recognise Greg's "ability to connect with audiences on an emotional level" and make "a significant impact on countless lives but in particular those of young people"."I don't feel particularly deserving of a doctorate for that," says Greg."But I do like being a facilitator of fun."Greg is, however, a big advocate of the power of radio to reach audiences "in a world that feels increasingly divided". "Radio is a friend to people. It's a friend to me," he says. "It puts you in a community of people who are like-minded. "I love that I get to talk to millions of people every day and I love that we celebrate everyone's brains and everyone's differences." Greg, and the other honorary graduates, will be headed to the University of York to collect their degrees at the end of tells Newsbeat he's doing some "serious thinking" about his graduation to spoil anything, but you can expect Long Boi to feature heavily, as well as a "celebration of radio" and "people being together".And Greg also suggests that a quote from Pitbull - who regularly gets a mention on the presenter's show - might also be shouldn't have to look too hard, as the US rapper also also received an honorary degree in 2015 from Florida's Doral will also be Greg's second honorary degree after receiving one in 2015 at the University of East Anglia - eight years after missing his actual graduation ceremony. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
BBC News
29-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Slow cooking used to extract animal teeth for Stone Age jewellery
Prehistoric people used a culinary method similar to modern slow cooking to extract animal teeth for jewellery, archaeologists have found. Researchers from the University of York and University of Helsinki said the discovery showed Stone Age societies treated animal remains with "care". They said their findings suggested tooth extraction was a social activity and probably involved children. The researchers carried out experiments at a cemetery in eastern Latvia, where more than 2,000 animal teeth from 7,500 to 2,500 BC had been excavated. Dr Andrew Needham, experimental archaeologist, said: "By testing different methods, it became clear that methods like cutting, hammering or pulling the teeth out of a fresh jaw is extremely difficult and often damages the teeth in the process. "But what we see in these thousands of animal teeth at grave sites is that they are usually complete and undamaged by any extraction method." The teeth, most commonly derived from elk, wild boar and red deer, would be made into ornaments for the body and researchers noted that this practice of cooking gives an insight into the relationship between humans and animals at the time, with Stone Age people leaving little waste behind from animal Aimée Little, from the University of York's department of archaeology, said: "Making personal ornaments from teeth was likely to have been a social activity linked to everyday cooking activities."It is easy to imagine that different members of Stone Age societies, including small children, were involved in their making, with the first stage of extracting teeth from mandibles happening as meals were being prepared." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Stone Age animal teeth pulling a 'social activity'
Prehistoric people used a culinary method similar to modern slow cooking to extract animal teeth for jewellery, archaeologists have found. Researchers from the University of York and University of Helsinki said the discovery showed Stone Age societies treated animal remains with "care". They said their findings suggested tooth extraction was a social activity and probably involved children. The researchers carried out experiments at a cemetery in eastern Latvia, where more than 2,000 animal teeth from 7,500 to 2,500 BC had been excavated. Dr Andrew Needham, experimental archaeologist, said: "By testing different methods, it became clear that methods like cutting, hammering or pulling the teeth out of a fresh jaw is extremely difficult and often damages the teeth in the process. "But what we see in these thousands of animal teeth at grave sites is that they are usually complete and undamaged by any extraction method." The teeth, most commonly derived from elk, wild boar and red deer, would be made into ornaments for the body and clothing. The researchers noted that this practice of cooking gives an insight into the relationship between humans and animals at the time, with Stone Age people leaving little waste behind from animal remains. Dr Aimée Little, from the University of York's department of archaeology, said: "Making personal ornaments from teeth was likely to have been a social activity linked to everyday cooking activities. "It is easy to imagine that different members of Stone Age societies, including small children, were involved in their making, with the first stage of extracting teeth from mandibles happening as meals were being prepared." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. University of York
