166 - Researching suicide in perimenopause and menopause with Dr Pooja Saini

Advisory: we would like to apologise for the sound quality in this episode, which was due to technical issues experienced during recording.

Dr Pooja Saini is a Chartered Psychologist and Reader in suicide and self-harm prevention based at Liverpool John Moores University. Her work has a particular focus in suicide prevention in primary care and developing community-based interventions for high-risk groups.

Since connecting, Louise and Pooja have been discussing the impact of perimenopause and menopause on mood, mental health and suicide and the many research gaps and unanswered questions in this space. In this episode, Pooja explains more about what is known and unknown regarding the effect of hormones on suicidal thoughts and outlines the research plan for a PhD funded by Newson Health Research and Education.

Pooja’s tips for those with suicidal thoughts:

1. Early intervention is key; seek help as soon as you feel you are not yourself
2. Change your habits to do more of what you really enjoy
3. Talk to your loved ones, family and friends. Don’t try and hide or mask it.

If you need support, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 for free from any phone or email them at jo@samaritans.org

Pooja's Social Channels

Twitter

Work Website

Reference for BMJ article discussed:

McCarthy M, Saini P, Nathan R, McIntyre J. Improve coding practices for patients in suicidal crisis. BMJ. 2021 Oct 15;375:n2480. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n2480. PMID: 34654729.