‘It held a mirror back to me' Kathryn Thomas opens up on ‘challenging time' after friend's serious illness diagnosis
KATHRYN Thomas has opened up about a "challenging time" in her life that led her to make lifestyle changes.
The popular presenter recently took up a new role at Q102 hosting The Morning Show with Kathryn Thomas from 7 to 10am on weekdays.
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Kathryn currently hosts The Morning show on Q102
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Kathryn recently opened up about her major lifestyle change
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Kathryn made the change after her friend received a shock diagnoses
Credit: Instagram
The popular presenter revealed to the comedian that one night she suffered a panic attack, something she hadn't experienced since her twenties.
However, before Kathryn experienced the panic attack she had been having minor symptoms that she initially thought could have been perimenopause.
Kathryn explained: "About two years ago, I was 44 and there was so much talk about perimenopause and I just thought, I wasn't sleeping, zero libido and really kind of frazzled and forgetful.
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"I would wake up and without even looking I would know what time it was and I would be awake for the night. I went to a female fertility clinic and talked to a great doctor there and they said, 'Would you think about going on HRT?'
"And I said, 'I think I'm a little bit young for that' and she said, 'Not necessarily', and I knew myself that this was a big area for women and not something we should be embarrassed about."
Kathryn then revealed that at around the same time she was experiencing these symptoms, her longtime pal was diagnosed with serious illness.
She said: "It was a very difficult time for her, for her family as she has young kids... that was a very challenging time to see her going through that and also it held a mirror up to me.
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"I was just thinking, 'Why her and not me, why her family and not my family', and I remember going to bed one night, I had been to see her in the hospital I was doing what I do, came home, got into bed and I just had a massive panic attack."
The presenter explained she knew what a panic attack was like and what they were as she had experienced some episodes while in college in her twenties.
Kathryn Thomas 'looks right at home' in BRAND NEW studio for role shake up
She added: "They didn't continue for me, they were from a time I was partying too hard and working two jobs... but this one really took the wind out of my sail, because I went, 'Oh my god, where did that come out of?'"
The mum-of-two said at the time, she didn't, "put two and two together" that the shock of her friends diagnoses and her chaotic schedule was leaving her feeling deflated and struggling to sleep.
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She continued: "That was the start of the real change for me, my sleeping then got all over the place and I was working, all the balls up in the air juggling.
BIG CHANGE
"I went on HRT for six months thinking that was going to change my sleep, putting the no libido, panic attacks to perimenopause. But it didn't really improve my sleep, it didn't really improve a whole lot.
"So, that was when I did a whole life sit-down and went, 'Where am I going? What am I doing? What do I want?'"
And after much back in forth in conversation with her husband, Kathryn realised a routine was the core aspect she was currently missing - something granted to her by her new role in Q102.
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She explained: "I will go to bed now and be asleep by 10pm, put the girls to bed at 8:20pm. Put the phone away try not to doomscroll and trying to get back into reading my book.
"I was actually not giving myself enough time... and it's working for me now I feel more energised and the brain fog, after I stopped taking HRT (it didn't work for me).
"What actually did [fix it] was going to bed earlier, figuring out in my head I'm happy where I'm at, going to work with a smile on my face, playing really good tunes and dancing around my own studio."
She finished: "Right now I'm glad that I'm feeling, awake, alive and energised because for two years I was operating on a half mast."
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Melanomas have been recorded in history , including in the writings of Hippocrates, as well as archaeological evidence of melanomas on 2,400-year-old Peruvian mummies. However, historical statistics on rates of skin cancers are scant. National Cancer Registry Ireland began collecting data on cancer cases in 1994. 'Over 5,000 cases of skin cancer were diagnosed in Ireland in 1994,' a spokesperson for the HSE told The Journal. 'It can take decades for skin cancer to develop after exposure to UV radiation. Many of those diagnosed with skin cancer in 1994 would have been exposed many years earlier when sunscreen was much less widely used or available.' The connection between UV rays and skin damage is well established, as is suncream's ability to stop these rays. Pyro Labs / YouTube Grimes also listed living longer as a reason that more skin cancers are being detected nowadays. 'Cancer is primarily a disease of aging,' Grimes said. 'Most cancers manifest post your 60s, right? There are exceptions, but almost all of them are associated with aging. The damage is done much earlier on, and then decades later, the cancer emerges. You might have got some exposure in your 30s that eventually leads to cancer in your 60s. 'So as we live longer, we get more cancers.' Ingredients in suncreams are regularly revised in the EU based on the latest science and have strict limits to make sure their use is safe. Many claims about suncream being bad for you are based on incorrect data or faulty reasoning. Not wearing suncream on sunny days can quickly lead to visible radiation burns and genetic damage, which increase the likelihood of cancer developing. Want to be your own fact-checker? Visit our brand-new FactCheck Knowledge Bank for guides and toolkits The Journal's FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network's Code of Principles. You can read it here . For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader's Guide here . You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here . Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... It is vital that we surface facts from noise. Articles like this one brings you clarity, transparency and balance so you can make well-informed decisions. We set up FactCheck in 2016 to proactively expose false or misleading information, but to continue to deliver on this mission we need your support. Over 5,000 readers like you support us. If you can, please consider setting up a monthly payment or making a once-off donation to keep news free to everyone. Learn More Support The Journal
