Willa, 46. Can I ask something that's been eating at me? I work in a fairly demanding job, I've got two teens at home, and I've basically been running on fumes for three years. So when I started losing words in meetings, blanking on names mid-sentence, I told myself it was burnout. Obviously it's burnout. But my sister (49) mentioned perimenopause and now I genuinely cannot work out which it is. Or whether it even matters, because maybe it's both. The thing is, I've started writing notes before EVERY meeting now. Not just an agenda, like... the actual words I might need. Names of colleagues I should know. Key figures I don't want to fumble. It's helping me get through without looking completely vacant, but it's also quietly terrifying that I need to do it at all. I've got a GP appointment coming up and I want to ask specifically about the link between hormones and this kind of cognitive stuff, like whether there's anything useful they can actually test or track. But I'm worried I'll just get told I'm tired and sent away with a leaflet about stress. Also unrelated but also related: I've been trying to eat something with proper protein at about 3pm because my brain is genuinely offline by 4. That bit does seem to help a bit, for what it's worth. Anyone been through trying to unpick the burnout vs peri question? x