I'm Bell, This is my storY
Even though every symptom had an explanation, I still didn't recognize myself.
Even though every symptom had an explanation, I still didn't recognize myself.
For many years, my work was to make the case that real human needs and emotions should navigate strategic decisions. When perimenopause hit, it took me a while to understand that I should turn that same lens inward. Here is my story, and the story of how reblume came to life.
I'm Bell, This is my storY
Every symptom had an explanation, I still didn't recognize myself.
For many years, my work was to make the case that real human needs and emotions should navigate strategic decisions. When perimenopause hit, it took me a while to understand that I should turn that same lens inward. Here is my story, and the story of how reblume came to life.
The patterns nobody saw
It started quietly. Restless nights, no reason I could name. A racing heart at odd hours, nothing to explain it. Then getting stuck mid-sentence, forgetting words, unable to concentrate, again and again. I told myself it was the deadlines. Then the flight I'd just taken. Then I ran out of excuses that weren't real. So I did what I'd always done. Got it checked. Insulin resistance. Some joint issues, unrelated. Moods that shifted without warning. Was it stress? Then the weight that kept climbing no matter what I did. Nobody said what was driving any of it, or why it mattered. One appointment at a time, everything was apparently fine. But how can it be fine to feel like this? Nothing got connected.
The patterns nobody saw
It started quietly. Restless nights, no reason I could name. A racing heart at odd hours, nothing to explain it. Then getting stuck mid-sentence, forgetting words, unable to concentrate, again and again. I told myself it was the deadlines. Then the flight I'd just taken. Then I ran out of excuses that weren't real. So I did what I'd always done. Got it checked. Insulin resistance. Some joint issues, unrelated. Moods that shifted without warning. Was it stress? Then the weight that kept climbing no matter what I did. Nobody said what was driving any of it, or why it mattered. One appointment at a time, everything was apparently fine. But how can it be fine to feel like this? Nothing got connected.
The patterns nobody saw
It started quietly. Restless nights, no reason I could name. A racing heart at odd hours, nothing to explain it. Then getting stuck mid-sentence, forgetting words, unable to concentrate, again and again. I told myself it was the deadlines. Then the flight I'd just taken. Then I ran out of excuses that weren't real. So I did what I'd always done. Got it checked. Insulin resistance. Some joint issues, unrelated. Moods that shifted without warning. Was it stress? Then the weight that kept climbing no matter what I did. Nobody said what was driving any of it, or why it mattered. One appointment at a time, everything was apparently fine. But how can it be fine to feel like this? Nothing got connected.
Why history matters
Here's what made it harder: none of us arrive at menopause on a blank slate. We carry our full history: the stress load of decades, the existing sensitivities, the baseline our body has been working around for years. The transition doesn't arrive into a neutral system. It lands in yours. That's why two women at the same stage of life can have completely different experiences. And it's why treating each symptom separately so consistently misses what's actually happening.
Why history matters
Here's what made it harder: none of us arrive at menopause on a blank slate. We carry our full history: the stress load of decades, the existing sensitivities, the baseline our body has been working around for years. The transition doesn't arrive into a neutral system. It lands in yours. That's why two women at the same stage of life can have completely different experiences. And it's why treating each symptom separately so consistently misses what's actually happening.
Why history matters
Here's what made it harder: none of us arrive at menopause on a blank slate. We carry our full history: the stress load of decades, the existing sensitivities, the baseline our body has been working around for years. The transition doesn't arrive into a neutral system. It lands in yours. That's why two women at the same stage of life can have completely different experiences. And it's why treating each symptom separately so consistently misses what's actually happening.
When 'pushing through' no longer worked
I grew up in a generation of women who were lucky enough to believe they could do anything. Career, independence, ambition. We are built for it, we are resilient. So I pushed through, figured it out, and keep on going. And for a long time, that worked. Menopause was the thing that finally said: that strategy doesn't work here, it's time to rethink and reimagine what life and resilience actually mean.
When 'pushing through' no longer worked
I grew up in a generation of women who were lucky enough to believe they could do anything. Career, independence, ambition. We are built for it, we are resilient. So I pushed through, figured it out, and keep on going. And for a long time, that worked. Menopause was the thing that finally said: that strategy doesn't work here, it's time to rethink and reimagine what life and resilience actually mean.
When 'pushing through' no longer worked
I grew up in a generation of women who were lucky enough to believe they could do anything. Career, independence, ambition. We are built for it, we are resilient. So I pushed through, figured it out, and keep on going. And for a long time, that worked. Menopause was the thing that finally said: that strategy doesn't work here, it's time to rethink and reimagine what life and resilience actually mean.
"I put my fatigue down to overworking. My labs came back fine. My racing heart was checked and cleared. My doctor and I turned investigators for each concern, but the symptoms appeared separately over years, and we forgot to look for a connection. This is all one transition, and my body didn't need to be fixed. It was asking to be understood, so I could meet it differently. I became passionate about closing that gap, for me and for others. That passion became reblume".
— Bell, founder of reblume
— Bell, founder of reblume
How reblume came to life
I'd spent 25 years untangling complex systems for teams and organisations in transformation. The principle was always the same: understand the human needs underneath, and let that drive the solution. Instead of solving a challenge in isolation, you find what's driving it to the surface, and address that. But until midlife arrived, I never thought to point that same lens at my own health. I went back to something else I'd studied and always cherished: Traditional Chinese Medicine, which perceives the body as one connected system, all issues interlinked. Two ways of thinking I had never put in the same room. One focused on human needs to anchor complexity. The other read the body as a whole. It took living through this, alone, with no one else to do that work for me, to finally bring them together. I stopped asking "how do I fix this problem" and started asking "what is this signalling about the system as a whole?". I traced sleep to nervous system and to metabolism, instead of treating each as a separate issue. That gave me what I needed to thrive now, and a window into a better future. That's the moment I stopped reacting to my body, and started working with it. I finally had a map. So I built one for other women too: a fusion of systems thinking and whole-body wisdom. That's what reblume does.
How reblume came to life
I'd spent 25 years untangling complex systems for teams and organisations in transformation. The principle was always the same: understand the human needs underneath, and let that drive the solution. Instead of solving a challenge in isolation, you find what's driving it to the surface, and address that. But until midlife arrived, I never thought to point that same lens at my own health. I went back to something else I'd studied and always cherished: Traditional Chinese Medicine, which perceives the body as one connected system, all issues interlinked. Two ways of thinking I had never put in the same room. One focused on human needs to anchor complexity. The other read the body as a whole. It took living through this, alone, with no one else to do that work for me, to finally bring them together. I stopped asking "how do I fix this problem" and started asking "what is this signalling about the system as a whole?". I traced sleep to nervous system and to metabolism, instead of treating each as a separate issue. That gave me what I needed to thrive now, and a window into a better future. That's the moment I stopped reacting to my body, and started working with it. I finally had a map. So I built one for other women too: a fusion of systems thinking and whole-body wisdom. That's what reblume does.
How reblume came to life
I'd spent 25 years untangling complex systems for teams and organisations in transformation. The principle was always the same: understand the human needs underneath, and let that drive the solution. Instead of solving a challenge in isolation, you find what's driving it to the surface, and address that. But until midlife arrived, I never thought to point that same lens at my own health. I went back to something else I'd studied and always cherished: Traditional Chinese Medicine, which perceives the body as one connected system, all issues interlinked. Two ways of thinking I had never put in the same room. One focused on human needs to anchor complexity. The other read the body as a whole. It took living through this, alone, with no one else to do that work for me, to finally bring them together. I stopped asking "how do I fix this problem" and started asking "what is this signalling about the system as a whole?". I traced sleep to nervous system and to metabolism, instead of treating each as a separate issue. That gave me what I needed to thrive now, and a window into a better future. That's the moment I stopped reacting to my body, and started working with it. I finally had a map. So I built one for other women too: a fusion of systems thinking and whole-body wisdom. That's what reblume does.
From Passenger to navigaTor
Something shifted, not just in my body, but in my relationship to it. I stopped feeling like a passenger and started feeling like a navigator. From there, I could build with intention and care.
Credentials
Everything that allowed me to build a program for holistic change.
25 years of human-centric design leadership
Skilled at uncovering real needs and using them as drivers for defining the program
Experinced in workshop facilitation
Creates a space where groups feel safe to open up for fruitful exchange
Grounded in a Traditional Chinese Medicine education
Brings a holistic view of wellbeing, rooted in self-empowerment for long-term results
Trained in the Miraculous Parenting Method of Shai Or
Recognizes how unmet childhood needs quietly shape our adult relationship with ourselves
Certified in IDEO U's Change Leadership Program
Applies a proven professional framework for leading people through change
Why reblume
Understanding what's driving the changes, and how we feel about them, matters because this time in our lives shapes far more than the next few months. It shapes our long-term wellbeing. Navigating this transition well goes beyond symptom management. The daily habits that address the whole picture only work if they fit who you are, and what you can actually sustain in your real life, not a version of it you don't have time for. This isn't about going back to who you were. The women who come through this well arrive somewhere more grounded. More themselves, actually. With a clearer sense of what matters and less willingness to settle for less than what they deserve.
Why reblume
Understanding what's driving the changes, and how we feel about them, matters because this time in our lives shapes far more than the next few months. It shapes our long-term wellbeing. Navigating this transition well goes beyond symptom management. The daily habits that address the whole picture only work if they fit who you are, and what you can actually sustain in your real life, not a version of it you don't have time for. This isn't about going back to who you were. The women who come through this well arrive somewhere more grounded. More themselves, actually. With a clearer sense of what matters and less willingness to settle for less than what they deserve.
Why reblume
Understanding what's driving the changes, and how we feel about them, matters because this time in our lives shapes far more than the next few months. It shapes our long-term wellbeing. Navigating this transition well goes beyond symptom management. The daily habits that address the whole picture only work if they fit who you are, and what you can actually sustain in your real life, not a version of it you don't have time for. This isn't about going back to who you were. The women who come through this well arrive somewhere more grounded. More themselves, actually. With a clearer sense of what matters and less willingness to settle for less than what they deserve.