Barbara Scully | The Things They Don't Tell You About Getting Older #169

Barbara Scully sits down with Laura for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with her own recent run-in with the medical system and opens out into what it actually means to age as a woman in Ireland today.

Barbara talks about months of hip pain, a string of MRIs, a suspected stroke that turned out to be nothing, and the moment she decided to step off the treadmill of tests, hand back the prescription and rebuild her strength in the gym. She also shares her type 2 diabetes diagnosis in her mid-50s and the two years of remission she achieved through diet and exercise before her mother died and life became harder again.

The conversation moves into menopause, brain fog, mood swings and the language used about older women. Barbara reframes brain fog as an information retrieval slowdown, makes the case that women's anger after menopause is real and warranted, and argues that being underestimated as you get older is closer to a superpower than to invisibility.

There is also room for the story behind it all. Growing up tall in a male-dominated house. Becoming an unmarried mother in 1987 and listening to politicians and clergy describe women like her as a scourge on the radio. The close, unconventional friendship she had with her mother, who set up her own business teaching women word processing in the late 1980s. And the comedy career she fell into in her 60s, now touring with her one-woman show Older Bolder Wiser. Her best-selling book ‘Wise Up’ is available now in Irish bookstores nationwide & on Amazon.ie 📚

🔑 Key Points

Trusting your gut with healthcare

After months of MRIs and a hip replacement referral, Barbara declined the surgery and rebuilt her strength through physio and the gym.

A diabetes diagnosis as a wake-up call

A type 2 diagnosis in her mid-50s pushed her into healthier habits and into remission for two years.

Brain fog reframed

Women in their 60s have decades more information stored than younger people; what is labelled brain fog is information retrieval slowdown.

Anger after menopause is real

As life pressures lift, you have the headspace to notice ongoing inequalities, and that anger is not a hormonal mood swing.

Underestimated, not invisible

Being overlooked as an older woman gives you the element of surprise and the freedom to take risks without caring what people think.

The cost of conformity

A senior CEO told Barbara she would love to let her hair go grey but feared not being taken seriously at work.

Becoming an unmarried mother in 1987

Barbara remembers her father going upstairs to be sick, three weeks of silence, then a quiet "we'll stand by you" on a snowy morning.

A friendship with her mother

Her mother bought her her first baby cham at 12, set up her own business in her 50s and was a collaborator throughout Barbara's life.

📚 Resources

Wise Up — Barbara Scully

Memoir reflecting on the years after menopause.

Older Bolder Wiser

Barbara's one-woman comedy show currently touring Irish theatres.

Funny Women Ireland

Set up by Orla Doherty and Val Troy to promote women in comedy.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 — Hip pain and the MRI run-around

03:00 — Stepping off the treadmill of tests

07:30 — Type 2 diabetes and remission

09:30 — Why brain fog is not what we are told

11:00 — Anger after menopause is real

13:00 — Underestimated rather than invisible

17:00 — Letting the hair go grey

22:00 — The freedom of getting older

28:00 — A first smear test in the 80s

36:00 — Growing up tall and the slow set

44:00 — Giving up red wine and finding gin

48:00 — Her mother as collaborator

56:00 — Losing her mother in 2022

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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