When comedian Jojo Sutherland was around 11 years old, something very strange happened to her mother.

“I joke about it on stage now,” she says. “I say ‘what if the menopause is genetic and you go through it the same way as your mum did? Because my mum had a nervous breakdown.”

The joke’s punchline reflects on how the hospital mental health ward that her mother landed in is no longer referred to in the offensive slang terms of the Seventies, yet still the complexities and challenges of the menopause are shrouded in myth and secrecy.

“My mother was terrified,” recalls Sutherland, 53, who is now working with fellow comedian Susan Morrison and physiotherapist Elaine Miller on a stage show that highlights the menopause and other female conditions often deemed too messy or bloody for open conversation.

“She went to school at a convent where there was no sex education,” recalls Sutherland. “My mother didn’t even know that the menopause was a thing. Some people might sail through it, but my mother ended up with a nervous breakdown and was committed for six weeks into hospital in Perth.

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“It was afterwards when she realised that she was going through the menopause at the time – that was what it was.”

These days the surge in numbers of women in of a certain age in the workforce – 63.9% of women in Scotland aged between 50 and 64 are in employment – means the menopause is increasingly becoming an everyday topic for discussion around the office water cooler.

It even reached the Scottish Parliament, where on last Tuesday MSPs held what is thought to be the first debate of its kind.

Led by Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie, the motion called for an end to the stigma surrounding the menopause. She added: “I think we can all agree that the menopause has always been stigmatised, ignored or treated as a joke at best and used as a way to denigrate women at the worst.”

The debate came after BBC Breakfast put the topic on the agenda with a week of discussion which saw a member of the production team filmed in mid- flush.

And it followed open discussion about their symptoms by BBC Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark and BBC Scotland colleague Jackie Bird last year. “You’re not warned that slowly and insidiously you can lose all of your confidence,” said Bird.

“You don’t feel like you. Your head is in a fog.”

At Stirling Council, where more than 70 per cent members of the workforce are women and the average age of workers is 44, the menopause is no longer referred to in hushed tones.

Instead, it has followed the lead of Lanarkshire Council and other concerned employers to become the latest Scottish local authority to produce guidelines.

It’s not only to ensure women have support at work. Menopause related symptoms are said to be costing the economy millions of pounds every year.

The guidance includes ensuring women can have access to fresh air or fans to help cool down during hot flushes and space to retreat to during “brain fog” episodes.

Abigail Robertson, a council trade union representative, says the move has received a positive response.

“Women are more forthright about the menopause now and it was time to blow the taboo out of the water. It’s normal and should not be wrapped up in feelings of shame.”

There are now plans for “men only” menopause talks to help explain symptoms and ways to support both women at work and partners at home.

“What struck me was the incredible variation in people’s experiences,” says the council’s HR manager Pamela Forsyth. “Some people are really quite debilitated. We’ve had people in their 30s go through the menopause.”

The policy has had unforeseen benefits: “We had a lady who had some skin problems. She didn’t know it might be related to the menopause. So, it’s helped people understand their own symptoms.”

The local authority does not keep records of menopause-related absences, however, a 2017 UK Government Equalities Office report suggested that one in 10 women in their early 50s suffer “severe symptoms”.

It added that absences among the 174,200 women in the UK aged between 50 and 54 who are worst affected, cost the economy at least £7.3 million.

But while the physical symptoms may be distressing, an STUC women’s committee survey last year highlighted how many women’s distress was exacerbated by a lack of understanding at work: 63% said it was treated as a joke, while 99% said there was either no menopause policy at work, or if there was, they didn’t know about it.

In addition, 32% said the menopause was treated negatively raising concerns women were losing promotion opportunities or being discriminated against.

Ruth Devlin of Let’s Talk Menopause, said: “There are people with very responsible jobs and very responsible roles. They work hard to get to a position and then they develop these symptoms.

“They may choose to keep it to themselves or go part-time or take early retirement because of the symptoms.”

“People associate the menopause with getting old, but people should see it as part of the natural female hormonal journey.”

Some businesses have thrown open their doors to a different kind of coffee break. Menopause Cafes were set up by Rachel Weiss after she watched Kirsty Wark talk of her battle with the symptoms.

“We are delighted that many organisations are hosting Menopause Cafes to provide spaces for employees of all genders and ages to gather and talk about the menopause,” says Weiss.

“This helps break the silence and is often the start introducing menopause-supportive practices, such as flexibility in uniform requirements – cotton shirts instead of nylon, for examples – access to water and fans, more frequent toilet breaks permitted, absence management policies recognising menopause as a possible reason for repeated absence.”