Episode Description
In this must-listen episode of the Penny Dee Podcast, women’s health advocate and author Heather Coppard joins Penny to shine a light on a hidden crisis affecting millions: persistent vulval and vaginal pain.

Heather shares her personal journey through vulvodynia, pelvic floor dysfunction, and chronic vaginal pain, from years of misdiagnosis to a devastating experience with a gynaecologist who claimed the pain was “in her head.”

Now a hypnotherapist and author of Optimising Recovery from Vulval and Vaginal Pain, Heather helps women across the UK who feel unheard, dismissed, and broken by their healthcare experiences.

This episode is essential for anyone struggling with chronic pain, women’s health issues, or fighting to be taken seriously in the medical system.

Quote of the Episode:
“The doctor didn’t even look at me - he told my husband the pain was in my head. What if I hadn’t had his support?” – Heather Coppard

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ Why up to 25% of women may suffer from vulvodynia or vaginal pain, but most never talk about it.
✔️ How Heather’s experience with misdiagnosis and misogyny in healthcare pushed her to leave nursing and write a book.
✔️ The reality of pelvic pain, from not being able to wear underwear to giving up driving.
✔️ How hypnotherapy for pain management became a key part of Heather’s recovery.
✔️ The importance of reclaiming your voice in medical spaces.

💡 PLUS, We Discuss:
💡 What to do if your doctor won’t listen
💡 How chronic pain impacts relationships and identity
💡 The uniform of pain: why so many women wear floaty skirts

🔗 Resources & Mentions in This Episode:
📘 Amazon Buy the book Optimising Recovery from Vulval and Vaginal Pain by Heather Coppard
🌐 Female Health Hypnotherapy (Stockport, UK) – Support for women’s pain and trauma

📲 Follow Female Health Hypnotherapy on Instagram

🌐Heather Coppard Website
📲 Follow Heather Coppard on Instagram

📖 Special Thanks to Our Sponsors:
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