Here’s Why You Should Love Your Hormonal Problems

Be honest with me- have you ever found yourself thinking ‘I HATE my hormones!! I wish they would just behave themselves and stop making my life a living hell!!’ or some variation of this idea?

If you’re peri-menopausal or even menopausal, you’ll probably curse the way they make you feel, hate feeling so completely at their mercy and dream of getting them under control and returning to your younger days when your hormones barely even bothered you.

You loathe your hot flushes, detest the way your stomach looks in the mirror, feel sick of feeling low and irritable all the time and just wish it would all go away.

I don’t blame you. I really don’t.

But I’m here today to explain why allowing yourself to feel like this could actually be worsening your symptoms and leaving you feeling pretty yuck. It’s not your fault, but with just a small change in mindset you can feel so much better.

Let me explain how.

Our unhappy relationship with our hormones

Our poor, poor hormones. They really have a rough time of it, don’t they? They’re probably the most unloved and unappreciated part of our bodies despite the fact that they help control almost every one of your bodily functions.

This includes regulating your body temperature, helping you sleep, controlling your hunger, burning calories, balancing blood sugar, helping you grow and repair, deal with stress in your life, and so much more.

It’s only when something goes wrong that we notice them at all- when we start noticing those hormonal symptoms, get irritable, fail to conceive, suffer debilitating PMT or depression, start having hot flushes etc.

And then our attitude and our opinion of these vital chemical messengers is far from positive.

And it’s not just us-the men around us mock our ‘hormones’, we’re told we’re ‘hormonal’ when we get upset about something, and don’t even mention the number of jokes men tell about women’s hormones…

Why we’re looking at it all wrong

Just like a young child that isn’t getting any attention, when ignored and neglected, your hormones are bound to play up. They’re not getting what they need so they’re going to communicate their needs to you loud and clear in the only way they know how- sending you those hormonal symptoms.

Those hot flushes? Your hormones crying for help. Your low mood and depression? Your hormones crying for help. Your lack of sex drive, excess weight gain and sleepless nights? Your hormones crying out for help.

They aren’t trying to make our lives hell. They aren’t out to ‘get’ us. They don’t want to make us suffer. They want to help us to get well again.

Let me repeat that last sentence again because it’s extremely important.

They want to help us get well again.

Whilst we attempt to silence our hormonal messages with unnecessary prescriptions for anti-depressants, sleeping pills or even libido enhancers, we’re unintentionally making the problem worse. We’re not taking the time to get to the root of the problem. We’re not listening.

And worse than this, a constant negative attitude causes extra tension in your body which doesn’t just make you feel terrible, it also triggers a cascade of stress hormones which will further worsen your symptoms.

The answer: love your hormones

By now, the answer should be glaringly obvious. We should learn to love our hormones. We should listen to the messages our hormones are sharing with us and take action to heal our bodies and minds.

We could become friends with our symptoms and thank them for being there. We could take steps to care better for our hormones, help them to rebalance and naturally find a place of healing and happiness.

Here’s what I recommend you do next to really love your hormones:

#1: Keep track of your hormones

Every single woman should keep track of her hormones.

It doesn’t matter how old you are, whether you’re suffering from hormonal problems, trying to get pregnant or none of the above-for the sake of your own health, you should start tracking your hormones and also watching for any symptoms you might be having.

I can’t stress enough how extremely important this is for EVERY woman. It’s getting to know yourself better, understanding how your body works and also noticing when things aren’t quite operating as they should be. 

There are plenty of app and free worksheets you can find online that will help you follow what your hormones are up to.

#2: Teach the girls in your life to do the same

Your next step is to share your knowledge with the girls in your life- your daughters, your granddaughter, your friends and so on. It won’t directly help you, but it will help safeguard their hormonal future and help them fight for what they really believe in.

The earlier we do this the better! I wish someone would have explained to me earlier how my hormones can work for or against me and help me better understand the mysteries of my body.

Spread the word and change someone’s life.

#3: Understand your symptoms and your triggers

Now you’re tracking your hormones, look carefully at the information you’ve gathered and see if it tells you a story. What is your body trying to tell you? Can you see any patterns? What are your triggers? What worsens your symptoms? What helps you feel better? Do you see these symptoms at a certain time of the month?

#4: What does this mean for your hormones?

At this point, you might decide to go back to your GP and hope for a more positive visit. Or you might contact a woman’s health expert like me (I’ll help you make sense of everything you’re noticing and get you on the right track towards optimal health and wellness). Or you can even go it alone, read thoroughly on the subject and see if you can understand where the problem might lie.

Ask yourself, which hormone do you think has fallen out of balance? Are you oestrogen-dominant or deficient? Progesterone dominant or deficient? Could you have another hormonal problem, for example with your thyroid?

#5: Ask yourself what you can do about it

Now you understand better what your body is trying to tell you, you can do something about it! Great ways include getting more sleep, minimising the amount of stress you’re under, learning great tricks and techniques to help you cope with life’s little hiccups, prioritizing great nutritious food, getting enough exercise and also getting more pleasure in your life.

What would this look like for you? What could you do right now? Could you start going to bed earlier? Could you find time to read your favourite book for ten minutes before bed every night? Eat more veggies? Draw up an action plan and see if it helps.

So when your hot sweats are becoming a nightmare, you feel like you’re ready to explode with anger or dissolve into floods of tears. When you keep putting on more belly fat or just can’t help reaching for the biscuit tin mid-afternoon, be kinder to yourself.

Understand that your body isn’t out to get you! It doesn’t want you to suffer. It’s crying out loud and clear that it needs your help. All you need to do is listen and learn to love your hormones, instead of fighting them.