It’s October 30th, and in honor of Halloween, I wanted to write about something that can feel scary and mysterious: hormones.

Because I mostly work with women, I have found a common topic that we discuss is how hormones affect them.

I have also found that the education on hormones is seriously lacking for us at earlier ages.

Sure, we start sex ed classes in late elementary or middle school, but they didn’t cover much about hormones (at least not at my school).

They didn’t teach us about hormonal imbalances or how to balance your hormones with or without medications.

They also didn’t teach us that vitamin D is important for your hormones.

The information I’m going to share with you here is:

For people of all genders. It’s important for everyone to understand hormones to better understand yourself and or the people around you.
From what I’ve learned in my own research, personal experience, and from my doctor. I am not a doctor, and you should do your own research and speak with your doctor to learn more about your own unique situation.
Mostly about hormones as they relate to a menstrual cycle and how to cope with those hormones.

How Hormones Affect You

Hormones and hormonal changes and imbalances affect some people more than others.

This might be because of genetics or other co-occurring health conditions, including mental health conditions like anxiety or depression disorders.

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Hormone changes, imbalances, or deficiencies can affect your physical health in numerous ways, including:

Bloating
Weight loss or gain
Hair loss or thinning
Trouble with memory
Difficulty with sleep
Extreme fatigue even when sleeping enough
Changes in sex drive
Changes in appetite
Changes in your skin, like acne or dryness

Hormones can also affect your mental health with new or increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, low self-worth, and more.

You may feel the affect of these changes within the week or so before your period begins (commonly referred to as premenstrual syndrome or PMS).

But you can also feel symptoms throughout the month as well, as your menstrual cycle continues throughout the whole month and not only the week before and week of your period.

How to Cope with Hormonal Symptoms

As a reminder, I am licensed therapist, but I am not a medical professional. These suggestions are non-medication and based on my research, personal experience, and my doctor’s suggestions for me.

Although these are general suggestions, everyone’s situation will vary and will be best cared for with individualized treatment that you can develop through research and speaking with your doctors.

If you are interested in medication options, please consult with your doctor.

Be Mindful About Your Diet

In the week or so before your period, being mindful about what you’re putting in your body will likely be helpful.

This might include increasing your fruit and vegetable intake, reducing caffeine and alcohol, or eating more lean meats and less red meats.

As you learn more about your full menstrual cycle, you can even create a plan for what you will eat throughout the month that will help the health of your hormones throughout your whole cycle.

There are coaches and doctors who specialize in hormones. I love my functional doctor who has taught me a lot about hormones and how to take better care of my hormonal health.

It can also be helpful to talk to your doctor or gynecologist about vitamins and possibly being tested to find out where you may be vitamin deficient.

For example, many people are vitamin D deficient, and as mentioned, vitamin D is important for hormone health, too.

Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep is always important, and it’s even more important when you’re dealing with difficult hormonal symptoms or hormonal imbalances.

Sleep helps manage cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone, and having too much or too little of this hormone can cause health problems.

Stress and lack of sleep can also make it more difficult to cope with the other symptoms that come with hormone changes.

Keep It Moving

Physical movement is another helpful way to take care of your hormonal health. Similar to sleep, physical movement also helps manage cortisol levels.

My doctor shared that low impact movement, such as taking a walk, can be especially good for lowering cortisol levels.

Take Time to Relax

Anything that helps you relax and lower stress will be helpful. This might include:

Reading
Coloring
Massage or self-massage
Watching a favorite movie
Taking a warm bath or shower
Spending time with loved ones or pets
Practicing mindfulness or grounding techniques

Check Your Birth Control

If you consistently have moderate to severe PMS symptoms, you might want to talk to your doctor or gynecologist about your birth control and other possible options.

Get Support

The support you have will going through hormonal changes and imbalances can make a world of difference.

Providing an explanation or educational resources to your partner, family member, or other close support person is a great place to start.

They may not fully understand, especially if they have not experienced similar hormonal symptoms, but they will hopefully try to understand the great impact that hormones can have.

This can be especially important because the symptoms you experience may affect your relationships with others, at times, and having a conversation around this will help your relationships, too.

Final Notes

Hormones affect all of us, but hormonal changes and imbalances affect some people more than others.

It’s important to be educated about hormones to better understand yourself and or others.

If you are just learning about hormones now, you’re not alone.

There is a big gap in hormonal education that means we have to take action to learn about them through avenues like research, readings (like In the Flo), and doctor visits.