Hormonal disharmony? I’ve been there…
After I had my second child, I entered new hormonal terrain. For most of my life, periods and hormonal fluctuations were a minor discomfort with manageable ebb and flow.
After my son was born, that all changed.
I breastfed for 13 months and my cycle came back somewhere during those last 3 months. It was immediately irregular, unpredictable and difficult. I struggled with PMT, dramatic mood swings bursting into tears over the slightest thing or losing my temper with the children. My periods, when they did arrive, were longer, more painful and more exhausting.
For a long time I did nothing about it. Although I was trained in natural medicine and had experience of these kinds of problems somehow when it concerned my own welfare all of that knowledge and wisdom went out the window.
Besides, I had two small children to be dealing with, as well as juggling freelance work, attempting to find time for writing poetry and the usual household tasks. On top of that I had a large garden, a poly-tunnel for salads, tomatoes and all sorts of desirable things.
In my imagination, I was wandering the garden picking herbs and salads, singing to myself and being a delightful earth mother. In reality I was often exhausted, overwhelmed, moody and riding a hormonal rollercoaster that was heading for a crash.
My mother was one of the people who drew my attention to my flailing enthusiasm. Where are your tools? She asked. What about all your skills? Why couldn’t I just apply them to myself, she wondered.
It was a good question. I was failing at applying them to myself because I needed help and support to get there. I knew I had the answers to my problems but my hormonal landscape was so out of whack that I couldn’t see the wood for the trees.
Not long after, I sought support and over the next few years I attended a number of natural therapists, figuring out my energy levels, creating a healthy lifestyle for myself, exploring my mindset and my patterns. I took a number of natural remedies, nutritional supplements and worked on my diet. I got to know myself again.
It would be fair to say that that period of my life was my best education.
Of course I'm still learning. But during those years I became fascinated by the hormonal journey, by the emotional rollercoaster we ride as women, by our strengths and difficulties.
I came out of that time determined to help other women in the same situation. I did additional training and became more and more passionate about women’s health.
I am continually amazed by the debilitating symptoms women endure. How they put their own needs aside and look always to meet their children’s needs, their partners or help their extended families.
And at the same I can completely relate, because I’ve been there. I was afraid I was heading towards peri-menopause straight out of the post-natal period, that I would never again experience a regular, non-intrusive cycle, that somehow I was failing to get it all together, that my emotions would rule my world.
Hormonal and emotional health are completely intertwined. I work with women on every level to find those interconnections and achieve hormonal harmony. In my case, this state was triggered by the child bearing years but for others it could be brought on by ongoing stress, sudden grief, or the fluctuations of perimenopause or menopause. Everyone is different.
If you can relate to this, let me know in your comments. If you are currently struggling with a similar hormonal landscape and would like support, do get in touch.
I offer a 30-minute hormonal wellbeing roadmap to discuss your needs and priorities and give simple and effective ways you can find more hormonal balance in your life. This is a stand alone consult or can be used as a springboard into my longer programme for those looking for change with deeper, longstanding issues.
In love & solidarity,
Siobhán
