The endocrine system is the collection of organs responsible for producing some important hormones such as Oestrogen, Progesterone and Cortisol.
Whenever one hormone is out of balance you will no doubt feel off balance too. Your hormones are all connected to each other and once one hormone is imbalanced there can be a ripple effect to other hormones totally compounding the problem. One day (or week if you are lucky!) you can feel energetic, happy, calm and you can think clearly. The next week you can feel like you are always snappy, tired, grumpy, angry and on the verge of tears.
It is completely normal for our hormone levels to change throughout the month (and by the day too), but we might need some extra support if we constantly feel tired, angry or teary or if we struggle to keep it together more often than not.
In a homeopathic consultation we take time to look for the root cause of why you might be out of balance. The most common reasons that women come to me feeling imbalanced are:
- Motherhood, it’s hard juggling it all. And motherhood changes us in so many unexpected ways and I’m not just talking about hormones here although of course they change too. For example in the few days after giving birth your oestrogen and progesterone levels drop dramatically from pregnancy levels which can leave you feeling low and teary. Plus being a parent throws many challenges our way that we hadn’t thought of before which can often leave us tired, anxious and overwhelmed.
2. Work-life balance, never ending to do list and targets can leave us feeling stressed and our cortisol levels too high or even swinging between high and low. We are our own worst critics trying to get it all done and feeling like we are not achieving enough and then getting burnt out.
3. Hormonal contraceptives, I and many other Homeopaths have helped many women whose hormones are out of balance after years of being on the pill, injection or implant. The way they work is to cut off your normal production of hormones and instead synthetic hormones take over. Then for many women, when they come off the pill it can take months if not years for their hormones and periods to learn to regulate themselves again. I know, I have been there! This is how 15 years ago I first came to see a Homeopath as I was feeling like I was on a constant PMT rollercoaster (mainly swinging between crying at the drop of a hat and being very snappy!). Over the course of a few months she made me feel like me again after 10 years of being on the pill. In my clinic I have helped women whose periods have been absent or irregular for months or years after coming off the pill to come back to a regular pattern again which has in turn helped them become pregnant or just have the peace of mind of having a regular cycle. I have also seen women come to me feeling terrible anxiety after coming off hormonal contraceptives go to feeling calm and resilient again after a series of homeopathy sessions.
4. Peri-menopause and menopause, that stage of life that all of us ladies will go through. Peri-menopausal symptoms can start up to 10 years before the menopause actually arrives. I’m talking irregular periods, hot flashes, being snappy at your partner or kids and loss of libido amongst other things.
Homeopathy helps to balance your hormones again by matching the remedy to your unique symptoms and the root cause of why you are off kilter. We are all individuals, we all have different challenges facing us and we all experience our hormonal shifts differently. Hence why homeopathy is not a one size fits all therapy, it is tailored to your specific needs. Once I have got a rounded picture of how your hormones are affecting you, why they are out of balance, your lifestyle and your medical history I can come up with a bespoke remedy plan for you. Over time you will start to feel calm and centred again, that knot of anxiety loosens, the hot flashes decrease and the periods come back to a regular pattern again.
I have devised a Healthy Hormones Care Plan to help you if you can relate to any of this blog. What better time of year to put your self-care first; I love working with women to help them feel calm, centred and balanced again. I’d love it if you would like to start your journey to good health with me. You can find out more about the package and its benefits here or email me at helen@helenjefferies.co.uk or call 07387 553140.