Mine has been terrible! I’ve also heard from friends or clients that their sleep has been atrocious!
I love sleep, so this is not good for me!
Then I read a few articles recently saying that many people are finding it hard to sleep well during lockdown – so I thought maybe that’s it!
I have to confess that my stress levels have been higher than normal.
There’s just too many things on my plate at the moment – my girls at home all the time, I’ve been homeschooling them, husband is working from home, I seem to be cooking non-stop… Not to mention the political lockdown situation and all that goes with that!
I’m also working and getting busier and trying to fit that into my spare hours, which is usually in the evenings and later at night! And we all know what blue light does to our sleep, right?
Combining all this with perimenopause, it’s a wonder I sleep at all!
Insomnia and trouble sleeping is actually quite common during perimenopause.
And the reasons are varied and unique to you.
Maybe you get hot flushes and night sweats, or are prone to anxiety and panic attacks.
Eating too many refined and processed foods or not exercising enough.
Or you are exposed to too much blue light in the evenings.
Often our liver is overtaxed, and that can also have a big impact….
During perimenopause we are in a transition period for our sleeping patterns.
We may need more sleep now, like in our teenage years, and then once we are in proper menopause we may need less.
So don’t feel guilty if you feel you need to sleep more!!
Now, let’s talk about STRESS.
This is what is I think is the main thing getting to me at the moment.
Stress in not all bad, it is there to motivate us and help us when we are in danger and to survive. One of the main hormones involved in this is CORTISOL.
Cortisol is there to wake us up and give us energy in the morning and during the day. By evening it should decrease, giving way to melatonin to help us wind down and go to sleep.
The problem starts when we are constantly stressed. Our cortisol levels are constantly on a high, making it much harder to go to sleep.
During perimenopause, our adrenal glands (which produce cortisol) also need to help out with estrogen production, and if they are already over-stressed… well you can see where I’m going with this! It’s a wonder we ever sleep at all!!
This is probably where my problem lies at the moment. It is just hard to get away from stress at the moment, isn’t it?
And remember me mentioning the liver?
I reduced my alcohol intake to 1-2 glasses a week, and now am sleeping so much better.
Sleep is so important for our health and well being. It is especially so during perimenopause because we need that recovery time for our hormones that are naturally all over the place.
We also need it to reduce stress and recharge our energy levels.
If we don’t get enough we can be more prone to inflammation and therefore more at risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other related conditions.
Homeopathy can help get you better sleep during perimenopause, especially if it’s stress or anxiety related. Feel free to book a free 15 minute discovery call to see if I can help you!
During these interesting times, it wouldn’t be surprising if your anxiety has gone through the roof!!
There are very real reasons for our anxieties at the moment, but some have also been hyped up by the media.
If you are in the middle of perimenopause, your anxiety has been likely worse than usual, and that was bad enough!
Let’s have a little deeper look at why we are so prone to anxiety during perimenopause.
Anxiety is actually one of the most common symptoms during perimenopause. It’s usually is the type of anxiety that is disproportionate to the situation. You seem to worry about everything and anything!
This anxiety can easily lead us to experiencing panic attacks, which can be quite scary.
Everything seems overwhelming. You can’t even make a decision without breaking into a sweat of worry and panic.
So, what is going on within us that is causing all this?
Fluctuations in our hormones, have a major part to play in this. Especially progesterone levels.
Progesterone is a calming hormone. When its levels start to decrease in perimenopause, we can feel worried and anxious about any little thing.
Perimenopause is the time when our past unresolved emotional traumas come to the fore. It is natural that we start feeling anxious much more easily. It is our body’s way of telling us we need to resolve something.
In more normal times, this is likely the main reason why we get so anxious during perimenopuase. Have a deeper look into what is making you anxious and panicky. Those seemingly little things are usually a standing in front of a bigger thing that keeps calling you to be resolved.
At this moment in time, however, I can see that our cortisol and adrenaline levels are the ones causing most of this mayhem.
Cortisol and adrenaline are our survival hormone. It takes precedence over all the others. They are produced when we are in perceived danger, it’s our flight or fight hormone.
We have all been feeling in some sort of danger these last few weeks – from the virus, from losing our freedom, from our inability to see friends and family, from being in financial hardship, from the probability of losing our livelihoods… the list can go on…
If these two hormone is overflowing due to stress, they will create imbalance in all the others. Including progesterone, our calming hormone.
It’s no wonder we are all feeling super anxious. We’ve got anxiety coming at us from the external stresses and fear being thrown at us every day for the past 2 months. And we are also getting it from the hormonal imbalances that result from it.
So what can you do to feel more calm?
Some simple things you can easily do right now include avoiding alcohol and caffeine, and taking time to exercise and to rest as well.
Nutritionally some vitamin B6 and magnesium could help, as they calm your nervous system.
If you feel your anxiety is too much, out of proportion or persistent, or you are having a difficult time dealing with it, then do try to get help.
EFT, meditation, mindfulness and counselling may be very helpful in this instance.
Homeopathy and flower essences are also amazing in these situations.
Please don’t let yourself get mired in your anxiety. I am here to help.
I’m offering free 15 minute chats to all my clients, to talk about how you are doing, and help you feel calmer and more at peace.
All of a sudden we are thrust into a new “normal”! Some of us have been forced to start working at home, others to homeschool their children. Sometimes both things at the same time! (Yes, that is me!).
On top of that, we have to babysit our husbands as well! Haha!
Not only that, we are now, in many places, forced to stay at home unless absolutely necessary!
We humans beings are not happy to change our ways too often. We thrive on routines and habits. It takes time to change something we are so used to doing.
And this is the situation most of us are experiencing at the moment.
Abrupt changes can be very stressful in the best of times. Add to this the fear and anxiety about a virus we know little about, plus the media bombarding us with an overlaod of information and panic and hysteria… well it’s recipe for disaster.
I’m going to share here what I’ve been trying to do to keep my anxiety under control as much as possible. I hope it can help you too.
Avoid the news and social media as much as possible. It is hard not too feel anxious when we are constantly hearing about the virus, lockdowns, sold out supermarkets and flattening the curve. Yes, keep yourself updated once or twice a day, but I recommend not more than that. Turning off the news and keeping away from social media has helped me so much.
Go outside and get some sunshine (if you have it!), fresh air, and movement. Not only does this help with physical immunity and health, it is also paramount to mental health. All human beings need to be outside part of the time!
Try to keep your normal routine going. Go to sleep and get up at the same time. Get dressed in different clothes. If you are newly working from home try to keep similar hours. Routines ground us and help us with uncertainty.
If you now have kids at home, try not to stress too much about homeschooling or whether they’ll be behind or not. Kids will be just as anxious about this as us, even if not fully aware about the situation, and they will pick up on our own anxieties. Be with them, support them, listen to them, play games, and try to keep a routine as well to anchor the whole family.
Try to exercise as much as you can. If you can, go for a walk or a run outside. If you are stuck in side, there are now a myriad of online fitness/yoga/dance and other classes all over the internet. We need to keep our bodies strong and fit to help our immune system and our mental health.
Keep in touch with friends and family, through chats or video calls. Humans need connection. We are all in this together, and it’s always nice to hear from someone just checking up on you. Help your kids to remain in touch with their friends as well — it must be difficult for them not to be able to play and chat with friends anymore!
Don’t feel pressured to (or guilty that you didn’t) do everything that you thought you would do now that you are stuck at home. You know what I’m talking about: decluttering and deep cleaning your house; doing all the yoga classes online; meditating everyday; reading all the books on your bedside table. Relax, take your time, and do only what you need and want to do.
If you feel overwhelmed, reach out. To your family, to your friends. Even to your homeopath! We are here to help!
I’m still working from home with clients, so if you need an appointment just get in touch! Email me at homeopathy@stephaniethullen.com.
I’m also now working with an amazing international group of homeopaths on a new venture to offer homeopathic help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can check this out here: www.homeopathy247.com.
I’m sure there are so many other ways to deal with stress and anxiety during these difficult time. I’d love to hear what has worked for you too! Leave your ideas and experience in the comments if you wish!
I promised you on my newsletter I would write a bit more about the Corona Virus, aka Covid-19, on my blog, so here it is!
Now, my aim with this is to put things in perspective and avoid assumptions and hysteria. Neither of these things will help you.
The media seems to be hyping everything up. They only tell you about the spreading infection and the deaths increasing every day.
What this type of reporting usually does is send people into fear mode, which is the last thing you want if you want to boost your immune system.
Fear is a major immune system suppressor.
I’m all for the media telling us the facts, but without the hype. They are telling us hardly anything about the age and health conditions of the people who are suffering severely or dying from the virus.
You really need to dig deep to find out that most of them are either elderly, or already have a health condition which weakens their immune system.
The media is also not telling us much about the people who are recovering, and the people who suffered only mildly from the virus.
The other day I saw a meme on Facebook, which had the following statistics:
On the same day that 108 people in China died of the virus, more than 26,000 died of cancer, more than 24,000 died of heart disease, more that 4,000 of diabetes and more than 1,000 were murdered!
I’m not sure the source of these statistics but they sound pretty plausible to me. If you have time to dig these numbers (eg. How many people die or xyz per day), I’d love to know! But in a quick search, I found that in the US alone 1,660 people die of cancer each day! The worldwide murder number is pretty accurate after a quick search too!
Of course, we don’t know much yet about the virus, and I understand the caution we need to take around it. However, that does not mean that we need to be frightened to death about it.
Allopathic medicine is based on the germ theory, which see microorganisms as attacking us. In homeopathy we see things quite differently. It all starts with the terrain – the body and the immune system.
If your immune system is functioning well, you eat and hydrate well to keep your body strong and healthy, then you’ll be able to handle things better than someone who doesn’t look after themselves, is overly stressed, or has a suppressed immune system.
So start here.
Follow the advice being given by health authorities is with regards to basic hygiene: wash your hands, cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing, bin all used tissues as soon as possible, avoid contact with people who are unwell, keep your house clean, etc…
It was hygiene and sanitation which has been the major factor in our improved ability to prevent and deal with many diseases.
I already gave some tips in my newsletter about boosting your immunity with Vitamin C, D, iodine. You could also add zinc and selenium in there.
You could add antiviral foods to your diet, like garlic, fermented foods, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, and many others.
Homeopathy has a great track record with regards to treating influenza in the past, and since we don’t treat particular disease but rather individual people and their own unique expression of symptoms, there are many remedies that could be used.
I was going to write here a bit more about some homeopathic remedies to have on hand, but the media seems to be on a witch hunt at the moment with homeopaths, so I will write a separate newsletter just with this info. Make sure you are subscribed if you want to know more! Click here to subscribe!
Most importantly, don’t stress too much about this. As I said earlier, fear and stress are immunosuppressive. Try to get adequate sleep and rest, get enough fresh air and exercise. Be happy and grateful everyday.
As usual, this doesn’t replace advice from your doctor or medical practitioner or health authorities.
And keep doing your own research.
In the meantime I leave you with the Corona virus Cumbia! (Only in Mexico 🇲🇽 !) If you understand Spanish, you can hear all about the common sense preventative measures while you dance!
Maybe it’s not the bleed itself, more what comes with it. The mood swings, the pain, the bloating, the sore boobs…. the weepiness, the food cravings, the spots on your face…. the rage, the headaches, the insomnia…
You are totally fed up, and sometimes it’s so bad you want to just curl up on the sofa with a hot water bottle all day.
Can you believe PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) / PMT (Premenstrual Tension) is something that around 80% of women suffer from, all the way from mild to severe symptoms?!
How can this be?
Is this the fault of our hormones? Did God/Mother Nature/Source get this wrong?
In the physical sense, our hormonal balance is certainly one of the factors – either excess or deficiency of estrogen, plus a deficiency of progesterone.
In addition to our lovely hormones being out of balance when we are suffering PMS, these factors also have a big role to play:
Inflammation
Stress
Trauma
High consumption of dairy, caffeine, sugar, alcohol.
Deficiency of certain minerals (magnesium, selenium) and vitamins (B complex, C, E)
Lack of exercise
Excess weight
Histamine intolerance
But if your PMS is chronic – you get it pretty much every month, year after year – or severe, then you need to look deeper.
Our female hormones communicate with us and guide us in our day to day life.
Premenstrually, they are telling us we need to rest, to look inward, nurture ourselves.
Our modern culture, however, is telling us the opposite. It’s telling us we need to keep active all the time, be productive members of society. We can and should do anything, anytime.
It is when we resist our cycles and rhythms, that we run into trouble. PMS is our body signalling us that we are not in tune with ourselves.
It’s screaming for us to look after ourselves and rest. It’s telling us that maybe we haven’t been kind to ourselves lately – too much stress, not enough nutrient dense foods, not enough exercise.
So what can you do to relieve PMS?
Getting rid of your hormonal fluctuations – which are normal by the way! – with a hormonal contraceptive will not solve the problem. It’s only patching it up, temporarily. In fact, it will most likely cause more problems (and that is a conversation for another time!).
The main problem or problems will still be there unless you address them.
Reducing stress is probably the most important thing and it goes hand in hand with inflammation. Stress affects the behaviours and communication of all our hormones, including estrogen and progesterone.
Avoiding foods that cause inflammation, like dairy, wheat, sugar, alcohol and vegetable oils, could also be important
You can start to look at your nutrition and exercise habits, and see where you need to change things up.
Do you need to reduce or avoid sugar, caffeine, alcohol, dairy?
Or maybe consume foods that contain magnesium, selenium, vitamin B6, B12, C and E.
Maybe you need to see if your meals are properly balanced, with enough protein and fat to balance your blood sugar and avoid sugar cravings.
Or if you think you have a histamine sensitivity or intolerance, then look at avoiding foods that could cause a histamine reaction – e.g. dairy, alcohol – or that contain histamine – e.g. cheese, red wine, fermented foods, smoked meats, nuts, beans and pulses.
Do you need to exercise more to reduce stress and inflammation and balance blood sugar.
Or maybe you just need to try to get more and better sleep. IF you do the above, your sleep will very likely improve anyway!
You don’t have to keep struggling month after month!
You can heal yourself. Homeopathy can help you deal with your PMS/PMT symptoms. It can also help you get to the deeper root cause, safely and effectively, so you don’t have to suffer any more!
Please get in touch if you need help. I’m here for you!
There seems to be a growing silent epidemic of hormonal problems among women – this includes thyroid problems, breast and ovarian cancers, precocious puberty, PCOS, and severe menopausal and menstrual symptoms, among many.
Why is this happening?
What are Hormones?
Hormones are the chemical messengers that control all the functions in our body, from our circadian rhythm, metabolism, growth, stress responses, blood sugar balance and energy, as well our sexual function and reproduction.
Hormones include cortisol, adrenaline, melatonin, oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and insulin, among many, many others.
All these hormones are interconnected and work together, and if one or more go out of balance, the whole system could become imbalanced.
What are the symptoms of hormonal imbalance in women?
In terms of hormonal imbalance specifically related to women, the symptoms and conditions can include:
Poor sleep and insomnia
Weight gain or loss
Mood swings, anxiety and depression
Infertility
Irregular and painful periods
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
Fatigue and exhaustion
Digestive issues
Low libido
Breast tenderness or pain
Acne and other skin issues
Brain fog and memory lapses
Headaches and migraines
Joint pain
Fibroids
Endometriosis
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Why is this happening?
There are times in our life when we as women will naturally get imbalance with our reproductive hormones, such as puberty, pregnancy, whilst breastfeeding, as well as perimenopause and menopause. This is normal.
However, sometimes this imbalance can be more extreme and/or prolonged than it should be and it starts to negatively affect our everyday lives. It seems that more and more women are suffering with severe PMS, menopausal symptoms, infertility, and it’s even affecting girls; it is now common that menarche (a girl’s first period) occurs as young as 8 or 9 years old, whereas it wasn’t like this even 30 years ago, where the norm was more like 12-13 years old or even older.
Since the functions of all hormones are interrelated, it is not surprising that with our increasingly stressful and hectic lives, as well as our chronic exposure to toxicity from our environment and food, that our hormones don’t work the way they are supposed to!
Let’s just take chronic stress, probably the biggest factor. When we are constantly stressed out we secrete too much cortisol, the stress hormone that is produced in our adrenal glands.
Too much cortisol can in turn lead to increases in oestrogen; excess oestrogen is the main culprit for all sorts of hormonal symptoms, many of them listed above; it is even one of the factors in developing breast cancer (though it doesn’t necessarily mean you will!).
Another big factor is the toxic substances in our environment. Some of these chemicals are what are called xenoestrogens or endocrine disruptors. These chemicals mimic oestrogen and can cause imbalance in our hormonal system.
Xenoestrogens are present in non-organic foods, skincare products, plastics, paint, cleaning products, car fumes, water supply, birth control, and disposable menstrual products. They are basically everywhere! It’s no wonder our hormonal systems are all out of whack!
What can you do about it?
Aiming to eat more organic foods, avoiding conventional household and skincare products and replacing them with more natural options, managing our stress better – all these things will help.
Take baby steps and be kind to yourself; it can be overwhelming to change everything at once, and even then it is still difficult to avoid everything and be perfectly calm and mindful all the time.
Each of us is unique; we have different lifestyles and challenges, so our hormonal imbalances will affect us in different ways. Some of us will get the mood swings and weight gain and low libido, whilst other may get the breast tenderness and headaches.
This is why I love homeopathy for hormonal imbalance – every single prescription is tailored to your unique symptoms and situation.
If your hormonal symptoms are affecting your everyday life more than you’d like, then feel free to get in touch to see if homeopathy can help. I offer a free 30-minute call where we can chat about how homeopathy can help you and see if we can work together.
I’m a registered Homeopath living in the small, beautiful rural county of Herefordshire in the UK. My passion is to help women balance their hormones in a natural, safe and effective way, so they can feel like themselves again.
