Hormone Imbalances Are Not What's Behind Your Symptoms

Hormone imbalances are not the reason for the symptoms you may be experiencing. If you want to know what's really behind them, you have to get to the root cause of the imbalance to begin with.

It's totally understandable if you believe that at the heart of your symptoms is a hormonal imbalance because that's what has been talked about for ages. As women we're taught that having hormonal imbalances is "normal" and simply "part of being a woman". So many women have no idea what's going on or that there is even a problem! Many don't even realize that what they consider feeling "normal"  is actually pretty bad, and that there's a possibility for living a much more vibrant symptom free life. Typically when we go to the doctor what gets treated are the symptoms without time taken to dig deeper and find out the culprit behind your hormonal imbalance.

Here's the thing, if treating hormonal imbalances at the surface level with prescriptions solved the problem, then everyone would be symptom free, right? 

But it simply isn't true. Just in one Facebook group alone for women with thyroid issues I have read countless posts of women talking about how even with medications for their thyroid, they continue to suffer and feel terrible. They continue to suffer with brain fog, weight resistance, fatigue, poor sleep, hair falling out...the list goes on. What's worse, they feel defeated, hopeless, unheard, frustrated and desperate for help. It's heart breaking.

I find myself wanting to shout "ITS BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GETTING TO THE ROOT CAUSE!!!" I do my best to help, but I find that a lot of people continue to trust a medical system that is unintentionally leading them down a path that won't help them uncover what is DRIVING the hormonal imbalance in the first place. And don't get me wrong, sometimes a prescription is best. But it cannot be the only solution to the problem. It's understandable of course to trust doctors, after all they're the ones who went to medical school and can help us in so many ways. But the problem is, they learn next to nothing about nutrition, or functional medicine that ultimately gets to the root cause.

Your hormones are at the heart of all of your bodily functions and your body is so beyond brilliant, always working to find a state of homeostasis. That's why it's so fundamentally important to avoid the very things that cause problems in the first place, while also giving your body what it needs to do its job, get into balance, and heal.

Before I get into two of the most prevalent root causes, lets take a look at some of the most common hormonal imbalances and their signs and symptoms:

High Cortisol: this one is a biggie and I'd guess that most women living in this stress filled world are suffering from this right now. Symptoms include feeling tired yet wired, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and irregular periods.

Low Cortisol: fatigue, difficulty staying asleep, feel unrested after a nights sleep, low blood pressure, dizziness upon standing, low tolerance for stress, feeling depressed or unable to cope.

Low Progesterone: difficulty getting or staying pregnant, PMS or PDD, menstrual migraines, heavier flow during period, irregular cycles, bloating in the abdomen, and swollen or painful breasts.

Excess Estrogen: heavy bleeding, fibroids, endometriosis, moodiness, depression, mid-cycle pain, and brain fog.

Low Estrogen: Oligomenorrhea (infrequent periods), Amenorrhea (absence of periods), vaginal dryness, low sex drive, painful sex, hot flashes or night sweats, joint pain, dry skin and eyes, depression, melasma, and poor cognitive function.

Excess Androgens: unstable blood sugar, infrequent ovulation, ovarian cysts, acne or oily skin, hair growth on the face, hair loss on the head, PCOS, and mid-cycle pain.

Low Androgens: low libido, painful sex, low self-confidence, less muscle mass, decreased motivation.

Low Thyroid: dry skin and hair, hair loss, brittle nails, cold hands and feet, sensitivity to cold, fatigue, depression, rapid weight gain or weight resistance, heavy periods, infertility or miscarriage.

This is quite a list with so many different symptoms, and is by no means exhaustive. It just goes to show just how miserable so many women are and suffering when they could be thriving. If they only knew what was behind their symptoms, they could finally put an end to the misery once and for all.

When we look at those women who seem to have found the holy grail of health, and look and feel vibrant, they all have one thing in common: they finally discovered the root cause. Can you find any woman who is living a life finally free of symptoms, lost that stubborn weight, and feel better than they have in years who didn't uncover what was behind it? No.

So just how do you get to the root cause?

Inside the M|Body Method we take a deep dive into possible root causes that could be the reason for your symptoms that I have listed above and how to find out.

It first requires a shift in what you believe is possible that is causing some of your issues. Many women I talk to are often surprised to learn that having a simple hormone imbalance is not only abnormal, but that the practice of  "fixing" the problem with strategies that only target their symptoms will not change anything and the problem will remain.

Once you understand that there may be more to the story underneath your symptoms, this allows you to begin to have a deeper awareness by paying close attention to your symptoms when they arise, and tracking them. When this awareness is coupled with identifying what you're doing that could be the reason, you start to make connections which results in some mind blowing clarity.

With this new clarity you can then set off on the road to finally doing what needs to be done to solve the underlying problem. Two of the most common culprits are food intolerances and chronic stress.

Food Intolerances

Food allergies or sensitivities are probably one of the most common yet still widely unrecognized reasons for most women's weight resistance and host of symptoms. The best first step is to pay close attention to how you feel when you eat and simply keep a journal of how you feel both physically and emotionally, and make a note of it (refer to the list above for possible symptoms). This information can be gold if you are diligent and committed. Once you start to make those connections, this allows you to make some decisions about whether or not you want to eliminate those trigger foods to see if you feel better. 

Chronic Stress

The next big root cause is chronic stress. Our bodies were built to respond quickly in a crisis when we are faced with danger. This is what is commonly known as being in a state of fight or flight. When this happens cortisol gets released to allow us to get away fast. But it's meant to only be released during times of danger, not on the daily for hours on end.

Overtime, this chronic state of cortisol being released has a negative effect on the body. One of the biggest problems is what's called adrenal fatigue. This is when your adrenals call it quits because they're literally exhausted from working overtime. It's literally like your car running out of gas, they come to a complete halt. This is so important because your adrenals affect pretty much every process in your body. This chronic state results in a myriad of symptoms which I described above. 

In the fast paced world we are living in and the abundance of stress we're experiencing, adrenal dysfunction has become an epidemic in our modern world. Toxic food, relationships, or job environment greatly impact our health when exposed to long-term stress. This can result in something called stress resistance. This is when the body literally adapts to the stress you're experiencing. What occurs is cortisol levels remain high or go completely off schedule. The body tries to return to normal, but this leads to high blood sugar in order to have an energy store to respond to stress.

If this circumstance goes left unchecked for too long, the body gives up. So instead of responding to the stress to assist you in getting out of danger as it was built to do, it responds with exhaustion. In this state the body can no longer maintain normal functioning. This leaves the body barely able to respond to illness or injury.

In addition, when the adrenals are not working properly due to stress, this impacts the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is essential to normal periods, and progesterone is crucial for fertility. Cortisol can also block progesterone, causing estrogen dominance.

So it's safe to say that getting stress under control is one of the most important things you can do. To start, put things into perspective and change what you can, and let go of the things you cannot control. No it's not always easy, but it's crucial to your overall health and longevity. 

These are just two possibilities to what could be behind your hormonal imbalances and right now you have a choice. You can continue to feel miserable and only treat your symptoms. This is what most people do and are doing right now - it's why so many people are suffering. Or, you can be the type of person who is finally over it, and begins to focus on making the connection between symptoms and possible root causes. When this happens you will feel better than you knew possible.

For more information on my M|Body Method download the free handbook here.