The number 1 way fear is harming your menstrual cycle

I've long been fascinated with the connection between fear and menstrual superpowers.

That's because fear plays havoc on your menstrual cycle, causing significant changes that can lead to chronic symptoms of hormone imbalance.

And the number 1 way fear harms your menstrual cycle, is through the fight or flight response.

Your body always prioritises making fight or flight hormones over making a cosy environment for babies to be made.

Now, even if you aren’t into babies, never will be into babies, or never again will be into babies (I’m so with you!), please stay with me for the next few sentences.

It’s going to be hard to read.

Having a cosy environment so babies can be made, is our body’s blueprint for optimal female health.

Yup. Told you that was going to be hard to read.

While you are debating whether or not to click away to something more rainbows and fairy dust, let me remind you why your female hormones and a healthy menstrual cycle are useful outside of baby making.

Your fluctuating cyclic hormones help you enhance things like:

• Building your career

• Promoting calmness

• Creativity (especially during menstruation when you are experiencing the Seedling Menstrual Superpower and creating new ideas)

• Maximising productivity and efficiency (especially during the second half of the menstrual cycle, where progesterone supports you in delivering your new idea)

• Your willingness to exercise

• Reducing your stress

• Your capacity to prepare nutritious meals to support your body

• Maintaining relationships for good mental health

• Nurturing the children and projects you already have.

That all sounds good, doesn’t it?

Okay - stay with me a while longer so we can talk science and pregnenolone.

Pregnenolone is the Mother of all Hormones and your body uses cholesterol to make it (more on cholesterol and why it’s critical for the female body another time).

Pregnenolone is then converted into progesterone – the hormone vital for conception and MASSIVE productivity in the second half of your cycle.

Pregnenolone is also the precursor hormone for estrogen and testosterone.

Progesterone, estrogen and testosterone are the 3 powerhouse hormones needed in the right balance for a healthy menstrual cycle - and therefore, optimal health.

Now, let’s take a look at what happens with fear and hormones when you are in fight or flight situations.

These situations might be when:

• a lion is chasing you

• your Inbox has 73 unread emails

• you are running late to a meeting

• defending yourself (your work, your ideas, your body)

• you live in an unhappy home environment

• riding a Shebah in peak hour traffic to catch a plane that there’s a good chance you’re going to miss, because you stayed late to quickly send one last email.

Importantly, your super smart body is not in the least bit judgmental. Your body doesn’t differentiate between an overflowing Inbox and a lion – it simply notices you are feeling stress and it does what it can to support you.

Helpfully, your body quickly starts producing more cortisol and adrenaline to help you run faster and defend yourself.

And guess which Mother of Hormones it needs to do that?

Yup – Pregnenolone.

While cortisol is rapidly stealing the pregnenolone that would normally be made into progesterone, estrogen or testosterone, your uterus is merrily making itself inhospitable for conception.

Your body realises that conceiving in an unsafe environment with a lion loitering is not going to be good for you or for a baby.

GENIUS!

Pregnenolone will always prioritise cortisol production over progesterone production.

No cosy environment for babies and more energy to work on what’s important in your life? Sounds like living the dream, right?

Not so fast Wonder Woman - this situation of reduced progesterone and constantly inflated cortisol impacts you in a very detrimental way.

Think adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance, difficulty sleeping, more frequent periods, and an increased risk of burnout – that’s not what your career needs.

What your career needs, is a way to take care of your fear and your constantly elevated cortisol levels, and switch back to optimal levels of progesterone.

So how do you do that? Here's my top 6 nutritional tips on how to support your body: 

 1. Take Magnesium

If there’s only one supplement you are going to take, let that be magnesium. Magnesium promotes relaxation, provides support for healthy thyroid function, and supports your body to make progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone. I use and recommend Now Foods Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder. 

(Note: Believe the reviews on this product. It truly tastes quite vile, so you may need to get creative on how you consume it. I mix a level teaspoon of the powder in a little warm water and down it like a shot, then follow it with more warm water. It is not super fun drinking it, but it’s a minute of daily uncomfortableness in exchange for improved health so…)

 2. Bounce back with a Vitamin B Complex

A range of Vitamin Bs can help boost your mood and your energy. Also, B6 is well known to support healthy progesterone production – a hormone that naturally starts to decline after we reach 35. It’s a critical hormone for productivity, feeling calm, sustaining the uterus lining for pregnancy or to avoid spotting before your period. I use and recommend Natural Factors Vitamin B Complex.

3. Sip Cod Liver Oil

I sound like your grandmother now don’t I? The Omega 3s in cod liver oil may help support your fertility - and good fertility means a healthy body, irrespective if you are interested in making babies or not. Plus Vitamin D helps support healthy immune function and may reduce prostaglandins that cause cramping. I use and recommend Garden of Life Olde World Icelandic Lemon Mint Flavour Cod Liver Oil.

 (Note: The lemon and mint flavour comes from essential oils. It makes the taste so palatable that I easily feed it to my young daughter and husband. Now if they would only eat what I cook for dinner…).

 4. Supplement with Vitamin C

You already know that Vitamin C gets touted as the cure-all supplement, but did you know it may help reduce heavy menstrual bleeds? Start small, and build to 3000mg per day as a maintenance dose. I use and recommend Now Foods Vitamin C with Rose Hips and Bioflavonoids.  

 5. Schedule daily time in nature

While it’s not exactly a supplement, being outside in nature can recharge you like nothing else! Even if it’s just leaving your phone on your desk and stepping outside on your lunch break. Go ahead and find a park or nature strip and walk barefoot on the grass, listen out for birdsong, hug a tree… Yes really!

If you can find a tree, go place your left hand on the tree and feel how it feels. Rough? Smooth? Warm? Then take a deep breath in through your nose, count to 3, then let your breath out through your nose. Rinse and repeat 5 times. 

As you are breathing in oxygen from the tree, the tree is taking in your CO2 - it’s a beautiful relationship where you need the tree and the tree needs you. (Big shout out to Mel at Firekeepers Melbourne for this incredible practice). 

6. Look fear in the eye

My final tip is to look your fear in the eye, step closer to it and take action.

Yikes!

Stepping closer to your fear is brave work but if you have already read this far, I know you to be brave and courageous already.

Are you ready to learn how to deal with your fear?

Let me support you in learning how to deal with your fear in my upcoming Hello Wonder Workshop.

It’s a female-led and female-centred workshop that combines self-defence, shared experience and life coaching.

I use self-defence to facilitate this work because once you address your greatest fear – that for your personal safety – you’ll have confidence to deal with all your other fears.

I promise I’ll make you laugh (it helps with your cortisol levels!) and you’ll leave the workshop with increased confidence and a specific action plan around your own unique fear.

Please click here to secure your ticket to the Hello Wonder Woman Workshop.

Together, let’s keep the lions away.

If you’d prefer 1:1 coaching support with your cycles superpowers journey, please book a time for a complimentary and confidential 45 minute Discovery consultation.

If you are new to charting your cycle and your corresponding Cycles Superpowers, you may like to download a Cycles Calendar here by signing up to my newsletter – it’s a complimentary digital download.

Medical Disclaimer: this website and my coaching services are for education purposes only and do not replace the advice of a healthcare professional.

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