Hormones Resource
Center
Progesterone:
Our "Happy" Hormone
by Catherine P. Rollins
We believe that if you give a woman back her progesterone
- her mother hormone, her essence hormone - you give
her back an opportunity to reconnect with herself.
Far too many women have become so hormonally imbalanced
that they have no clue as to what their true essence
feels like. Often stress, a hectic lifestyle, or family
can and do distract her.
However, a common thread connecting every women who
has ever approached the Natural Progesterone Advisory
Network website is that once she gets her hands on
this vital hormone, she begins an incredible journey.
We know that as soon as a woman starts rubbing progesterone
cream onto her body there's an incredible physiological
reaction to that hormone. It's as if it resonates immediately,
and she can tell progesterone is central to her renewed
health, not necessarily because of what's she's read
but how it intrinsically feels in her body. It's as
if she's coming home to herself!
Our Network has discovered for ourselves by talking
and listening to hundreds upon hundreds of women, that
natural progesterone is different from synthetic progestins
currently used in conventional HRT. It has less dramatic
side effects but has all the actions that nature intended
for progesterone. It is the missing link back to optimal
hormonal health and wellbeing.
An intuitive 'knowing'
Even for those women who may experience incredible
discomfort for the first 10 days to 2 weeks when estrogen
actually wakes up and estrogen dominance symptoms are
exacerbated, she is determined to keep applying progesterone
cream because she wants the end result. There is an
intuitive 'knowing' that something good has been introduced
into her body and she wants it to stay.
Unfortunately, some women abandon progesterone at
the point of discomfort, not knowing how to get through
the debilitating stages of estrogen dominance which
can occur at any stage. It is our hope we help you
work through these setbacks so that you can stay with
progesterone long enough to enjoy the true essence
and benefits from both a physical and metaphysical
viewpoint.
Within months of starting progesterone supplementation,
balancing various aspects of her life, and encouraging
her to acknowledge herself and honour her body, we've
seen these very same women start to 'plump up' spiritually,
become vocal, find their voice, express an opinion,
exude confidence, and take back their self-respect.
Indeed, we have observed transformations.
Weakened emotionally
Women in their 40s and 50s with families, careers,
a wealth of experience and knowledge, and tremendous
gifts to offer the world, appear to lose all semblance
of their true self because of hormonal imbalance left
untreated, or HRT incorrectly prescribed.
These
fuzzy-headed, tentative women, once they get 12-18
months into
progesterone supplementation, often
start defining new boundaries, become more assertive
and independent and, finally, they learn how to say "no".
Hormonal imbalance seems to weaken the emotional profile
of a woman. She may present as distraught, exposed,
fragile, out of tune with her body and her needs, exhausted
physically, emotionally and spiritually. She doesn't
know why she's crying all the time.
If you have issues - grief, unresolved conflicts,
burdens, sadness, a floundering relationship - then
allow them to surface and use your menopause or hormonal
imbalance as an excuse to have a damn good cry. Tears
are for healing. Tears are a way of cleansing the soul.
And then get on and deal with it!
Hormone imbalance appears to be a catalyst for visiting
painful and hurtful conflicts and memories, thus isolating
and alienating us into further despair and depression
or, for others, triggering anxiety and panic attacks.
There is this overwhelming sense of helplessness and
distortion of reality that is compounded by hormone
imbalance, but seems to be easily addressed once progesterone
is introduced. This remarkable hormone just seems to
give most women the ability to tackle her problems
with perception and renewed mental acuity.
A time to rebuild
This is a time of shedding. It is a time of re-building
your body, and perhaps a time when you can actually
rebuild your persona. Shake off the ambivalence of
who you are. You are more than a mother, lover, wife,
cook, friend, healer, carer, organiser, work colleague,
confidante, or whatever other label given to you. Put
an end to such pronounced feelings of loneliness, confusion,
grief, anger, sadness, frustration and take the time
to listen to your own inner child. Teach yourself that
it's ok to be self-nurturing without feeling guilty.
You
need to take some responsibility for your own health.
Become more "selfing" (not
selfish), to respect your needs rather than putting
yourself
behind everyone else. You need to recover and get well,
to spiritually nurture your soul, to heal your tired,
stressed-out body.
Devise a plan that targets healthy eating, sensible
nutrition and lifestyle adjustments that will carry
you through to old age. Basically, adopt a 'more beneficial'
way of thinking and approach to life.
Getting grounded
Next step is to address hormone imbalance. Get progesterone
- your mother hormone - back into your body to help
ground yourself. Consider this - the hormone progesterone
not only plays the role of progesterone in your body.
Progesterone will 'cascade' down to manufacture in
the body other vital hormones such as estrogen, testosterone,
and the cortico-steriod hormones. 'Top up' your progesterone
levels and there's a good chance you won't need to
supplement other hormones.
Get your nutrition and exhaustion in order so that
you're feeling stronger in yourself and physically
more able to cope with stress, infections and other
'traumas' your body is exposed to on a daily basis.
Then go ahead a deal with the emotional issues that
arise, or won't go away and need re-addressing.
Just keep in mind that if you fail to deal with ALL
the issues, your treatment in hormonal balancing and
health will NOT be as effective.
The role of stress
Hormone imbalance creates emotional instability,
but so too can emotional issues often create hormonal
imbalance. There's always a connection with the adrenals
when stress is involved. For adrenal exhaustion can
cause hormone imbalance ... hormone imbalance can cause
adrenal exhaustion.
High cortisol production which occurs with stress
of any kind, including trauma, inflammation or inflammatory
diseases, emotional and even chemical stress, can induce
high levels of cortisol and this leads to significant
reduction of progesterone, resulting in estrogen dominance.
The Natural Progesterone Advisory Network website
has seen, first hand, how stress can cause a woman's
body to lose balance, rhythym and connectivity. It
might be brought on by a sudden shock subsequent to
a death in the family, a loss of a child, an unexpected
divorce, a husband running off with another woman.
We have witnessed this sudden triggering of menopause
or cessation of periods post shock where no previous
symptoms or signs existed beforehand. This goes to
show how powerful are the messages and chemicals in
our brain and body, and how they impact so profoundly
and so cruelly on our delicate organs, and can throw
our whole endocrine system out of balance.
Too often we are exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals
(xenoestrogens) in our foods and in our environment,
and the stress we are subjected to - chemically, internally,
and through the demands the world places on us, the
speed at which our world encircles us, the fast foods
that have become part of our lifestyle now - that we
struggle perpectually to get on top of these dreadful
symptoms.
The happy hormone
Progesterone
is sometimes referred to as the "happy
hormone" in that it can modulate and enhance your
mood. Use it to find YOUR own happiness and inner contentment,
and to recapture the joy and bliss in your life as
you journey with this hormone and discover its remarkable
powers.
Let your beauty shine
The fluctuations of our hormones throughout our life
have been responsible for our growth and our physiological
being. We encourage you to EMBRACE these imbalances
so that you can grow to understand who you are and
what you are about. Empower yourself with each milestone.
Don't let these symptoms keep you locked in your disease.
Realise your magnificence.
About
the Author:
Catherine P. Rollins is the author of 'A
Woman's Guide to Using Natural Progesterone' and Director
of the highly popular website:
Natural-Progesterone-Advisory-Network.com.
This
article was syndicated from The
Natural Progesterone Advisory Network:
http://www.natural-progesterone-advisory-network.com/progesterone-our-happy-hormone.htm
