April 14, 2025 • 20 mins
Have you ever found yourself snapping at loved ones over tiny things, crying unexpectedly, or feeling like an emotional stranger in your own skin? That perimenopausal emotional rollercoaster is real, valid, and completely rooted in biology, not weakness.
Many women suffer silently through mood swings and rage outbursts during perimenopause, wondering what's wrong with them or their relationships. The truth? Nothing's wrong. Your body is undergoing a dramatic hormonal rewiring that directly impacts your brain chemistry. Those oestrogen fluctuations (sometimes occurring hour to hour) affect serotonin levels, while declining progesterone removes your natural calming influence. Add in sleep disruptions and chronic stress, and you've got the perfect recipe for an emotional storm.
The good news? You don't have to white-knuckle through this transition. This episode unpacks practical, evidence-based strategies to bring emotional balance back into your perimenopausal life. From stabilising blood sugar (those "hangry" moments are more connected to hormone fluctuations than you might think) to supporting your nervous system with deep breathing and magnesium supplementation, you'll discover accessible tools for immediate relief. Learn why prioritizing sleep quality, establishing calming routines, and—perhaps most importantly—giving yourself permission to say "no" more often are game-changing approaches during this time.
Whether you're personally navigating perimenopause or supporting someone who is, this episode validates the emotional experience while providing concrete solutions for reclaiming stability and calm. Remember, just because mood swings are common doesn't mean suffering is required. Connect with me on Instagram @theperimenopausepath for more personalised support on your journey to becoming ageless and awesome through perimenopause and beyond.
Are you a woman feeling stressed, flat and experiencing the challenges of perimenopause?
It’s time to reclaim your youthful energy, radiance and self-assurance (and your ideal weight).
I’m here to help with my proven method.
Here's how I can support you -
1. Hit your health and wellbeing goals this year, balance your hormones and lose weight with your own personalised protocol, based on your body's biochemistry. Sounds awesome right!! Book a free 30 minute Peri Weight Loss Assessment with me so we can discuss your health and wellbeing goals and also see how I might be able to support you. Book your call here.
2. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @the.perimenopause.path
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Awesome podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and aging so that
you can be ageless and awesomein your 40s, 50s and beyond.
The Ageless and Awesome podcastis dedicated to helping women
(00:24):
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset and outrageousconfidence.
Hit, subscribe or follow nowand let's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, andwelcome to this week's episode
of the Ageless and Awesomepodcast.
This week, I'm going to talkabout something that I don't
(00:45):
think I've spoken about on thepodcast before, and it's a big
topic and it's a reallyimportant topic.
It's all about the emotionalroller coasters in perimenopause
, otherwise known as the moodswings and the rage.
Now, if you've ever foundyourself just like snapping at a
loved one over something tiny,or crying because you can't do
(01:08):
up your necklace, that's me,that was me, or just feeling
like a totally different versionof yourself emotionally, please
know you are not alone.
In fact, these mood swings,rage outbursts and sudden
tearful moments are one of themost common, often the least
(01:31):
talked about experiences ofperimenopause.
I guess it just depends.
I know with my friends we talkabout it all the time.
But I know with some peoplethey don't, or they just think
there's something wrong withthem or there's something wrong
with their relationship, andthat's why they're experiencing
these strong emotions.
But in this episode I'm goingto really validate your
(01:51):
experience.
I'm going to explain exactlywhat's going on from a hormonal
point of view and give you somestrategies that can actually
help to bring more calm, morebalance, less crying into your
life again.
So let's dive into this reallyimportant topic.
So first up, let me say thisloud and clear you are not crazy
(02:16):
, it is not all in your head,you're not just being overly
emotional.
What you're experiencing isvery real and it's deeply rooted
in hormonal changes that affectneurotransmitters, which are
your brain chemicals, so yourbrain chemistry and even your
stress response system.
(02:37):
So during perimenopause and I'vetalked about this before that
your estrogen and yourprogesterone levels actually
fluctuate.
In fact, your progesterone justdrops away pretty quickly, but
your estrogen can surge and drop, and surge and drop, and these
fluctuations can happensometimes hour to hour.
It's pretty wild, right?
(02:58):
This can just fluctuate sodramatically in such a small
period of time, and estrogen hasa direct relationship with
serotonin.
Serotonin is our feel-goodneurotransmitter, and when
estrogen drops, so can serotonin, which can make you feel sad.
It can make you feel irritable,anxious or weepy.
(03:20):
And then there's progesterone,which is one of our naturally
calming hormones.
It also helps with sleep andhelps with our regulation of our
nervous system.
But guess what?
It starts to decline earlierthan estrogen and it doesn't
really surge in the same waythat estrogen does.
So you're often left with lessof this calming influence and
(03:45):
more spikes in estrogen, andthat imbalance can make you feel
edgy, overwhelmed andemotionally just fragile.
So yeah, those moments of rage,impatience, irritability, tears,
despair are driven by biology.
It's not you, it's not your anypersonal weakness or that, and
(04:09):
you know any inability to copeon your part.
This is biology, it'sbiochemistry.
You are doing your best in abody system that's being
completely rewired, which ispretty wild, because we don't
really, we're not really awarethat this is happening.
It's similar, I guess, topuberty, and often perimenopause
is called second puberty, whereyou get these just incredible
(04:32):
changes in hormones that reallyimpact your emotions.
So let's talk about the rage.
This is really common and it isreal, and many women in
perimenopause and I've totallyhad this many women describe
moments of this explosive angerthat just feels like it comes
out of nowhere and alsocompletely out of character.
(04:55):
I know I'm very calm generallyand when I've had these moments
of this anger it's like why am Iso?
There's an element of me thatknows that my reaction is over
the top compared to what'sactually going on, but at the
same time it's so strong andit's so deep in, certainly in my
body.
(05:15):
It's just this explosion thatcomes out and it's like you
don't even recognize yourselfand you feel like you're just on
this short fuse.
When that's happening and thismix of hormonal shifts, stress
buildup and, I think, just sheerdepletion, sheer exhaustion,
(05:41):
think of it like this yournervous system is overstimulated
, your cortisol is likelyelevated from constant stress
and your sleep well, let's behonest, it's probably not great.
So many women that I talk to inmy practice.
One of the big issues they haveis they're not sleeping.
They might go to sleep, okay,but then they're waking anywhere
between one and three andreally struggling to get back to
sleep, and that is generally aprogesterone issue.
(06:02):
So when you don't get enoughsleep because we know sleep is
super important but you're notgetting that sleep, your
hormones are out of balance.
So all those emotions are kindof all over the place.
Your body is in a near constantstate of fight or flight, and
that means small things can feelhuge Annoyances turn into
(06:23):
outrage.
It's not about being dramatic.
It's about having adysregulated nervous system that
needs support.
So, please, please, don't blameyourself for these moments.
You are not failing.
You are not having a completeinability to cope or a complete
(06:44):
nervous breakdown.
You're having a very normalresponse to the internal chaos
that's going on in your brain,biochemistry and your hormone
system.
So, yeah, this happens.
It happens to many of us, Iwould probably say to most of us
.
So what do we do about it?
(07:05):
Let's talk about some solutions, because I'm all about helping
you feel better, not justlabeling the problem.
So here are some of thestrategies that I recommend in
my clinic with my clients in theGLOBE protocol and for myself
in my own life.
I recommend this to my friendsto help them manage those
(07:27):
emotional shifts duringperimenopause, sometimes
postmenopause as well.
So these are in no particularorder, because this is really
individual.
That's why, as you know, I workwith personalized programs,
personalized protocols, becauseeveryone is different, so some
(07:47):
of these may apply to you, someof these may not.
So, as I said, no particularorder.
First and foremost, for mepersonally and for many people,
it's balancing out blood sugar.
Blood sugar crashes can mimicanxiety if you're kind of more
of an anxious type and reallyfuel irritability.
(08:08):
I know you know that hangry,right, that's because your blood
sugar's crashed.
So and I'm not talking about ina diabetic context.
That's a very different medicalsituation.
I'm just talking about yourblood sugar dropping, usually in
response to too many carbs oryou haven't eaten recently or
(08:29):
whatever.
So the thing is, if you're alsostressed, raised cortisol, it
happens when we're in our stressresponse that increased
cortisol interferes with bloodglucose metabolism.
So you're even more prone todysregulated blood glucose and
having the blood sugar crash.
Often this can happen in theafternoon, particularly if you
(08:50):
haven't had enough protein atlunch or you haven't had
breakfast.
You're doing fasting things likethat.
So some of the things that Irecommend, and have researched
to support them as well, arethree meals a day, no snacks.
Now these need to bebeautifully balanced meals with
the right combination of protein, carbs, fats, fiber, et cetera.
(09:15):
But three meals a day, nosnacks, and having that fasting
period of five to six hoursbetween meals is amazing for
helping to regulate your bloodsugar.
Another little trick that Ihave is having two bites of
protein first when you start ameal, and this is a really easy
habit to get into.
It can take a little bit oftime, but generally it's pretty
easy.
(09:35):
So two bites of protein firstagain tricks your body into
thinking you're having a highprotein meal.
So it slows down your insulinproduction so you don't
necessarily get that drop inblood sugar that happens when
insulin spikes.
If you don't know a lot aboutthat happens when insulin spikes
(09:58):
.
If you don't know a lot aboutthat, please give me a message
on Instagram at theperimenopause path, because that
is something I could do.
A podcast episode on.
I think I may have done one.
It's probably a few years ago,yeah.
But if I say anything actuallyon this podcast today that you
want to know more about, pleasejust message me.
I love having ideas for content.
My second strategy that Irecommend in clinic and that I
(10:20):
use in my own life is to supportyour nervous system.
There are many ways we can dothat.
Deep breathing will supportyour nervous system.
It tells the hypothalamus.
So the hypothalamus is in thebrain.
It's kind of your mastercontroller of your stress
response and your rest anddigest response.
(10:41):
And if you support your nervoussystem by telling that part of
your brain that the threat hasgone, we can just dial back the
stress hormones.
Deep breathing is one of theeasiest and best ways you can do
that.
Obviously, meditation, but noteverybody is suited to
meditation.
If you don't have time, if it'sgoing to be just stressful for
(11:02):
you, if you have a very, verybusy mind, if you have certain
mental health conditions,meditation may not be right for
you.
So you don't have to do that.
But being mindful so you know,even when I'm doing this podcast
, I help to regulate my nervoussystem by feeling the weight of
my body through my feet.
I always record standing up atmy sit-stand desk.
(11:23):
It's one of the opportunitieswhere I'm not actually writing
or typing and I find it reallyeasy to do work standing when
I'm not doing either of thosethings.
So feeling the weight of mybody through the feet, feeling
the feeling of the clothing onmy skin, that's all something I
can do while I'm still talking,while I'm still.
If I could be driving, I couldbe shopping, I could be cooking,
(11:48):
whatever.
Doing things like that reallyhelp to ground your nervous
system because you're being verymindful, very present in this
moment Things like steppingoutside barefoot onto the grass
that can really help Sometimes,using a supplement like
magnesium, magnesium oh my gosh,we chew through so much
magnesium when we're stressed.
So magnesium might just be yournew best friend.
(12:08):
It calms the nervous system.
It supports sleep.
It reduces anxiety.
You can get it through foodleafy greens nuts produces
anxiety.
You can get it through foodleafy greens, nuts seeds.
Honestly, if you're havingthese sorts of issues, you
probably need a qualitysupplement.
(12:28):
Please stay away from magnesiumoxide unless you want to have
diarrhea.
So you're looking at thingslike magnesium citrate or
glycinate are probably the onesyou can fairly easy for you to
get at the chemist or the healthfood store.
Um and yeah, it is justincredible for helping to
support your nervous system.
There are other things whichI'll talk about in a moment
(12:49):
which can also help, but I alsojust wanted to talk about my
third tip is to prioritize yoursleep, and I know it's not
always easy.
I know, believe me, butimproving sleep quality is huge
for emotional regulation.
So doing things like creating acalming bedtime routine.
(13:10):
Now, this does not need to beanything fancy, it just needs to
be a routine so that you'reteaching your mind that when I
do this and I do this and I dothis, so it could be, I have a
shower, brush my teeth, brush myhair, it could be listening to
a meditation, doing some deepbreathing, you know, like it
could, as long as it's somethingthat is a bit of a routine,
(13:32):
that starts to say to your mindah, okay, we're doing these
things.
That means we're going to go tosleep, I'm going to get ready
for that.
So bedtime routine superimportant Reducing screens For
me.
I tend to get away from my phoneat around six o'clock at night
and that keeps me away from myscreen and I have it in another
(13:56):
room to reduce temptation, and Ireally encourage doing that
because it's so easy.
If I ever slip a little and go,I'll just bring the phone with
me.
This time it often happens ifmy husband's out for the evening
and I'm just, you know, if he's, I know he's going to call me
before he leaves, wherever he is.
So I'll have my phone next tome while I'm doing whatever I'm
(14:17):
doing and then the temptation tolook at it is there and then I
can just dive down a scroll festfor an hour.
It's crazy.
So yeah, getting away from yourscreen is a big for a few
things.
Yes, it supports sleep, becauseyou've got the blue light issue
, but also just the distractiongetting into your stress
(14:39):
response again is not great.
Also, having dim lighting Afteryou've had dinner, cleaned up
the kitchen, whatever it is thatyou need to do.
Dim the lights If you can turnoff all overhead lights.
I only have lamps and candlesafter dinner because that
reduction of light mimics whenwe were cave people.
(15:02):
As the sun went down, therewere no lights right Until we
had fire.
So just having low-level lighthelps to stimulate melatonin
production.
You can also consider somenatural products, such as
magnesium.
Again, magnesium bath fantastic, because we do absorb magnesium
through the skin.
Do need to make sure you've gotenough magnesium in the bath
(15:25):
that it's going to draw themagnesium into your body and not
draw the magnesium out of yourbody.
Herbal teas can be quite nice,although I have to admit it is
hard to get a therapeutic dosefrom a herbal tea.
However, if you have it as partof your bedtime routine and
it's something that's lovely foryou and makes you feel good and
(15:48):
you just enjoy the ritual of it.
That is definitely going tohelp.
Also, things like guidedmeditations, as I mentioned
before, if that is suitable foryou.
If you're looking at sort ofherbal support some incredible
herbs and you can you know, Iwould always recommend working
with a practitioner to get theright ones for you, because
there are so, so many incredibleherbs that really help sleep
(16:15):
and it can be really confusing.
I know I often when my clientscome and see me and I ask them
what supplements they're on, thenumber of people that are on
supplements that double up, thatdo the same thing or they have
crossover ingredients, and it'slike gosh, you're just spending
money on stuff that doesn't.
It's just waste.
But the ones, the herbs Iparticularly like to help with
(16:37):
sleep are withania, which ismore popularly known as
ashwagandha.
Rhodiola is a fantastic onebecause it really helps with
sleep.
Melissa, passion flower.
These all support mood, hormonebalance, nervous system
function.
There are many more, many more.
So, you know, please work witha practitioner to get the right
(17:01):
ones for you.
And also, I guess number five isreducing the load, and this
might be the hardest one.
Start saying no, your system isreducing the load, and this
might be the hardest one.
Start saying no.
Your system is already understress.
Give yourself permission toslow down, to delegate or cancel
.
You don't have to push througheverything.
Honoring your capacity is aradical act of self-care and you
(17:26):
know that can be small things.
It can be big things, like Iknow for myself.
I'm going on holidays in a fewweeks and my mind I'm like I
need to be recording extrapodcasts and writing extra
content for my socials and doingall of those things, which is,
you know, doubling and triplingmy workload in the lead up to
going away.
And then today I just thoughtto myself why am I doing this?
(17:46):
Why am I doing this?
Just say no and just reuse someof the content I have.
I have years worth of podcastsand so when I go away, which is
in a couple of weeks, I'll beputting up some of my favorite
I'm not going to call it arewatch favorite flashback
episodes, and that's the reason,because I'm just not.
(18:07):
I'm just going to say no toincreasing my workload so
dramatically.
You know I was consideringworking on the public holidays
that are coming up and all ofthe things, and it's like no, no
, just no, it's not, it's notgood, it's not good for the
nervous system.
It's not good for hormones,it's not good for stress
anything.
So, yeah, start saying no.
You'd be surprised.
Once you start doing it, itactually gets easier and easier.
(18:31):
So I just wanted to end thisepisode by reminding you that it
is not you, you are not theproblem.
You know these hormonal shiftsare happening.
Even if you're on MHT ormenopause hormone therapy,
you're still going to get thesefluctuations.
(18:52):
What you're experiencing is partof a natural transition, but
just because it's common doesn'tmean you have to suffer through
it.
There are real, effective waysthat don't cost a lot of money
to support your emotional healthduring perimenopause.
You don't need to white knuckleyour way through it.
You deserve to feel emotionallystable, mentally clear and
(19:16):
deeply supported.
If this episode spoke to you, Iwould love it if you'd share it
with a friend who might begoing through the same thing.
And if you're ready for morepersonalized support, you can
always connect with me onInstagram at the perimenopause
path.
Thanks so much for listening.
I'll see you next week withsome more practical tools and
(19:38):
support to help you through yourperimenopause journey.
Have an awesome week and I'llbe back next week, hopefully
with a new episode.
If not, it will be a fantasticflashback episode.
Thanks so much for joining meon the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked this episode,please make sure you click the
(20:00):
little plus button if you're onApple Podcasts, or the follow
button if you're on Spotify, sothat you get each new episode
delivered to you every singleweek.
If you feel like writing me afive-star review, you would
absolutely make my day.
If you found this episoderesonated with you, head over to
my Instagram and DM me attheperimenopausepath.
(20:22):
I would love to connect withyou.
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Awesome podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and aging so that
you can be ageless and awesomein your 40s, 50s and beyond.
The Ageless and Awesome podcastis dedicated to helping women
(00:24):
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset and outrageousconfidence.
Hit, subscribe or follow nowand let's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, andwelcome to this week's episode
of the Ageless and Awesomepodcast.
This week, I'm going to talkabout something that I don't
(00:45):
think I've spoken about on thepodcast before, and it's a big
topic and it's a reallyimportant topic.
It's all about the emotionalroller coasters in perimenopause
, otherwise known as the moodswings and the rage.
Now, if you've ever foundyourself just like snapping at a
loved one over something tiny,or crying because you can't do
(01:08):
up your necklace, that's me,that was me, or just feeling
like a totally different versionof yourself emotionally, please
know you are not alone.
In fact, these mood swings,rage outbursts and sudden
tearful moments are one of themost common, often the least
(01:31):
talked about experiences ofperimenopause.
I guess it just depends.
I know with my friends we talkabout it all the time.
But I know with some peoplethey don't, or they just think
there's something wrong withthem or there's something wrong
with their relationship, andthat's why they're experiencing
these strong emotions.
But in this episode I'm goingto really validate your
(01:51):
experience.
I'm going to explain exactlywhat's going on from a hormonal
point of view and give you somestrategies that can actually
help to bring more calm, morebalance, less crying into your
life again.
So let's dive into this reallyimportant topic.
So first up, let me say thisloud and clear you are not crazy
(02:16):
, it is not all in your head,you're not just being overly
emotional.
What you're experiencing isvery real and it's deeply rooted
in hormonal changes that affectneurotransmitters, which are
your brain chemicals, so yourbrain chemistry and even your
stress response system.
(02:37):
So during perimenopause and I'vetalked about this before that
your estrogen and yourprogesterone levels actually
fluctuate.
In fact, your progesterone justdrops away pretty quickly, but
your estrogen can surge and drop, and surge and drop, and these
fluctuations can happensometimes hour to hour.
It's pretty wild, right?
(02:58):
This can just fluctuate sodramatically in such a small
period of time, and estrogen hasa direct relationship with
serotonin.
Serotonin is our feel-goodneurotransmitter, and when
estrogen drops, so can serotonin, which can make you feel sad.
It can make you feel irritable,anxious or weepy.
(03:20):
And then there's progesterone,which is one of our naturally
calming hormones.
It also helps with sleep andhelps with our regulation of our
nervous system.
But guess what?
It starts to decline earlierthan estrogen and it doesn't
really surge in the same waythat estrogen does.
So you're often left with lessof this calming influence and
(03:45):
more spikes in estrogen, andthat imbalance can make you feel
edgy, overwhelmed andemotionally just fragile.
So yeah, those moments of rage,impatience, irritability, tears,
despair are driven by biology.
It's not you, it's not your anypersonal weakness or that, and
(04:09):
you know any inability to copeon your part.
This is biology, it'sbiochemistry.
You are doing your best in abody system that's being
completely rewired, which ispretty wild, because we don't
really, we're not really awarethat this is happening.
It's similar, I guess, topuberty, and often perimenopause
is called second puberty, whereyou get these just incredible
(04:32):
changes in hormones that reallyimpact your emotions.
So let's talk about the rage.
This is really common and it isreal, and many women in
perimenopause and I've totallyhad this many women describe
moments of this explosive angerthat just feels like it comes
out of nowhere and alsocompletely out of character.
(04:55):
I know I'm very calm generallyand when I've had these moments
of this anger it's like why am Iso?
There's an element of me thatknows that my reaction is over
the top compared to what'sactually going on, but at the
same time it's so strong andit's so deep in, certainly in my
body.
(05:15):
It's just this explosion thatcomes out and it's like you
don't even recognize yourselfand you feel like you're just on
this short fuse.
When that's happening and thismix of hormonal shifts, stress
buildup and, I think, just sheerdepletion, sheer exhaustion,
(05:41):
think of it like this yournervous system is overstimulated
, your cortisol is likelyelevated from constant stress
and your sleep well, let's behonest, it's probably not great.
So many women that I talk to inmy practice.
One of the big issues they haveis they're not sleeping.
They might go to sleep, okay,but then they're waking anywhere
between one and three andreally struggling to get back to
sleep, and that is generally aprogesterone issue.
(06:02):
So when you don't get enoughsleep because we know sleep is
super important but you're notgetting that sleep, your
hormones are out of balance.
So all those emotions are kindof all over the place.
Your body is in a near constantstate of fight or flight, and
that means small things can feelhuge Annoyances turn into
(06:23):
outrage.
It's not about being dramatic.
It's about having adysregulated nervous system that
needs support.
So, please, please, don't blameyourself for these moments.
You are not failing.
You are not having a completeinability to cope or a complete
(06:44):
nervous breakdown.
You're having a very normalresponse to the internal chaos
that's going on in your brain,biochemistry and your hormone
system.
So, yeah, this happens.
It happens to many of us, Iwould probably say to most of us
.
So what do we do about it?
(07:05):
Let's talk about some solutions, because I'm all about helping
you feel better, not justlabeling the problem.
So here are some of thestrategies that I recommend in
my clinic with my clients in theGLOBE protocol and for myself
in my own life.
I recommend this to my friendsto help them manage those
(07:27):
emotional shifts duringperimenopause, sometimes
postmenopause as well.
So these are in no particularorder, because this is really
individual.
That's why, as you know, I workwith personalized programs,
personalized protocols, becauseeveryone is different, so some
(07:47):
of these may apply to you, someof these may not.
So, as I said, no particularorder.
First and foremost, for mepersonally and for many people,
it's balancing out blood sugar.
Blood sugar crashes can mimicanxiety if you're kind of more
of an anxious type and reallyfuel irritability.
(08:08):
I know you know that hangry,right, that's because your blood
sugar's crashed.
So and I'm not talking about ina diabetic context.
That's a very different medicalsituation.
I'm just talking about yourblood sugar dropping, usually in
response to too many carbs oryou haven't eaten recently or
(08:29):
whatever.
So the thing is, if you're alsostressed, raised cortisol, it
happens when we're in our stressresponse that increased
cortisol interferes with bloodglucose metabolism.
So you're even more prone todysregulated blood glucose and
having the blood sugar crash.
Often this can happen in theafternoon, particularly if you
(08:50):
haven't had enough protein atlunch or you haven't had
breakfast.
You're doing fasting things likethat.
So some of the things that Irecommend, and have researched
to support them as well, arethree meals a day, no snacks.
Now these need to bebeautifully balanced meals with
the right combination of protein, carbs, fats, fiber, et cetera.
(09:15):
But three meals a day, nosnacks, and having that fasting
period of five to six hoursbetween meals is amazing for
helping to regulate your bloodsugar.
Another little trick that Ihave is having two bites of
protein first when you start ameal, and this is a really easy
habit to get into.
It can take a little bit oftime, but generally it's pretty
easy.
(09:35):
So two bites of protein firstagain tricks your body into
thinking you're having a highprotein meal.
So it slows down your insulinproduction so you don't
necessarily get that drop inblood sugar that happens when
insulin spikes.
If you don't know a lot aboutthat happens when insulin spikes
(09:58):
.
If you don't know a lot aboutthat, please give me a message
on Instagram at theperimenopause path, because that
is something I could do.
A podcast episode on.
I think I may have done one.
It's probably a few years ago,yeah.
But if I say anything actuallyon this podcast today that you
want to know more about, pleasejust message me.
I love having ideas for content.
My second strategy that Irecommend in clinic and that I
(10:20):
use in my own life is to supportyour nervous system.
There are many ways we can dothat.
Deep breathing will supportyour nervous system.
It tells the hypothalamus.
So the hypothalamus is in thebrain.
It's kind of your mastercontroller of your stress
response and your rest anddigest response.
(10:41):
And if you support your nervoussystem by telling that part of
your brain that the threat hasgone, we can just dial back the
stress hormones.
Deep breathing is one of theeasiest and best ways you can do
that.
Obviously, meditation, but noteverybody is suited to
meditation.
If you don't have time, if it'sgoing to be just stressful for
(11:02):
you, if you have a very, verybusy mind, if you have certain
mental health conditions,meditation may not be right for
you.
So you don't have to do that.
But being mindful so you know,even when I'm doing this podcast
, I help to regulate my nervoussystem by feeling the weight of
my body through my feet.
I always record standing up atmy sit-stand desk.
(11:23):
It's one of the opportunitieswhere I'm not actually writing
or typing and I find it reallyeasy to do work standing when
I'm not doing either of thosethings.
So feeling the weight of mybody through the feet, feeling
the feeling of the clothing onmy skin, that's all something I
can do while I'm still talking,while I'm still.
If I could be driving, I couldbe shopping, I could be cooking,
(11:48):
whatever.
Doing things like that reallyhelp to ground your nervous
system because you're being verymindful, very present in this
moment Things like steppingoutside barefoot onto the grass
that can really help Sometimes,using a supplement like
magnesium, magnesium oh my gosh,we chew through so much
magnesium when we're stressed.
So magnesium might just be yournew best friend.
(12:08):
It calms the nervous system.
It supports sleep.
It reduces anxiety.
You can get it through foodleafy greens nuts produces
anxiety.
You can get it through foodleafy greens, nuts seeds.
Honestly, if you're havingthese sorts of issues, you
probably need a qualitysupplement.
(12:28):
Please stay away from magnesiumoxide unless you want to have
diarrhea.
So you're looking at thingslike magnesium citrate or
glycinate are probably the onesyou can fairly easy for you to
get at the chemist or the healthfood store.
Um and yeah, it is justincredible for helping to
support your nervous system.
There are other things whichI'll talk about in a moment
(12:49):
which can also help, but I alsojust wanted to talk about my
third tip is to prioritize yoursleep, and I know it's not
always easy.
I know, believe me, butimproving sleep quality is huge
for emotional regulation.
So doing things like creating acalming bedtime routine.
(13:10):
Now, this does not need to beanything fancy, it just needs to
be a routine so that you'reteaching your mind that when I
do this and I do this and I dothis, so it could be, I have a
shower, brush my teeth, brush myhair, it could be listening to
a meditation, doing some deepbreathing, you know, like it
could, as long as it's somethingthat is a bit of a routine,
(13:32):
that starts to say to your mindah, okay, we're doing these
things.
That means we're going to go tosleep, I'm going to get ready
for that.
So bedtime routine superimportant Reducing screens For
me.
I tend to get away from my phoneat around six o'clock at night
and that keeps me away from myscreen and I have it in another
(13:56):
room to reduce temptation, and Ireally encourage doing that
because it's so easy.
If I ever slip a little and go,I'll just bring the phone with
me.
This time it often happens ifmy husband's out for the evening
and I'm just, you know, if he's, I know he's going to call me
before he leaves, wherever he is.
So I'll have my phone next tome while I'm doing whatever I'm
(14:17):
doing and then the temptation tolook at it is there and then I
can just dive down a scroll festfor an hour.
It's crazy.
So yeah, getting away from yourscreen is a big for a few
things.
Yes, it supports sleep, becauseyou've got the blue light issue
, but also just the distractiongetting into your stress
(14:39):
response again is not great.
Also, having dim lighting Afteryou've had dinner, cleaned up
the kitchen, whatever it is thatyou need to do.
Dim the lights If you can turnoff all overhead lights.
I only have lamps and candlesafter dinner because that
reduction of light mimics whenwe were cave people.
(15:02):
As the sun went down, therewere no lights right Until we
had fire.
So just having low-level lighthelps to stimulate melatonin
production.
You can also consider somenatural products, such as
magnesium.
Again, magnesium bath fantastic, because we do absorb magnesium
through the skin.
Do need to make sure you've gotenough magnesium in the bath
(15:25):
that it's going to draw themagnesium into your body and not
draw the magnesium out of yourbody.
Herbal teas can be quite nice,although I have to admit it is
hard to get a therapeutic dosefrom a herbal tea.
However, if you have it as partof your bedtime routine and
it's something that's lovely foryou and makes you feel good and
(15:48):
you just enjoy the ritual of it.
That is definitely going tohelp.
Also, things like guidedmeditations, as I mentioned
before, if that is suitable foryou.
If you're looking at sort ofherbal support some incredible
herbs and you can you know, Iwould always recommend working
with a practitioner to get theright ones for you, because
there are so, so many incredibleherbs that really help sleep
(16:15):
and it can be really confusing.
I know I often when my clientscome and see me and I ask them
what supplements they're on, thenumber of people that are on
supplements that double up, thatdo the same thing or they have
crossover ingredients, and it'slike gosh, you're just spending
money on stuff that doesn't.
It's just waste.
But the ones, the herbs Iparticularly like to help with
(16:37):
sleep are withania, which ismore popularly known as
ashwagandha.
Rhodiola is a fantastic onebecause it really helps with
sleep.
Melissa, passion flower.
These all support mood, hormonebalance, nervous system
function.
There are many more, many more.
So, you know, please work witha practitioner to get the right
(17:01):
ones for you.
And also, I guess number five isreducing the load, and this
might be the hardest one.
Start saying no, your system isreducing the load, and this
might be the hardest one.
Start saying no.
Your system is already understress.
Give yourself permission toslow down, to delegate or cancel
.
You don't have to push througheverything.
Honoring your capacity is aradical act of self-care and you
(17:26):
know that can be small things.
It can be big things, like Iknow for myself.
I'm going on holidays in a fewweeks and my mind I'm like I
need to be recording extrapodcasts and writing extra
content for my socials and doingall of those things, which is,
you know, doubling and triplingmy workload in the lead up to
going away.
And then today I just thoughtto myself why am I doing this?
(17:46):
Why am I doing this?
Just say no and just reuse someof the content I have.
I have years worth of podcastsand so when I go away, which is
in a couple of weeks, I'll beputting up some of my favorite
I'm not going to call it arewatch favorite flashback
episodes, and that's the reason,because I'm just not.
(18:07):
I'm just going to say no toincreasing my workload so
dramatically.
You know I was consideringworking on the public holidays
that are coming up and all ofthe things, and it's like no, no
, just no, it's not, it's notgood, it's not good for the
nervous system.
It's not good for hormones,it's not good for stress
anything.
So, yeah, start saying no.
You'd be surprised.
Once you start doing it, itactually gets easier and easier.
(18:31):
So I just wanted to end thisepisode by reminding you that it
is not you, you are not theproblem.
You know these hormonal shiftsare happening.
Even if you're on MHT ormenopause hormone therapy,
you're still going to get thesefluctuations.
(18:52):
What you're experiencing is partof a natural transition, but
just because it's common doesn'tmean you have to suffer through
it.
There are real, effective waysthat don't cost a lot of money
to support your emotional healthduring perimenopause.
You don't need to white knuckleyour way through it.
You deserve to feel emotionallystable, mentally clear and
(19:16):
deeply supported.
If this episode spoke to you, Iwould love it if you'd share it
with a friend who might begoing through the same thing.
And if you're ready for morepersonalized support, you can
always connect with me onInstagram at the perimenopause
path.
Thanks so much for listening.
I'll see you next week withsome more practical tools and
(19:38):
support to help you through yourperimenopause journey.
Have an awesome week and I'llbe back next week, hopefully
with a new episode.
If not, it will be a fantasticflashback episode.
Thanks so much for joining meon the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked this episode,please make sure you click the
(20:00):
little plus button if you're onApple Podcasts, or the follow
button if you're on Spotify, sothat you get each new episode
delivered to you every singleweek.
If you feel like writing me afive-star review, you would
absolutely make my day.
If you found this episoderesonated with you, head over to
my Instagram and DM me attheperimenopausepath.
(20:22):
I would love to connect withyou.
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