WHY HEAL YOUR PMS? - BECAUSE YOU MATTER!

PMS is normalised in our culture but IT ISN'T NORMAL. You don't have to suffer. 

PMS is caused by a hormonal imbalance & can be healed naturally. When your hormones are balanced it is possible to feel calm, focused & relaxed the week before your period.

IMAGINE the difference it would make to your self esteem, relationships & happiness to finally be free from the turmoil of PMS. 

THIS IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU!

WHAT IS PMS?

PMS encompasses a large array of symptoms, for them to qualify as PMS they must occur within 10 days leading up to your periods & stop when or just after you stop bleeding.⁠

You may experience things like . . . 

• Irritability (Ok Rage?!)
• Anxiety
• Depression/Low Mood
• Weepiness
• Trouble Sleeping
• Fluid Retention/Bloating
• Palpitations
• Joint Pain
• Headaches/Migraines
• Brain Fog
• Food Cravings/Binge Eating
• Breast Pain/Larger Lumpy Breasts
• Spots
• Fatigue/Exhaustion
• Cramping/Lower Back Ache
• Dizziness/Fainting
• Diarrhoea or Constipation!
• Hot Flashes/Night Sweats
• Increase meltdown/shutdown if autistic   

WHAT CAUSES PMS?

Most of us aren’t getting proper sleep, nourishing our bodies with the nutrients we need to create the right balance of hormones, are stressed as f**k, eating food & exposing ourselves to chemicals in our environment that cause inflammation in our body, over or under exercising & more disconnected to ourselves, others & nature than ever before. Phew that's quite a list . . . 

 

"We exist in a culture that optimises PMS, depression & exhaustion, rather than women's health." Lucy H.Pearce

These lifestyle factors can cause inflammation in your body & hormonal imbalance, disrupting your cycle, either prevent you from ovulating all together (which means you make no progesterone) or suppressing progesterone production. Histamine intolerance is another known cause of PMS.

Hormonal Imbalance  

We know hormone imbalances cause PMS as women with significant PMS symptoms show an overall imbalance of oestrogen & progesterone & a sharp decline in progesterone (in the second half of their cycle) compared with women who report little/no PMS symptoms* 

Progesterone is the calming hormone that counteracts the effects of oestrogen (oestrogen is great by the way but not in excess!) & makes you to feel focused & relaxed, without enough progesterone PMS abounds! If you don't ovulate due to lifestyle factors (like the ones above) you won't produce progesterone at all as when an egg is released at ovulation it is the empty follicle that egg comes out of that produces progesterone. No empty follicle, no progesterone. It is also possible that you may ovulate & produce progesterone (great!) but that progesterone production might be down regulated due to stress. Progesterone is very sensitive to stress & will take a nosedive if your brain perceives your internal or external environment as unsafe. 

Inflammation

Inflammation disrupts hormonal communication, impairs the production & the body’s responsiveness to progesterone, downregulates GABA receptors (a neurosteroid that calms the mind), impairs oestrogen detoxification & makes you more sensitive to oestrogen. I mean let’s just say inflammation isn’t ideal?!

Histamine Intolerance 

If you experience headaches, anxiety or brain fog they you might be suffering from histamine intolerance, which may contribute to your PMS. Oestrogen increases histamine production & progesterone lowers it. Too much Oestrogen = too much histamine. Tips for histamine intolerance...

• Enhancing progesterone production (by changing lifestyle factors, this is something I focus on with all my clients in my coaching offers) 
• Reducing dairy & alcohol (histamine stimulating foods)
• Reducing red wine, cheese, bone broth & fermented foods (histamine containing foods)
• Take Vit B6 as it breaks down histamine.

Check out this article for more details.

Conclusion

In essence healing PMS is about reducing inflammation in your body & making you feel safe. When your body perceives that your environment is un safe, reproductive hormones are down regulated to prevent pregnancy in order to protect you & therefore your hormones become unbalanced & you experience PMS as a result. However when your body perceives your environment as safe reproduction is promoted & your hormones become naturally balanced. When your hormones are balanced you experience the calming influence of progesterone & instead of feeling like absolute s**t the week before your period you are able to feel calm, relaxed & focused as nature intended. This is not just important for your hormone balance but will improve your overall health & wellbeing too.

Inside cyclical coaching I give my clients all the love, knowledge & support they need to seamlessly incorporate the unique cyclical framework into their lives so that they are reducing inflammation in their bodies & feel safe. The framework includes getting proper sleep, nourishing their bodies with the nutrients they need to create the right balance of hormones, finding calm in the chaos of life, moving in harmony with their bodies, connecting to nature & the people & experiences that bring them joy. So they can re awaken the vibrant, joyful woman they were born to be. 

If this sounds good to you & you want to know more you can jump on a totally FREE 30 min wellbeing call with me (I promise this is an informal chat & I won't try to sell you anything!) where we can take a look at your lifestyle & review how you might be able to improve your wellbeing, to liberate your life from PMS for good!

Sending you huge amounts of love on your healing journey.

Lizzie X

 P.s. If you'd love to hear when the latest blogs launch & get beautiful nuggets of cyclical wisdom follow me @cyclical.soul

*Lovick, Thelma A., Vinicius G. Guapo, Janete A. Anselmo-Franci, Camila M. Loureiro, Maria Clara M. Faleiros, Cristina M. Del Ben, and Marcus LBrandao. "A specific profile of luteal phase progesterone is associated with the development of premenstrual symptoms" Psychoneuroendocrinology 75 (2017): 83-90;