In my last post How To Handle Homeschooling And Hormones, I shared about the stranger that seemed to have taken over my body. If you suffer from some of the symptoms that I mentioned in the last post, don’t give up. There IS hope for you and your hormones.
I want to reassure you first of all that you’re not losing your grip on sanity, and you’re not just lacking in discipline or will to overcome it. Often, just knowing more about hormone imbalance helps to relieve the fears and despair it causes you to feel.
A lot of women are suffering from PMS, peri-menopause, or menopausal symptoms and don’t know it. Perhaps they have a mild form of it for just a few days each month.
Others may have a severe form that lasts longer, and makes them wonder, “What is wrong with me?!”
A hormonal disorder has a wide variety of emotional and physical symptoms. If PMS is to blame, these symptoms occur at the same phase of each menstrual cycle.
Maybe you just read that list, and said “Help me! I’ve got all those symptoms! I’m struggling, and don’t know what to do.”
The first thing I want you to realize is that you CAN help yourself. No matter what type of disorder you have, there are things you can do to make it easier and to balance things.
Charting your symptoms will help you determine if you have PMS or a different form of hormone disorder. With PMS your symptoms will usually be at the same point in your cycle each month. If you see a regular pattern, you can prepare before it comes.
I used to have severe PMS. After charting my symptoms, I learned to plan my school schedule based on my cycle. There was one week each month where I really struggled to stay calm, I had migraines, was fatigued, and very irritable.
I purposely planned that as a very light week, where the kids could do most things on their own. That gave me time to rest more, and also kept my frustration level a bit lower. The less stress you having during PMS, the better!
Plan easy meals, use educational DVDs, relax and read good books, and take naps. I realized that I couldn’t handle the normal routine of school during my bad week, and adjusted accordingly.
That’s one of the beauties of homeschooling! We can make it fit our family’s needs.
Go to the library and get some books on PMS, peri-menopause, or menopause–whichever you may be dealing with.
Knowledge is understanding.
Even though you still have the same symptoms to deal with, when you know there is a physical, chemical cause in your body it makes it a little easier to deal with.
Maybe times hormone disorders can be made better or worse by the foods we eat. For example, with PMS you want to avoid salt, caffeine, and sugar. If you have high estrogen, you want to stay away from soy products.
Regular exercise has been proven to alleviate many of the symptoms that come with hormone issues.
There are many products you can purchase online that will help to balance your hormones. Some I’ve used which helped with my symptoms are Dong Quai, Black Cohosh, and Change-O-Life.
There are many others — do a little research before making purchases.
That may be hard because unless you’ve lived through hormone ups and downs, you have no way of fully understanding what it’s like.
Very few people realize how serious it can be, and often they tend to make light of it.
The LAST THING you need at this time is to be told, “Get yourself together, and quit making such a big deal of it!” or some other similar type of statement.
That’s why it’s important to find someone who can listen, encourage, and comfort you through your struggles.
If your case is severe, and the suggested ideas aren’t enough DON’T DESPAIR! You don’t have to live with depression, severe mood swings, irritability, etc.
There are many doctors now who will test your hormone levels, and give you natural hormone (bio-identical) supplements to take in the form of pills, or cream.
Wherever you fall in the area of symptoms, whether it’s mild or severe, DO SOMETHING TO HELP YOURSELF, and remind yourself daily that there IS hope!
In my next post, I’ll look at the guilt and depression you may be feeling. (I’m just a bad Christian, bad mom, etc.)
Read more about how to homeschool through hormones in these posts below ⇓
How To Handle Homeschooling And Hormones
There Is Hope For Homeschooling With Hormones
Guilt and Depression – Homeschooling And Hormones
What Will Homeschooling Through Hormones Do To My Children?
What About My Husband? Homeschooling & Hormones
How To Find Joy When Homeschooling Through Hormones
19 Responses
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Thanks for sharing this info!
Hi Beth! At this time I don’t have anything on this topic for men. I’m sorry!
Thank you for these tips. Do you have any for men as well? My dh has some things he struggles with.
There is an herb called vitex or chaste berry that is very helpful for balancing hormones. Just type it into Amazon and look at the reviews! Personally, I buy the whole berry to make a tincture with vodka but you can also get it powdered in capsules. Amazing stuff!
Jessica, so sorry to hear you are struggling with this. Hopefully all the info I share in this series will help you! A couple of my favorite verses Psalms 61:2
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” and Psalms 61:2
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”
Thank you so much for writing this! I am struggling through this right now. What are some go-to Bible verses you have found?
Heather, we are trying to go gluten free because my daughter has problems with it, and I have just read so many things about how it can be bad for you. Was it hard for you to make the switch? It seems to me that many of the gluten free products in the store still have sugar, or aren’t all that healthy. Have you found a way to make a good gluten free bread? I’d love to be able to do that!
I am going to try to make that ice cream with coconut milk! My daughter, 22, is having some serious issues with hormones, and likes her sweets. This would be a way to get some healthy sweets in her.
Lisa, yes it’s always good to be prepared, then you aren’t as shocked when it hits! 🙂 Also, you may be able to do some preventative things now so your symptoms of perimenopause and menopause won’t be as bad.
I hope your postpartum depression lifts soon! Hopefully staying off dairy will help you with that. Sometimes I think our body just needs time to rest, heal, and get back in balance after baby. Unfortunately, the rest isn’t always so easy to get. But go easy on yourself. Listen to good uplifting music, sing along, read or watch things that will make you laugh, and most of all keep seeking God.
I gave up dairy cause my newborn was super fussy. I noticed a definite change in my seborrheic dermatitis that I would get on my face. I always knew it had to do with my diet. This ice cream is great! On another note I feel postpartum depression starting to set in so I’m interested in what she said about soy. I don’t drink soy milk but soy is in everything!
I think it’s so wise to plan your schedule based on your cycle. It can make a difference for everyone in the household. 🙂 Yes, it is definitely one of the benefits of homeschooling. I have a book or two around about perimenopause and menopause, but I keep putting off reading them. Maybe now is the time before I really feel the symptoms; better to be prepared. Thanks for your helpful tips!
This is the ONLY fake ice cream I like. It still has sugar though. Most of the time I just blend frozen berries with coconut milk. Sugar definitely affects my moods, whether or not it’s hormone related I don’t know.
Oh now that sounds good, and it would even be healthier! 🙂
They make some ice cream out of coconut milk that tastes even better than ‘regular’ ice cream to me! I eliminated sugar and gluten to help with my mood swings.
http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/?gclid=CJ_C843D_bwCFeZAMgodYyUAcA
Congratulations on the pregnancy! 🙂
I’d never heard of dairy helping with moods, but I know many people have a dairy intolerance, so that kind of makes sense. I think I’d have trouble balancing my moods without ice cream! 😉
I gave up dairy to get rid of my acne, but I noticed a positive shift in my moods as well (and that’s coming from someone who is pregnant!) After this pregnancy I might see if there is any other way to shift my hormones, because I sure do miss cheese. I’ve never thought of having my doctor test my hormone levels. If I could live without acne, balance my moods, and still eat ice cream I would be one very happy lady.