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I'm Hormonal | functional hormone insight + advice
If you're looking for information on women's hormone health, how to support your menstrual cycle, and what you need to know for long term wellness--look no further. I'm Hormonal host, Bridget Walton, provides you with the information you need to get your hormones in balance so you can feel your best.
I'm Hormonal | functional hormone insight + advice
23. Why you cry before your bleed
Have you ever wondered why your emotions seem to turn up a notch just before that time of the month? Join me, Bridget Walton, as we take a poignant journey through the hormonal fluctuations that trigger these intense feelings and uncover ways to navigate this tumultuous time with greater understanding and less distress. You'll journey alongside me into the world of estrogen and progesterone, where we'll learn how their delicate balance—or occasional imbalance—can impact our mood. With a mix of scientific insight and personal stories, I'll share some effective, natural interventions that promise to diminish the premenstrual emotional roller coaster.
This episode also shines a light on the often-overlooked connection between gut health and hormonal equilibrium. I'll guide you through practical tips for fostering gut wellness, which can have a profound effect on our emotional and hormonal states. From the importance of reducing inflammation to understanding the influence of whole foods, I touch on supplements that are allies in emotional regulation, and I'll discuss how self-care during the luteal phase is about so much more than bubble baths and chocolate. So, lay back, plug in, and let's take this ride together through the ups and downs of our monthly cycle—equipped with knowledge and a supportive community. Here's to fewer tears and more empowered days!
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Welcome to I'm Hormonal, your source of information about women's hormone health and how to support your body. Naturally, I'm your host, bridget Walton, and I'm a certified functional hormone specialist and menstrual cycle coach. I am on a mission to hold these hormone conversations with as many menstruators as possible because you deserve easier access to accurate information about what's up with your unrelieved menstrual cycle and with your fertility mysteries. Don't you think it's time that we figure this out once and for all? On today's show, we are going to talk about why we cry sometimes before our period starts Supernatural, totally normal, very common for menstruators to have heightened emotions be it sadness or anger or irritability or frustration, whatever it might be in those days leading up to their bleed. Let's talk about why that happens, understand what's going on in our bodies and how we can think about it differently, as well as what we can actually do be it supplementation, exercise or otherwise, in order to shed fewer tears in our next cycle. I don't know if this happens to you, but if it does sometimes, you're in the right place. If you have a friend who finds himself in tears before her cycle starts again or before her bleed begins, then maybe you'll find that you learned something new today that you can share with her to help make her experience a little bit more smooth. I get excited to listen to some information on why we shed some tears before we start our bleed today. Real quick, though, I want to say hello and welcome to you. Thank you for listening. I'm really glad that you found me, and especially if today is your first time listening. So hi again.
Speaker 1:My name is Bridget and I started this podcast because I think it's really important to share what we know about how our bodies work, about, specifically, how our menstrual cycles work, and I think that it's kind of on us it seems it's on us too Share this information with our sisters, with our friends, with our aunts, with our cousins, with everybody, because we need to help make a little bit of change happen, since this isn't information that we're taught in school or that we're normally taught through the healthcare system, at least here in the United States, where I'm located. So that's what I'm here to do, and it's called I'm hormonal, because, my friends, I'm hormonal, you're hormonal, we're all hormonal, and that's a really good thing, because that's how we stay alive. We need our hormones to stay alive. So I guess I was just being like maybe a little bit sassy and sarcastic to call the podcast. I'm hormonal, but I really want to help reframe this to say like, hey, this is actually not a bad thing, this is a good thing. I love having hormones and because I have hormones, I know that they're going to fluctuate throughout the month, so I'll get off my little soapbox there, but I hope you enjoy the conversation or the episode and the topic today.
Speaker 1:One quick disclaimer before I jump into the good stuff. As always, please be reminded that whatever I share with you today but always is for educational purposes only. It shouldn't be used as a replacement for any sort of one-on-one support from a certified practitioner or from your healthcare provider. If that's something that you're in the market for, if you're looking for some really specific one-on-one support when it comes to understanding how to support your hormones naturally, then you can always reach out to me. You can check out the link in the show notes or go over to BridgetWaltoncom and we can schedule a call to talk more about how coaching might be a good fit for you. Now that that's out of the way, let's get into the good stuff. Guys, is this you Do you cry before your period?
Speaker 1:Let me tell you for one second. I don't cry that often before my bleed begins, but when I do, you can be sure that it is about the dumbest thing possible. I think that most recently and this is I don't know within the last year I heated up some water in the tea kettle in the morning and then my partner I don't know he didn't realize that I had heated it up and he came in, he dumps out the water and I just cried and I'm like I know this is dumb, I know it's stupid and that I shouldn't be crying, but I'm crying and that's okay. That happens sometimes. I guess it's. You know, a part of the battle is knowing that it might happen sometime soon. So anyway, if you have had a silly story or something silly that you've cried about, I would love to hear about it. Send me a message. I'll share it with you again. But anyway, this is what we're talking about today and let me just cut to the chase.
Speaker 1:Why do we cry before our period? And the main reason why we're crying and emotional in that part of our cycle is because that's when all of our hormone levels are dropping really low. So, specifically estrogen, estrogen levels are gonna drop quite low as our cycle comes to an end. And if you have been here before, if you're familiar with the phases of the cycle, right, that'll be the luteal phase in the second half, the time between ovulation and when your next bleed begins. Or if you're kind of counting backwards from when your period begins, it'll be normally the seven to 10 days before your cycle starts again. So again, estrogen is dropping really low and that isn't inherently a problem. Like that's normal, that happens every month, it should be happening like that.
Speaker 1:But where the problem well, I'm doing air quotes where the potential problem can come in is if your estrogen levels were really high and now they're just having kind of an aggressive drop down, it also could be a problem again, air quotes over here if there isn't progesterone to kind of smooth things over and soothe you. So estrogen is dropping and progesterone would normally be rising during that second part of your cycle. But if you're not producing as much progesterone, then that could be troubling. And then I guess that it's also worth mentioning that there is somewhat of a genetic component, right, like, maybe some people are just more sensitive to estrogen's levels dropping than other people will, and that'll be the case with like every facet of health and hormones, right, we're all bio-individual. So even if you and I do the same exact thing and have the same exact hormone levels, as far as the quantifiables go like lab work, you know, maybe we just have a different experience with it, and that's cool too.
Speaker 1:I also wanna mention real quick that you know, of course I'm talking about crying and your emotions specifically, but this change in estrogen levels can also bring to fruition the other PMS symptoms that you're already familiar with. So if you're somebody who has migraines, if you're somebody who bloats, has breast tenderness, has anxiety or any other sort of intense emotions, just to name a couple, then those are all brought on by this same, by the same hormonal fluctuations, right, this aggressive drop and or lack of progesterone to smooth things over, while estrogen is low. I've done an episode before on estrogen, so if you haven't listened to episode number seven yet, then maybe, after you're done listening here, consider going back to give that a visit, or maybe a re-listen if you're there. But anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that estrogen, if you weren't aware, has a lot of benefits. It's, of course, necessary for our menstrual cycles and for our whole reproductive system to be working as it should be, but we have estrogen receptors all over our body. Estrogen is really essential when it comes to our skin health, our cardiovascular health, when it comes to your brain health and your cognition, and it also has a big impact on your mood. So, generally, your serotonin levels and your estrogen levels are going to be correlated so that when estrogen drops, it can then impact serotonin levels. So when estrogen is lower, you're going to have less of this happy hormone, and that's just another reason why your mood might be affected during these times of your cycle and the later half of your cycle when estrogen levels are low.
Speaker 1:Let's take a quick second to think about what are other times of our life when our estrogen levels might be lower than when we're normally cycling, and so that would be, for example, after childbirth. While you're pregnant, your estrogen levels are high, and then you have your baby, but estrogen levels go really low, and so that's what can put some women at greater risk of developing postpartum depression. Also, when we are into your 40s, normally, but when you're starting to experience perimenopause, and that's when your ovaries are more erratically producing estrogen. So sometimes really high, a lot of estrogen, sometimes not a lot of estrogen. When you have those low estrogen periods, too, that can really affect your mood.
Speaker 1:I think this is really important to note, because if you're going through perimenopause or another phase of life when you're seeing these mood changes or you're noticing that you're experiencing depression, well, certainly that's something that you and your healthcare provider should really work together on to find out what is the solution. It's also worth just keeping in mind like hey, what is estrogen up to? How am I doing? Because that's just not something that might come to mind. That's not something that would have come to mind for me until in the last year or so. So that's something that I would encourage you to keep in mind and see, you know, that's just another way to naturally think of how you can support your hormones and your overall health, but in this case, especially your mood. We've covered the quantifiable side of things and how our hormone levels are changing and why that's leading to changes in mood or other symptoms.
Speaker 1:But I want to shift our conversation now to the more touchy-feely side of things and just being connected with ourself and our own needs and desires, and what I'm getting at here is, if you are getting upset or you know there's an argument that starts with your partner every month before your cycle starts. That's about the same thing. What is that saying about what you need in your life to best support yourself, or support your relationship, or support your family, whatever it might be? And so let me give a better example of that. If, every month, I'm fighting with my boyfriend about the dishes or another chore, well, maybe it only really comes out during that time of my cycle, but, like, maybe that's something I really need to sit down with him and say, hey, like I think we really need to talk about how we're sharing the responsibilities here, because, you know, I really need you to, you know, share this responsibility. Also, this is a totally made up example, because my boyfriend does the dishes way more than I do.
Speaker 1:But you see what I'm getting at here. What do these? You know, just because it pisses you off in your luteal phase and you, like, you know you're more likely to say how you feel, though it may not be in the most eloquent manner. You know, what does that mean about how you can better advocate for yourself, advocate for your happiness in other parts of your cycle? So maybe just take a beat to think back on what impacts you more in the past. Or you know, and it doesn't even have to just be in the house and be about you know, your partnership but at work, with your manager or with your coworkers or anybody that you have relationships with, just because it's, you know, an emotion or a feeling or thoughts that come up before your cycle begins and you're emotional, that doesn't mean that it's not a totally one million percent valid thought, complaint, etc. So, yeah, think about it.
Speaker 1:And I'll just give one more kind of example here too, because I think it's also interesting to notice that maybe my response, or in this example of of the tea kettle, when I was like crying about my boyfriend pouring out the water that I just heated up for him you know I'm crying because I'm feeling sad, but actually you know that sadness or that anger is really like a secondary what is it a secondary response? Because the thing that was really getting to me was that I was kind of stressed because I was running behind on my schedule that morning and you know I thought I did something helpful and then I was just feeling like, wow, I'm just behind, I need to, I need to move, I need to get my date going. So, yeah, just think about that too. That secondary response is or anger, rather, is oftentimes a secondary response. Let's take a quick break so I can tell you about today's sponsor, but when we get back we're going to talk about a couple of things you can consider to help support your hormone balance and shed fewer tears in your next cycle. We'll also talk about how chocolate might be a part of that solution.
Speaker 1:The sponsor for today's podcast episode is actually my own hormone reset coaching package. Did you know that you can work with me one-on-one to do hormone coaching? If you are someone who is currently facing fertility concerns, if you have wild period pain, if you have straight up unruly periods whether they're missing, irregular or otherwise then I'm talking to you, my friend. The hormone reset package is designed to renew your confidence in your body and to get you where you want to be, whether your goal is fertility or contraception, we'll also work together so you can really understand the fundamentals and know how to support your hormone balance for the long run. You can head over to BridgetWaltoncom slash coaching to learn more, and you can go ahead and schedule a free call with me to talk more about how we can get you to where you want to be. Check out the link in the show notes or, again, go to BridgetWaltoncom slash coaching. All right, gang, let's jump back into it and talk about what are some specific things that you can do in order to support your hormone balance, so that you are having less aggressive estrogen drops in your luteal phase and also so that progesterone levels are good and healthy and keep you feeling good in that luteal phase.
Speaker 1:So the first thing I want to mention and if you've been here before, you've heard this before, but I want to reiterate how important is to have a healthy gut. So, while there are just a chazillion things that you can do to support your gut health, the three things that I want to mention today is first chew your food. Slow down, chew your food. I'm so guilty of this because you know it's easy right to not chew your food. I can still swallow it, but chewing your food slowing down, just not multitasking while you're eating, just like legit chew your food all the way. You may have heard that you're supposed to I'm doing air quotes again over here you're supposed to chew our bite, chew our food 40 times before we swallow it. That seems painfully long to me. If any of you out there can accomplish that like, please let me know and I applaud you. But anyway, chew your food thoroughly. It will help with your whole digestive process. Also, relax while you're eating food. If you're relaxed, then that's going to help put your nervous system into the right state and that means that your stomach is going to produce a better amount of stomach acid, which then just helps the whole rest of the process because it's just kicking off that first stage of digestion, while the third and final subcategory here for healthy gut is choosing whole foods, process foods. Ditch them when you can opt for whole foods, and that'll be three good things that'll keep you on this trajectory towards a healthy gut.
Speaker 1:The second thing that you want to consider when you're trying to support a healthy hormone balance is reducing inflammation. This can look like a lot of different ways, but the first ones I want to mention here are eliminating or reducing your alcohol intake. Alcohol super inflammatory. Other things that are inflammatory would be endocrine disrupting chemicals. Also, stress can come in the form of, yes, emotional stressors, but also stressors on your body, like over exercising. That'll cause inflammation If you're eating in a way where your blood sugar is really peaking and then dropping and you just have these aggressive blood sugar spikes that can be inflammatory for your body too. So if you're just trying to think of right reducing stress, being again more relaxed, those are things that will support your hormone balance. Why is that? Because inflammation is just really clouding your hormonal pathways and that's making, you know, those communication pathways less efficient and less effective. So that's why we want to say see you to inflammation.
Speaker 1:The third thing I have here is a little bit more specific. If you are somebody who's having a lot of emotions or other symptoms that we mentioned, like migraines or other PMS symptoms, then consider supplementing with magnesium glycinate. You can also like increase your consumption of nuts and seeds and leafy greens, but magnesium glycinate is when you're going to go. For, if you are opting for a supplement, also focus on B6. Maybe you want a supplement there. You can also consider selenium. For me personally, I have a little jar on my counter that has brazil nuts. Each day generally, I'll grab my jar at some point in the day, chomp down on two or three brazil nuts and that should get you your fill or your daily recommended amount of selenium. So if you want to go the whole food route, then that's something to consider there. The last thing that I'll mention here for a supplement is also Vitex. So Vitex is really good for overall hormone balance and that is the last thing that I'll recommend for you to just consider grabbing while you're at the store.
Speaker 1:The sixth and final item that I have on my list here is a recommendation is again less quantifiable and more touchy-feely, more of the emotional and knowing yourself and advocating for yourself side of things. So, specifically, I want to remind you that during the Lydial phase, it's natural for that to be the time when you're you know, when your inner critic is present and when you are more vulnerable than you are at other times in your cycle, and that's okay. But hopefully, just knowing that it's temporary, or reminding yourself that it's temporary, that that should be helpful for you, and making it out and making it to you know your cycle start, you can also, you know it's always important to be setting boundaries in your life. I don't know about your you know feed on Instagram, but I feel like I have 8,000 reminders to set appropriate boundaries in front of me on social media each day. But, especially during a Lydial phase, remember that it's okay for you to set boundaries. It's great for you to say no to shit that you do not want to do. Don't do stuff that you don't want to do. Sometimes we have to, but see what you can avoid. You know, prioritize what's important to you, prioritize your own needs and your own happiness, and sometimes change is hard, but hey, you've got to advocate for yourself and I believe in you. You can do it. You've got this.
Speaker 1:A couple of other quick reminders or recommendations when it comes to self-care would be, you know, grabbing a castor oil pack in your hot water bottle. This is something that I really like to do during my Lydial phase. Also, you know, maybe getting a girl's night on the calendar would be good for your Lydial phase. Hang in with your friends. Keep in mind that focusing on some well-balanced, savory, full meals is going to be good for you too, because during your Lydial phase, you'll be a little bit more sensitive to insulin and blood sugar spikes than at other times in your cycle. So focusing on savory, hearty meals is what is going to help you to feel your best.
Speaker 1:I hope that this episode has been helpful for you to have some ideas about how your body works, why your emotions change or why you have these other symptoms that arise as you approach the start of your next cycle. I hope that some of these recommendations are helpful for you too, and would it be okay if I ask you for a quick favor. If you found this conversation to be helpful and if you wouldn't mind considering this to your sister or to a friend or someone who you think it would be insightful as well, I would really appreciate it. As a reminder, you can also subscribe to I'm Hormonal if you want these episodes to show up automatically in your feed. And, last but not least, if you're wondering if one-on-one coaching with me would be a good fit for you, then go ahead and click on the link in the show notes to set up a free call.
Speaker 1:All right, my friend. Thank you so much for listening today. I truly am so grateful for you, and especially for you if you made it all the way to the end here. I can't wait to see you again here next week, and if you have any requests, if you have any questions, if you have any comments, then feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram at Bridget Walton, and I can't wait to be in touch. Thanks again. We'll talk to you soon. I'll see you next time, thank you.