Let’s Talk Hormonal Imbalances
A big part of my health journey is coming to terms with how my trauma has impacted my physical health. I know a lot of people struggle with similar issues, and I would love to share more of what I learned through doctors, experience, and my own research. Personally, my nervous system is out of whack due to 22 years of being in fight or flight. My goal is to regulate my nervous system, and my hormones.
Times like these I miss my pop pop the most because he was an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and sadly passed away before I could come to him for my own hormone issues. But, I have been doing extensive research on my own, along with doctors and wanted to share some information I found that could be helpful.
The biggest issues I have involve my cortisol levels. I have had extreme trauma that I have endured over 21 years. Luckily I was able to enter a safer environment when I was 20 but the effects of the trauma still reside in my body.
A little backstory, I have been on both ends of the eating disorder spectrum. For me it fluctuates and it can be hard to realize I’m in it until I notice my body changing. I also have struggled with severe acne, and other issues like hair loss and extremely low energy levels. I also struggle with body dysmorphia so it can be hard for me to realize what is healthy for me. I used to dance and do other sports every single day without fail. I was active and had energy despite my circumstances, but the older I got the more taxing it got on my body and that’s when I realized my hormonal imbalances. I had bloodwork done and was able to see everything that was wrong.
If you struggle with losing weight, gaining weight, or any other hormonal issues and you aren’t getting solid answers from doctors this might be something you would want to look into. I just want to preface that I am not giving medical advice as I am not a doctor definitely speak with a licensed professional if you are having issues, but I want to share as much information as I can because these topics can be beneficial if you feel like you have gotten no answers or help.
Here’s what I found:
One of the biggest reasons you are struggling with high cortisol, poor sleep, chronic inflammation, hungry all the time despite eating, you might be leptin resistant. You can also be leptin resistant if you are insulin resistant.
Leptin is a satiety (master) hormone that communicates with the hippocampus in your brain that determines how much fat storage you have to calculate how much energy you’ll have for the next day. It lets your body know when to stop eating. It tells your brain when to slow or speed up your metabolism. It tells your brain how hungry it should make you the next day, and how much to make you move the next day.
When you are leptin resistant it means that there is no communication happening between your hormone and your brain. It makes your body believe that it’s fat storage is low. This results in your body conserving energy making you want to do nothing all day, burning less calories, and making you more hungry. Your body now thinks it’s in danger, and so you start to crave quick energy sources (aka SUGAR). Over time your body continues to crave Carbs and that makes you insulin resistant over time causing issues like PCOS, Diabetes, ect.
So how do we become leptin sensitive again?
One of the biggest things to focus on when trying to heal your body is going to be managing your stress. Chronic stress and inflammation will block the communication between your brain and hormones, creating even more stress in your body. Just like when your body is in fight or flight, you don’t typically realize your body are in these stressful stages until it catches up to you physically. It is so important to implement daily activities that bring you out of stressful states. I have struggled before with finding peace, especially when I was constantly being surrounded by things that upset me. I started taking daily walks that have been great for me recently. Listening to music, being in nature, cooking, or literally anything that brings you peace will help to lower your stress levels. Try to make it a priority to live as stress free as you can. You deserve to feel safe in your own body🩷
Next up, TRAUMA WORK!! I believe that mixing trauma work with other techniques can be so beneficial to any medical issue that you have. Trauma is stored in the body, and if you do not release the stored trauma it accumulates into physical symptoms. Shadow work is a great way to start doing this. You can do shadow work by writing down prompts and answering them with full honesty. (The purpose is to recognize the trauma, to accept what happened, and then to release so it is no longer in your space). Or you can do shadow work in your head. I personally like to write them down and to rip/burn them because it creates a visual for me that it is released but you can do whatever feels right for you. Definitely don’t force anything you aren’t ready for yet, But take necessary steps to acknowledge your pain and to release it. Your body will thank you!
Raise your protein intake! This helps to repair your metabolism and to help the communication process. Try to eat protein for every meal. The more consistent you are, the quicker the benefits will come to you. It is also beneficial to consume foods high in fiber and high in fat. A combination of these 3 nutrients will help your metabolism so much, making it easier for repair.
I’m still on the hunt to find things that help hormonal imbalances, and overall healing in general, but I’m soo happy I gained the knowledge that I have, and that I can share it with you all! Remember to do your own research, and to cater everything to fit your needs!
With love,
Marley
