Balance My Body Don’t Shock My Brain


I read somewhere that the physiological disorder, Pre-Menstrual Symptom (PMS) was hi-jacked by psychologists.   It got me wondering if Post Partum Mood Disorder was also a victim of hi-jacking.   I’m not a doctor, but as a woman who has survived almost every hormonal disruption possible, my intuition says that I didn’t have a mental illness called Post Partum Anxiety Disorder but rather a physiological disease called Post Partum Progesterone Deficiency.  It’s not that I am afraid of admitting that I had anxiety after my baby was born, but I question how something going on inside my body was solved so elegantly, so swiftly by balancing my hormones.

We know that a symptom of low progesterone is anxiety and we know low estrogen causes depression.  So is it possible that a woman with Post Partum Depression could have a physiological disorder called Post Partum Estrogen Deficiency.   Perhaps it sounds like I am trying to simplify a complicated illness, however, interestingly, visits to a variety of respected North American medical websites reveal the same disturbing information:  they all mention fluctuating hormones as a possible or probable factor in post partum mood disorders but almost never mention balancing hormones as a treatment!  Somehow that doesn’t sit right with me, layperson though I am.  Instead the popular websites indicate that treatment for postpartum depression/anxiety is medication and psychotherapy and in extreme cases shock therapy!

The more informed I become the more I get the sense that women’s health issues are being blatantly branded as mental health disorders that need to be treated with anti-depressants.  I have been offered anti-depressants to treat PMS as well as postpartum mood disorder, both of which were easily treated with bio-identical hormones and free of adverse side-effects. 

The problem with postpartum mood disorders are that women are often suffering in silence and are reluctant to talk about it.  What if we talked, instead, about hormone disruption instead of postpartum depression or post partum anxiety, would more women seek help?   A physiological disease with a symptom of anxiety or depression instead of the other way around makes sense to me.    A treatment that gets to the root of the problem.  Attempting to balance the hormones seems like a logical first step to me.   

How long are women going to have to suffer because of the suspicion and lack of research over bio-identical hormones, yet anti-depressants are handed out like candies, knowing full well the myriad side-effects that go with them.  


***Postpartum Psychosis is a medical emergency - if you or someone you know is suffering please seek immediate medical help.  My opinions are my own, based on my own experience, which may differ from other women's. The intention of this blog is not to provide specific medical advice. For full disclaimer click here

