Mothers fortunate enough to have both male and female children were validated when scientists and medical researchers, after a decades long debate between nature and nurture as it relates to gender roles, revealed what they had known all along – that indeed boys and girls are different.
Doctors and scientists finally admitted that men and women are biologically different and that the role of nurture versus nature coupled with societal expectations in how men and women functioned, is not as significant as originally thought.
In other words, men and women are hard-wired to respond to their environment in remarkably different and gender specific ways.
Likewise, when someone comes a long (and please forgive me gentleman, but, usually male physicians) and tells women that our hormones couldn’t possibly affect our brains, well, frankly, we know better. We know better because we live with it. We live with it way down, deep in our souls and we know that hormones affect every fiber of our being - and most certainly, our brains.
So when I read in Dr. Vliet’s book, Screaming to be Heard: Hormonal Connections Women Suspect, and Doctors Still Ignore that fluctuating estrogen levels have a direct affect on the serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the brain; which in turn have a direct affect on - guess what - our moods; it was yet another validation of what women and mothers everywhere already know - it’s NOT all in our heads! Well, yeah, okay it is in our heads. It’s in our brains.
Whoa, Mags! Sarah & Norah Who?
I’m going to go out on a limb here and presume that many of your are likely a well read bunch and already know quite a bit about serotonin and norepinephrine. What you might not know though is that serotonin and norepinephrine are also neurotransmitters . Neurotransmitters act as messengers, if you will, and transmit all kinds of information via neural pathways throughout our brain.
Serotonin and norepinephrine along with another chemical you’ve also probably heard of, dopamine, work in synergy in our brain and play a powerful and direct role in how we feel. Literally – how we feel. Like our emotions. In fact, when all things are chemically equal, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine can actually reduce anxiety, improve our sleep, diminish depression and sadness and generally takes us to a happy place.
It only stands to reason then, that if our serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine levels are low or are being interrupted somehow, like say, because of fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels, that we would have a difficult time with moods, depression, anxiety and insomnia during perimenopause. Which according to Dr. Vliet, is exactly what happens.
Lobe Schmobe – Let’s Take a Look at This
Our brains are comprised of four basic lobes – the Frontal lobe, the Temporal lobe, the Occipital lobe and the Parietal lobe. Within each of these lobes you have other areas of the brain such as the pituitary gland, the olfactory tubercle and the limbic system – among many others.
These four areas, or lobes, communicate to one another and carry out the business of making us who we are via a series of electrical and chemical impulses that run through our brain. The electrical impulses are carried through nerve fibers while the chemical impulses are transmitted by a variety of chemicals compounds including hormones and the aforementioned neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.
Keepers of the Biological Gate
We also have these things called receptors in the brain. There are many different types of receptors throughout our body, but all of them act as biological traffic cops, if you will; receiving, directing and modulating the many types of chemical transmissions that occur, carried out by the neurotransmitters, which includes – you got it - serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.
One type of receptor, the estrogen receptor, is heavily concentrated in the cortex of the brain and the limbic system. The limbic system is the major regulating center for your mood, memory, sleep, sex drive, appetite and pain. As you might expect, if the receptors are having a bad day (like, say, your estrogen is rising & your progesterone is falling) you’re going to have all kinds of biological road rage and chemical smash-ups. (Mood swings anyone?)
In Screaming to be Heard, Dr. Vliet explains it like this: (emphasis mine)
There are multiple connections between the limbic system and all the other parts of the brain….which carries messages to all parts of the body. The rise and fall of estrogen alters serotonin, which affects pathways in the limbic system, which then produces changes in mood, sleep, memory, pain appetite and many other mind-body functions. Changes in hormone levels, in turn, affect the amountof neurotransmitters produced as well as the sensitivity of the neurotransmitter receptors to the chemical messengers. No wonder changing hormone levels at puberty, in pregnancy, after delivery and at menopause can produce such a wide variety of physical and emotional changes!
Possible Solutions
Okay, so, if you’re anything like me, the first thing that went through myhead was, “Well, if the key to keeping ourselves out of the “crappy place” and in the “happy place” is dependent upon managing the levels of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in our brain, then, sign me up and tell me how do we do that!”
Unfortunately, and this should come as no surprise, especially when it is our hormones we are discussing, it’s just not that easy. Mainly because we are all individuals and our body chemistry is individual as well. And as many of you already know about me if you’ve been following my blogs for any length of time, it’s that I don’t believe in a one size fits all approach to anything. Certainly not when we are discussing our perimenopause issues. However, there are certainly some no brainers here that wouldn’t hurt any of us to implement. The first being exercise.
Get Moving
Yeah, I know. I carp on this one a lot and you’ve heard it a millions times. Eat right, sleep right and exercise. It’s the answer to all of our problems. The problem with hearing something often though, is that we become desensitized to it tend to dismiss it as old news, boring news or just irrelevant. But, honestly, it’s not. Good food, plenty of restful sleep and exercise work wonders for most any of our ills and we all know that.
Besides, atheletes have long known fthat any kind of rigorous aerobic exercise, like running or swimming, not only releases endorphins (our body’s natural pain killers) but it also raises naturally those levels of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Which is responsible for that general feeling of calm and well-being after a good work out. So, we know that, right? Exercise. It’s good for what ails ya.
Let’s Eat!
What about foods? Well, certainly there are plenty of foods we can eat as well. But, rather than get into that now, I think I’ll hold that back for my next post. There is plenty in this post to chew on (pardon the pun) until then. For now, at least, you can relish (there’s another food pun – I’m not trying to do that, I swear) in the fact that all of your perimenopause issues do indeed have a bono-fide biological brain connection.
Finally, I won’t be reviewing every chapter in this book. As I stated in a previous post, the book is long and it would just take up a lot of time trying to cover everything. I will however post more as I read through the book and find something worth sharing with you. Again, if you wish to purchase the book, you can order it at Amazon which you can find in my sidebar.
Catch you all again soon.
Magnolia Miller is the founder and owner of Pink Zinnia Publishing & Health Communications, LLC, where she is a freelance health & medical writer.
She holds a professional certification as a healthcare consumer advocate in women's health, and is currently conducting graduate research in the field of healthcare consumer advocacy with a focus on women's health issues in perimenopause, menopause & post menopause.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m so relieved to have found your blog! Thank you so much for all the heart and soul you poured into it to help those of us in this difficult stage of life. I’m rather sure that I’m in perimenopause. I’m in my late 40s, and several months ago, I started to have difficulty taking a deep breath. It got very scary one night, so I went to the ER, where after d-dimer blood test (to check for pulmonary clots), ekg, pulmonary function test, chest CTscan and xrays (all of which turned out great) the doc sent me home with asthma inhalers (later, we pretty much concluded that I didn’t have asthma). But the scary breathing thing happened again, and I ended up again in the ER. Sigh. After another check-up with no problems arising, that doc kindly suggested a diagnoses of anxiety. I was insulted! But then I thought about it. A friend my age had suggested that we were “nearing the change,” and offered Xanax. I didn’t want to go that route, but instead began exercising every morning, cutting down on coffee, adjusting my schedule (less stress), and leaning on my faith a lot more. A couple of weeks later, I’d get clouds of depression, literally clouds, that would come and keep me in darkest, saddest places, and then drift on. Ugh! What a mix. Then I began taking an herbal supplement to help balance my hormones. I’ve finished a month’s worth of those and will keep at it for another month or two. I think they’re helping some, though I’m still feeling sad and anxious at times. Also, I’m planning to get a stress test this week (just to be sure) and to see one of the gynocologists listed on this blog who is open to natural options for treating perimenopause. I’ll be eager to see how the stress test goes, which may point to a cardiac issue. In any case, this is a hard time of life! And I appreciate your being there, via this blog, to help us through it! God bless you.
Hello Anna,
It’s rather pathetic that in our modern days of medicine, physicians can only hand us tranquilizers to deal with our hormone imbalance. Sometimes I wonder if it’s not some deeply rooted belief that women are emotionally disturbed.
I too used to have the clouds of depression come over me. I still do sometimes, but, thankfully, it is very rare and it doesn’t last long. I think you are wise to tackle the issues with health and wellness changes. Putting ourselves at the top of the list of people to take care of is sometimes a challenge for us. But, you are doing well for yourself to do it.
May I suggest that you contact Mia Lundin? She has also written a great book entitled Female Brain Gone Insane. She can certainly help you through much of what is going on with you.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Magnolia
Magnolia, thank you for your encouragement! I’m 48 and your site is a real balm for me. I started having changes in my life this summer, when I started to feel blue, old, and–wierdly, started having difficulty taking deep breaths. That difficulty resulted in panic and depression. I was tested for lung blood clots, pneumonia, asthma, had a chest CT-scan, EKG, chest X-ray, blood tests, and even a pulmonary function test, and all the numbers came out well. I had a scary night of not being able to breath and because I felt so panicky, I went to the local ER. The kindly doctor there (after yet another EKG and chest X-ray) suggested that I was suffering from anxiety. I was insulted! But I began looking into the suggestion, and many google searches later, began to wonder if indeed he was right, and if my anxiety and difficulty breathing was coming from my hormonal changes. Have you ever heard of anyone having anxiety and difficulty taking deep breaths as a result of perimenopause (perhaps also from hypothyroidism or adrenal fatugue)? Thank you!
Magnolia, oh my, I just realized that I had typed out a very similar comment to the one I left previously! Please disregard my 2nd post. Thanks
!
Hi Anna,
Yes, I’ve absolutely heard of women having panic and anxiety attacks during perimenopause, because many do! When your adrenal glands become exhausted and/or if you are suffering with hypothyroidism (both of which happen to women during perimenopause) anxiety and panic attacks are common. You are not a psych case! I would highly recommend a good endocrinologist – and one who prescribes bioidentical hormones if at all possible – and have him/her run some tests for your thyroid function and adrenal glands.
I think you’ll find that both of those issues contribute to panic attacks, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, etc.
Magnolia
{ 3 trackbacks }