Perimenopause is the window of time where the body gradually undergoes the transition to menopause, or the end of the menstrual cycle. Reproductive hormone levels will fluctuate as they work towards an overall decline in production. Walk confidently into menopause knowing that your sex life need not suffer - there are supports available to help maintain the health and hydration of vaginal tissue, and to support a robust libido after menopause.
The misery of PMS is avoidable! We are not irrational, unreliable, or hysterical by virtue of our monthly cycle. PMS doesn’t have to be something to dread. It doesn’t have to feel like we’re out of control. PMS doesn’t have to ruin your month. We can help.
The most common recommendations for PCOS within conventional medicine are to regulate menstrual cycles with hormonal birth control and to lose weight. The real issue and what we should be treating is the metabolic mis-firing, not the number on a scale. Weight loss is often used as a goalpost to reach even though it may not directly affect outcomes. Unfortunately, the quick recommendation in the case of most PCOS patients that they lose weight is rooted in medicalized fat-phobia rather than supported by best practices and patient outcomes.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common gynecological conditions diagnosed, and is frequently associated with lowered fertility. PCOS need not be a reason to give up on your pregnancy hopes. There is plenty of support available, and several effective treatment approaches to explore.
Unlike conventional approaches to treatment, Naturopathic Medicine takes into consideration the multi-faceted and inter-related characteristics of endometriosis, in order to find effective and lasting treatment options for managing the symptoms associated with endometriosis, including reduced pelvic pain, improved fertility outcomes, and fostering an enhanced sense of agency in one’s state of well-being.
We all need boundaries. They help us develop and sustain healthy, reciprocal relationships. Without boundaries, we're easily harmed, drained, and may become resentful or fearful in relationships. Fear of being hurt may lead us to build walls. But walls isolate, and prevent us from developing meaningful connections. When we cultivate self-awareness, we can better identify and assert boundaries so that we can be vulnerable enough to connect, but confident enough to protect our physical and emotional integrity.
Self-care is crucial not only to our own survival, but the survival of our families, our communities, and society at large. We need to carve out space to be with ourselves, to be self-aware, self-reflective, and self-nourishing. In short, we need to give ourselves love. Love for ourselves gives us the ability to meaningfully share space with others, to care for those in need, and to meet the challenges of each day with resilience. It will allow us to learn, grow and thrive.
We all make mistakes. When we expect a lot of ourselves, sometimes we can get wrapped up in the pursuit of perfection. It’s great to aim high, however no one gets everything right on the first try. If we’re striving for perfection or even to be better, we need to be okay with making mistakes along the way. And when these mistakes happen, we need to own them.
This year has brought a wave of challenges in every area of life – every person, business, and community has been affected. Fatigue, frustration and anger are common and normal reactions to the upheavals we’ve experienced over these past few months. So yes, most of us are exhausted. And yet the demands to adapt, produce, and care for continue.
We need to focus on what is within our power to do and change, and let go of what is not. So be clear on your needs and boundaries. Articulate these for yourself, and for those in your bubble. And respect the needs and boundaries of others.
By taking the lead in fostering a wellness first lifestyle, you are committing an act of kindness for yourself, but you are also supporting your ability to contribute care and support to your family, community, and the world, and to create and achieve what matters most to you.
Although a sense of disempowerment can easily seep in as we lose some of the freedom and sense of purpose we’re accustomed to, there’s much we can do for ourselves and each other under the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in. In addition to following the public health spread prevention recommendations, let’s consider a few of the many ways that we can build our strength and resilience as we face these challenges both alone and together.
